By Marathana Prothro, Mennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and Western District Conference (WDC) together announce a ministry transition for Gilberto Flores, director of Denominational Ministry and Missional Church for Executive Leadership. In addition to giving overall leadership for Denominational Ministry, Flores also ministered to the needs of five area conferences including Franconia Conference. Beginning in February 2009, Flores will leave his post with Executive Leadership to begin ministry with WDC as associate conference minister for Texas.
Flores said his choice to enter conference ministry was independent of his decision to resign as director of Denominational Ministry and Missional Church. The opportunity to work with WDC was presented days after his official resignation from Executive Leadership.
“Gilberto will help us enter the next phase of church development and growth in Western District Conference and specifically in the Texas area,” said Dorothy Nickel Friesen, conference minister for WDC. “Gilberto has incredible skills, and his missional perspective will push us to become the church we should be.”
As associate conference minister for Texas, Flores will work alongside Nickel Friesen to provide services to pastors and congregations in the Mid-Texas Region and give overall leadership and direction to the church planting programs and nurturing of new congregations, all on behalf of the conference. The full-time position, among other things, includes the following responsibilities: supervision of church-planting pastors throughout the district; consultation with congregational search committees; advocacy for pastors and congregations to elected or appointed conference leadership; development of communication links to missional church initiatives.
Flores will continue his ministry with Executive Leadership through Jan. 31, 2009. When he began the director position in December 2007 the Executive Leadership ministry known as Congregational and Ministerial Leadership changed to Denominational Ministry. With the new name came a new structure that includes seven denominational ministers, rather than four, who oversee relationships with the 21 area conferences of Mennonite Church USA. The transition resulted from conversations with and prompting from conference ministers in 2007.
Flores has a ministry journey that includes 23 years of varying roles in the Mennonite church in Latin America and more than 15 years experience in serving in the United States. While in Latin America, Flores and his wife, Rosa, served as pastors, church planters and missionaries in different countries.
In addition to his pastoral duties, Flores was academic dean of SEMILLA, a Mennonite seminary serving all Central American Mennonite denominations; director of CONCAD, an ecumenical organization focused on human and community development; and director of Fraternidad de Iglesias Evangélicas de Guatemala, an ecumenical organization focused on social development, pastoral leadership and peace-justice advocacy.
Flores and his wife moved with their four children to the United States in 1993 to serve as church planters in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, Flores has worked as a director with the former General Conference Commission on Home Ministries, the Anabaptist Biblical Institute (IBA), Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership where he currently is director of Denominational Ministry and Missional Church.
Flores has two master’s degrees, one in theological studies with a focus in pastoral theology and another in sociology with a focus in religion studies. He has published multiple essays on a variety of topics.
“Gilberto has brought uncommon insight on our missional vision, combined with unique relational skills with area conference leaders. He has tirelessly traveled across the span of our conferences, offered counsel to conference ministers, and been a helpful and guiding presence on behalf of the staff of denominational ministers of Mennonite Church USA,” said Jim Schrag, executive director for Mennonite Church USA. “We wish him well in his new position of ministry with Western District Conference, for which he is clearly suited and called. We will miss his leadership in Denominational Ministry and his leadership in the missional church calling of Mennonite Church USA.”
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.