MCCI is Missional Church Consultation Initiative and is a program for congregational intervention where the Conference partners alongside a church to help them launch a new life cycle of ministry.

The fourth cohort of churches has been announced and has begun the MCCI journey for: Dickinson, Fargo Calvary, Harrisburg, Jamestown St. Paul’s,  Mitchell First and Rapid Valley. Churches in the fourth cohort attended an invitational meeting and then made a decision to sign a covenant agreement to be part of the MCCI process.

MCCI is comprised of a flight of churches each year that have been recommended by the cabinet as meeting specific criteria, and are then prayerfully selected and invited by the Bishop to participate. For congregations that sign the MCCI covenant, a 2-3 year process is launched, involving:

• Concentrated new ministry leadership skills training each month for the pastors in the Initiative (80 plus hours total throughout the year, along with accountability for implementation back home at their churches) that includes starting a congregational Breakthrough Prayer Initiative.

•  “Undercover Worshippers” who visit and worship at each of the churches in the MCCI, and then provide extensive feedback about their experiences.

• A thorough self-study by each church, including history, finances, staffing, organization, ministry activities and demographic setting.

• A three-day MCCI on-site weekend provided by the MCCI Consultation Team that culminates in a consultation report with five unique “prescriptions” (recommendations), or next steps the church needs to take to move from plateau/decline into jumpstarting new fruitfulness.

If an MCCI church votes 70% or better to accept its prescriptions (via an official church conference), the decision is made to go forward. The pastor leads the implementation of the prescriptions, with the assistance of “prescription coaches” (ministry leaders who already have a successful track record in their own setting with that prescription) to help guide and advise. The prescription coaches are underwritten by the conference, and continue to guide the pastor and congregation for up to two years.