Mission:
The Office of the General Minister and President leads, serves, inspires, nurtures, and facilitates the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as one church in many expressions.
The Office of the General Minister and President, or “OGMP,” provides leadership for the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. While encompassing many responsibilities within the Church, the OGMP’s focus is on providing support for the General Minister and President in her duties as the pastor and chief executive officer of the Church.
Areas of ministry and responsibility can be broken into the following categories:
- Supporting the General Minister and President
- Coordinating and planning the biennial General Assembly meeting
- Coordinating and planning the annual General Board meeting
- Coordinating and planning meetings of the Administrative Committee
- Communicating with the larger church
- Coordinating and managing the Disciples Mission Fund
The General Minister and President
The General Minister and President fills two basic roles in the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. As General Minister, she is the general pastor of the nearly 300,000-member Church, responsible for representing the wholeness of the church, for reconciling differences, and for helping the church retain its clarity of mission and identity. As General President, she is the chief executive officer for the denomination, responsible for overseeing the work of the church’s various structures. She strives to help the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) remain faithful to God’s calling and to do its work effectively and efficiently.
The ecumenical world regards the GMP as “head of communion” and as the chief representative of the church in national and world ecumenical councils. Disciples often speak of the GMP as the Disciples’ primary leader.
For more information about our General Minister and President, Teresa Hord Owens, please read her biography.
GB-2401 General Assembly including the Office of the General Minister and President report to the General Board April 2024.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the representative body of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). According to The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the General Assembly “…In all of its worship, deliberation, and ministries, the General Assembly shall seek to manifest the wholeness and unity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) within the one Body of Christ.”
The General Assembly meets biennially, on odd-numbered years, in various locations to perform business, worship and gather in fellowship.
For more information, visit the General Assembly website.
The General Board
The General Board is a smaller deliberative body that is responsible to the General Assembly. The General Board meets every year. Some responsibilities of the General Board include:
- Recommend items of business to be presented at the General Assembly;
- Ensure that proper resources are distributed in order for the Church to effectively do mission;
- Review and approve how the Church’s financial system is managed;
- Review and evaluate the Church program to ensure it is in accordance with the mission of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ);
- Other duties as assigned by the General Assembly.
The Administrative Committee
The Administrative Committee is a 20-member body of the General Board that is responsible for long-range planning work of the Church and acts as the board of directors for the Office of the General Minister and President. Some of the responsibilities of the Administrative Committee include:
- Long-ranging planning for the Church, which is submitted to the General Board for review and evaluation.
- Fill vacancies in offices elected by the General Assembly.
- Review and evaluate budgetary and promotional procedures in financing the various regions, general ministries, and institutions of higher education of the Church.
- Prepare business agendas for the General Board and General Assembly meetings.
Communicating With The Church
Communication Ministries, a ministry of the Office of the General Minister and President, offers Church-wide communications by maintaining the Disciples News Service and the primary website of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), disciples.org. The Disciples News Service is a weekly e-mail newsletter that is distributed for free to subscribers of the service. News included in the newsletter is also posted on disciples.org.
Subscribe to the Disciples News Service
Coordinating and Managing the Disciples Mission Fund
The Treasury Services ministry of the OGMP helps maintain, receive and distribute funds of the Disciples Mission Fund. The office as a whole is responsible for promotion of DMF and coordinating several of the other special offerings. For more information about the Disciples Mission Fund, visit the web site at disciplesmissionfund.org.