Develop a Discipleship System
Sloane Named Interim Associate General Secretary at Discipleship Ministries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Dec. 2, 2015 /Discipleship Ministries/ – Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship and Connectional Ministries at Discipleship Ministries, will serve as interim Associate General Secretary beginning Jan. 1.
Dr. Timothy L. Bias, General Secretary (chief executive) of Discipleship Ministries, said Sloane will lead Leadership Ministries, a unit at the agency, while a search is conducted to fill the position formerly held by MaryJane Pierce Norton, who retired in October.
“This is a crucial time to be in leadership in our agency and in the church, and we are fortunate to have Ken to serve as interim Associate General Secretary during this search period,” Bias said.
Sloane, an ordained elder in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, joined Discipleship Ministries in 2011 as Director of Stewardship after serving as Director of Communications Ministry at United Methodist Communications for five years.
I am honored to lead a group of such talented directors and coordinators in Leadership Ministries who have such a depth of knowledge, experience and passion for seeing local churches grow in their ability to make disciples who will make more disciples and transform their communities and the world,” Sloane said. “I am also honored to connect this group to the other units of Discipleship Ministries who do amazing work in their areas, as well as aligning with the strategic direction offered by Dr. Tim Bias.”
In his current role at Leadership Ministries, Sloane was one of the early adopters of webinars for resourcing local church leaders in the areas of stewardship and finance, but continued to serve as a workshop leader and speaker at annual conference sessions.
Sloane was ordained an elder in the former Southern New Jersey Conference in 1984. He served more than 20 years as a local church pastor in the Greater New Jersey Conference, including in a successful new church start.
In 2001, Sloane was appointed to be the newly formed conference’s first Director of Connectional Ministries and helped to form the conference’s response to the 9/11 tragedy, which was funded by a $4.5 million grant from UMCOR.
Sloane received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and theater from Hofstra University and both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Drew University.
The position of Associate General Secretary for Leadership Ministries will be posted in January and is expected to be filled on or before July 1, Bias said.
The mission of Discipleship Ministries is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, Discipleship Ministries is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, visit the Press Center or call the Communications Office at (877) 899-2780, Ext. 1726.