The Acts of Convention

Resolved, That the 77th General Convention establish the Mission Enterprise Fund, to be administered by a grants committee for that purpose established by the Executive Council, with $1 million for the 2013–2015 triennium; and be it further

Resolved, That Diocesan Standing Committees and Bishops partner to create "Mission Enterprise Zones," defined as a geographic area, as a group of congregations or as an entire diocese committed to mission and evangelism that engages under-represented groups, including youth and young adults, people of color, poor and working-class people, people with a high-school diploma or less, and/or people with little or no church background or involvement; and be it further

Resolved, That a Diocese may apply for a matching grant of up to $20,000 from the Mission Enterprise Fund, to facilitate the development of the Mission Enterprise Zone; and be it further

Resolved, That congregational leaders in Mission Enterprise Zones participate in trainings around anti-racism, cross-cultural community development, and ministry development and evangelism, in order to gain the skills to effectively build relationships with groups currently under-represented in The Episcopal Church but growing throughout our domestic mission field; and be it further

Resolved, That each Mission Enterprise Zone feature a strategic plan to start or redevelop a congregation that is intentionally multi-cultural, incorporating the presence and leadership of under-represented generations, socio-economic groups, races, ethnicities and/or languages; and be it further

Resolved, That for the period between the 77th and 78th General Conventions, these enterprise zones be created and be granted greater freedom as authorized by the Bishop in consultation with diocesan leadership regarding the designation of "congregation" status, traditional formation for and use of ordained leadership, and the use of authorized texts for principle worship gatherings; and be it further

Resolved, That diocesan leaders report to the Standing Commission on the Mission and Evangelism of The Episcopal Church the results of their efforts, including a description of the Mission Enterprise Zone and the process for creating the zone, the number and nature of new faith communities created, the number and demographic profiles of people associated with these communities, and the ministries established within the zone; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on the Mission and Evangelism of The Episcopal Church compile and reflect on these accounts and use them to fulfill the request of the Executive Council to help the Church "create a canonical process to incorporate new faith community models into our existing structures" by the 78th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the 77th General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $1,000,000 to implement this resolution during the 2013–2015 triennium.