Pidgeon to Strengthen Congregational Transformation Office

After an exhaustive search, the Louisiana Conference has found its new Associate Director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development.
    
Rev. Karli Pidgeon has accepted the position and will transition from her current appointment, Cornerstone United Methodist Church in New Orleans, into her new role, beginning February 1, 2019. 
 
“I am excited Rev. Pidgeon will be joining the team,” says Rev. Gloria Fowler, Director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development for the Louisiana Conference. “Rev. Karli has shown outstanding leadership in many different areas in the conference and the jurisdiction, and also with the African American church taskforce and the Black Methodist Church Renewal.”
 
Fowler is quick to mention Pidgeon’s experience in rural and urban settings, as well as small to medium-sized churches; and even campus ministry and is excited about the future.
 
“I am looking forward to this opportunity to expand the work of Church Transformation and New Church Development in Louisiana,” she says. “Pidgeon’s diverse experience and leadership will be an asset to the Conference Office, but most importantly, to the hundreds of churches in our Conference."
 
The Associate Director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development will work alongside the Director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development to provide leadership and oversight to the ministry of the Church Transformation Process and the ministry of developing and nurturing new faith communities.

​
 
“I am thrilled to join the conference staff and Rev. Gloria in the work of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development,” says Pidgeon. “When I first read the job description, it felt like it was created for me.  It is a blessing to use my gifts to benefit not just one church, but the entire Annual Conference.  With my various church and ministry experiences, I look forward to assisting churches in seeing new ways of being and creating spaces for new ministry to grow.”
 
Having found someone for this position inside the Conference is both exciting and strategic. “There were so many who applied for this job, both from in and outside Louisiana. We are excited to find this talent from within, someone with roots in Louisiana,” says Fowler. “Rev. Karli’s knowledge of Louisiana churches and the relationships that she already has with the pastors and the churches will be a huge asset.”
 
Rev. Pidgeon will also assist and coordinate the ministry of revitalization for African-American churches, and work with other churches in the Legacy Church Process.
 
Pidgeon brings with her an extensive and varied background. Prior to her appointment at Cornerstone United Methodist Church, Rev. Pidgeon served as Pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church Natchitoches and Campus Minister of the Wesley Campus Ministry at Northwestern State University.
 
Additionally, she has served as vice chair for the South Central Jurisdiction Mission Council, Chair of the Louisiana Caucus of Black Methodist for Church Renewal, as well as being a member of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and the Annual Conference Design Team.
 
Pidgeon's diverse pastoral and leadership experience is one of the many reasons Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey is excited.
 
"I am delighted Rev. Karli Pidgeon has said agreed to join the conference staff as the associate director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development,” says Bishop Harvey. "Rev. Pidgeon will bring her trademark energy and commitment to the transformation work of the Louisiana Annual Conference. Her knowledge of the Conference, the local church and her campus ministry experience will be a gift to the ministry of the annual conference."
 
Rev. Gloria Fowler serves as Director of Congregational Transformation and New Church Development for the Louisiana Conference, and since her arrival a year ago, she has seen churches all across the connection energized by the resources provided by her office in efforts to multiply churches and to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
 
This new position is made possible because of the strong partnership of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana and the Conference office. The Foundation has agreed to fund this endeavor in a significant way for five years on a declining scale.
 
Rob Fairly, President of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, quickly heard of how much success Rev. Fowler was having inside the Conference. “We were hearing great things and asked how we could help,” Fairly remembers. “She said she needed staffing assistance but did not have the budget.”
 
Fairly and the Foundation immediately found a way to help.
 
“I asked how much that would take,” he says. “We decided to add a bit more and proceeded to ask the grants committee for approval. It’s all part of our mission to be a catalyst in supporting the United Methodist Church in our Conference, and providing support to this position fits that criteria.”
 

---

Rev. Karli Pidgeon is a native of Baton Rouge, LA and a graduate of Spelman College where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Science.  Pidgeon earned a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.