Response - GDC An AME Church Failed Project

By Rev. Royd Mwandu, 17th Episcopal District TCR Field Representative

Greetings from Maputo in Mozambique! I am attending the Global Development Council (GDC) of our great Zion. Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence is the venue. We have in attendance AME’s drawn from across the length and breadth of the AME Church.

In my earlier article, I mentioned that expectations are high for the accredited delegates attending the 2026 GDC. I asked one probable question: “Is the Global Development Council (GDC) branded as an AME Church failed project? I now endeavour to provide some solutions to the four key issues I raised as follows:

DEVELOPING AND CONSOLIDATING A UNIFIED VOICE FOR DISTRICTS 14-20.

A single, consistent, and recognizable way for GDC to communicate across all channels, teams, and touch points.
Aligning messaging, tone, and personality so that whether members across the Connectional church are on social media, reading an email, or interacting with GDC members, they experience the same brand personality.
This involves defining the “personality” and rules of communication to ensure it is not fragmented.
Identifying the GDC core values, mission, and GDC traits (e.g., is the GDC indeed Global, witty, professional, or authoritative?)
Establishing a GDC voice document or style guide that outlines tone, language, and, in some cases, visual rules.
Researching the target demographic to ensure the voice resonates with them.

CONSOLIDATING A UNIFIED VOICE (THE OPERATIONAL PHASE)

This involves embedding the defined voice across the organization to ensure it is consistently applied.
Ensuring everyone in the GDC organization— in all auxiliaries — understands and uses the same voice.
Assigning leaders or creating a single source of truth (e.g., a style guide) to prevent mixed messages.
Ensuring that despite different formats (e.g., a casual Instagram post vs. a formal white paper), the core message and tone remain coherent.
For once, the GDC Countries must resolve to unite to achieve the set aspirations.

MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION IN CONNECTIONAL LEADERSHIP BY PERSONS FROM DISTRICTS 14-20 IS A CONCERN.

This is a respectful, ethical, and continuous process in which stakeholders in the GDC—especially marginalized countries in Episcopal Districts—are actively involved at all stages of decision-making, from planning to implementation, rather than merely being consulted. (Some countries in Africa are consistently unrepresented at the GDC level)
The GDC must provide transparent information, ensuring genuine influence over outcomes, and fostering two-way communication.
GDC members have the power to shape policies, programs, or decisions that affect their lives.
Engaging diverse stakeholders and those traditionally unheard, ensuring equitable representation.
Moving past one-off, tokenism feedback to co-creation, co-planning, and shared decision-making.
Providing relevant, timely information and creating safe spaces for dialogue.
A continuous, sustained process rather than a single event.

CHURNING OUT A CLEAR PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF DISTRICTS 14-20.

It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Fail to plan is plan to fail”.
The GDC needs effective preparation and a strategy for leadership development.
Foresight is the key to the GDC’s inevitable failure management.
Development of a defined roadmap and goals to be achieved
Resource allocation and the ability to handle challenges in the right direction.
Planning allows one to anticipate issues and create solutions, rather than simply reacting to problems as they occur.
A plan provides a road map, ensuring resources are used efficiently and efforts are focused on achieving specific objectives.
It acts as a defense against disorder (entropy), ensuring that tasks, whether personal or Connectional, are completed successfully.
If you do not actively plan to succeed, your inaction (or lack of preparation) is an unconscious decision to let things go wrong.

ACTIVATING THE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR THE AME CHURCH IN DISTRICTS 14-20.

“Great potential” refers to a high, untapped capacity for growth, development, or success in a person, idea, or object within the GDC territories.
It indicates promising future prospects, suggesting that, while not fully developed yet, something can achieve significant, positive results.
This implies a strong probability of future achievement.
– It highlights that something has substantial, often unrecognized or underutilized, capabilities.
A “person of great potential” implies a talented or gifted individual who can achieve great things in their career or life.
A project with “great potential” has a high chance of success or, for example, producing significant profits.
Promising, vast, considerable, immense, or significant capabilities.
Activating the great potential means something (or someone) has all the necessary ingredients to become something much greater in the future. This is exactly what the GDC is.
Generally speaking, the atmosphere is charged. The breakout sessions deliberating on the presentation on Strategic Planning by Presiding Elder Betty Kauna Schroder will provide further solutions to improve the GDC’s effectiveness.