Compared to last year’s successful event, this one was  “bigger and better.” That’s how the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith described the 2025 Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida Vestry Training, “Equipping Vestries: For the Churches, for the Gospel,” held on Saturday, March 8, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden, comparing it with last year’s Vestry Training event. Smith, with input from the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb and the diocesan staff, planned the training and served as plenary session speaker on the topic “Church Size Dynamics.” He also filled in for one of the planned workshop leaders who was unable to attend, holding a town hall on Risk Management and Insurance Basics.

“I also think last year’s Vestry Training went really well,” Smith said. “We had a different lineup of teachers, and they were terrific. I think we were able to zero in a little more this year on the practical needs of congregations in terms of the types of the workshops we did.”

The event was organized into one plenary session and three workshop sessions with three workshop offerings apiece. Three of the six workshops were offered once and three others, twice.

Smith’s executive assistant, Ms. Adria Northern, who provided administrative support for the event, agrees with him about its outcome. “I can confidently say that this year’s Vestry Training was a great success,” she said. “It was evident that parish leaders are hungry for knowledge that they can practically apply in their churches. The attendees demonstrated a strong desire to learn from the experiences and wisdom of lay and clergy leaders who have faced and overcome similar challenges. I feel the breakout session component of Vestry Training is meeting this need.”

“Four members of our vestry attended the recent training,” said the Rev. Jonathan Turtle, rector of Emmanuel, Orlando. “Three of the four were new vestry members and found the day both encouraging and informative. I was happy to attend with them.”

“I thought it was wonderful,” Ms. Cheryl Arnold, new vestry member from Grace, Ocala, said of the Vestry Training. “I didn’t expect so many other people to be there. Getting to meet vestry members from other churches and being part of something so much larger in the diocese was a great opportunity to engage, to hear what some other churches were doing, but then also learn from the other churches too.”

Canon Dan Smith speaks in the plenary session. | Photo courtesy Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida.

Mr. Bill Binneveld, current vestry member from St. James, Leesburg, who has served on the church’s vestry several times through the years, also enjoyed the training event. “It gives you an opportunity to see what other churches are faced with in today’s Christian environment,” he said. “It’s good to know that you’re not the only church having the same struggles, and the Vestry Training also gives you an opportunity to see what other churches are doing to meet their goals.”

Smith’s plenary session, titled “Church Size Dynamics: The Impact on Size, Leadership, Culture, Growth and Conflict,” focused on five different sizes of congregations and how size affects those various areas. “There are some things that are unique to a congregation, but there are some things that are pretty stereotypical based on size,” he said. “Basically there are five different categories of congregational size: family, pastoral, transition, program and resource sizes.

“Virtually every priest who attended a traditional seminary is trained in a pastoral-sized congregation, and if they’re in a different-sized congregation, they need to work on their skills,” he continued. “Lay leaders need to understand what the clerical roles – and their own roles – are for different sizes. Size can make a big difference when it comes to the culture and the way you lead a congregation.”

Arnold said the plenary session spoke directly to the needs of her church, which is currently experiencing changes associated with growth. “Understanding all of those dynamics and how they’re unique to each size was really helpful,” she said. “One of the things Canon Dan mentioned is that longtime members may grieve some of these changes that are brought about by growth and miss what they experienced at an earlier stage. We need to acknowledge their feelings and allow them to grieve rather than trying to minimize it or brush past it. … I thought that was really helpful.”

Smith said the content for Vestry Training was based on this year’s diocesan theme, “For the Churches, for the Gospel” and on needs and desires expressed by congregations themselves.

Archdeacon Julie Altenbach speaks on “The Role of Deacons with Congregations and Vestries.” | Photo: KEITH WINTER

“One of the first things I told the diocesan staff when I came on board was that we exist for the congregations, not the other way around,” he said. “Our program life has to exist for the congregations and be a benefit to them, rather than us deciding what we think they need to know. At our Clergy Conferences, at our Diocesan Conventions, at the Vestry Trainings, we’re striving to gear all the content toward the stated needs and what we’re hearing from the congregations.”

Workshops and leaders for this year’s Vestry Training were as follows:

• Designing with Purpose: Simplifying Social Media and Website Strategies for Your Church, Mr. Keith Winter.
• From Headwinds to Full Sails: Being a Courageous Church in Uncertain Times, the Rev. Canon Ellis Brust.
• From Surviving to Thriving: Casting Vision and Leading From the Front, the Rev. Chris Rodriguez.
• Investment and Cash Management, Mr. Roman Franklin.
• Risk Management and Insurance Basics, town hall with the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith.
• The Role of Deacons with Congregations and Vestries, the Ven. Julie Altenbach and the Ven. John Motis.

Arnold and Binneveld also found the workshop sessions practical and inspiring. “From Headwinds to Full Sails” with Canon Brust had lots of takeaways,” Arnold said. “I taught at a Christian school a few years ago that went through the same material he spoke about, so I already knew the principles, but to revisit those and then see them applied to the church setting was really helpful. He talked about the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset and gave some really specific examples that helped.” Binneveld also mentioned this workshop as one that offered practical information for vestry members.

Father Chris Rodriguez presents his workshop on “From Surviving to Thriving.” | Photo courtesy Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida

Turtle, Arnold and Binneveld also attended the workshop by the Rev. Chris Rodriguez, rector of Trinity, Vero Beach, on “From Surviving to Thriving” and discovered practical takeaways for their churches. Turtle described the workshop as “encouraging, particularly the emphasis on strategic planning and thinking they had done.”

Binneveld, a retired banking industry professional, also emphasized the value of “Investment and Cash Management” by diocesan CFO Roman Franklin. “He did a great job,” he said of Franklin. “That session helped you see what other investment and management avenues are out there and gave you an idea of what the diocese offers as well.”

Overall, the Vestry Training was “very practical for any church,” Arnold said. “It wasn’t specific to new vestry members or to a single church situation, but there was a really wide range of workshops and a lot of takeaways for churches at various sizes and stages of growth.”

Turtle agrees. “The training was great for our group, new and experienced members alike,” he said. “It was encouraging to hear from people at the diocesan office and be reminded that the mission of the church is always the same, to make disciples of Jesus Christ, and everything else needs to work to support that.”

Smith and the others encourage congregations to send their vestries to next year’s Vestry Training event. “What we will continue to do with Vestry Training is to gear it around the practical, ongoing work of churches to share the gospel effectively and to be able to grow and prosper as congregations,” Smith said. “We really do have a desire to make this a strong, practical, on-the-ground information and training. It’s all about trying to help congregations live out their mission and ministry to the fullest extent possible: ‘for the churches, for the gospel.'”