Positive Change Continues at Bustling Diocesan Center

From the Executive Director

Dr. Sam Mikaelian

How many phone calls, on average, do you think the Diocesan Center receives every day? The estimates came back from around the room: a dozen; thirty; fifty at most.

During a three-week period in October, our switchboard logged 3,334 calls—or an average of 145 calls per day. That’s just incoming calls; there are also outgoing calls—to say nothing of the e-mails, faxes, and good old-fashioned letters that move through our offices on a daily basis.

These figures help illustrate the great “untold story” of the Diocesan Center. To the outside world, the Diocesan Center is a “great unknown”: most people don’t even begin to appreciate what goes on there. But the truth is that there’s simply so much going on— such a flood of people and events, programs and publications, flowing through our offices—that even the people doing the work don’t always realize the magnitude of what they’re achieving!

The accomplishments this year were the result of contributions of all the staff at the Diocesan Center and numerous volunteers:

Employees: We have preliminary job-descriptions for all staff.

Our Diocesan Website has expanded to become a powerful vehicle for people to communicate with us. About 8,000 visitors every month inquire about our church, heritage and culture; about donation procedures and prayer requests; about programs registration and local parishes—among other questions.

A new publication aimed towards church leaders—The Armenian Church Leader—was launched.

Our tried-and-true flagship magazine, The Armenian Church Magazine includes a new bookstore catalog insert.

A technology summit revealed much of the equipment at the Diocesan Center is outdated. A three-year purchase plan was implemented to provide new equipment.

Our new bookstore website is steadily gaining popularity, prompting a revenue increase.

Our College Ministry program was launched in December to address our perceived needs in Youth and Christian Education, bridging the gap between Sunday School graduation and post-college church participation. College Ministry is also an important outreach program that will support other ministries.

Supporting and organizing the whole operation is our new administrative structure at the Diocese, conceived in response to an independent evaluation conducted in April 2001, at the direction of the Diocesan Council. The specifics of the new structure were outlined in a recent issue of The Armenian Church magazine, but I want to emphasize that the organizational plan is futuristic, current, and relevant, with regard to similar religious institutions and denominations. Perhaps the biggest change is the new, unified Department of Youth and Education—which encompasses the roles of our former educational and youth ministry departments.

One achievement that really stands out for me is the meeting of Parish Council Chairpersons we held at the Diocesan Center in November: the very first gathering of its kind, with over 30 parishes represented.

These achievements are just the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, I cannot express to you how optimistic I feel about the prospects for this organization. After many years of experience in similar positions, I’ve learned to always be guarded about my expectations, so I’ll simply say: The future is guardedly bright. Our plan for the Diocese in the upcoming months will revolve around the following concerns:

Continuing to improve the infrastructure of the Diocesan Center.

Creating effective instructional technology and investigate online learning programs.

Continuing to develop data-analysis tools to will help us make solid, informed decisions about the future.

Ensuring the continued growth and development of our programs and missions, and the success of our newly acquired facility, the Ararat Youth and Conference Center.

With your help, we are determined to succeed in all of these initiatives.