Two missioners have been named to the Mission Amplification team, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas announced today. Jason Evans has been named Missioner for Missional Communities, a position for which he is uniquely qualified. The Rev. Elizabeth Magill has been named the Associate Missioner for Congregational Initiatives. Magill is currently Campus Missioner at the University of Texas in Austin, and brings a wealth of energy and fresh ideas. Evans will assume his duties August 22, while Magill will join the team September 6.

 

"Both of these extraordinary new staff members for our Mission Amp team will be instrumental in helping our congregations envision and begin new missional communities and connect in new ways to their neighbors," said the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas. The Mission Amplification team is charged with the planting of 25 new congregations, 50 missional communities and 20 new campus missions within the next five years as well as the support and coaching of 153 existing congregations.

 

"I know both Jason and Beth bring energy, experience and ideas to the team and that they will add much to support the vision we have to make a difference in our communities throughout the diocese," the Bishop added.

 

Evans is currently the Young Adult Missioner in the Diocese of Washington and most recently coordinated the "Missional Voices Conference" held at Virginia Theological Seminary. The conference was billed as "a weekend of thinking, planning and dreaming about the future of missional communities and innovative ministries in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion ... a place where dynamic incubation of new ideas is the norm ... and where people doing uncommon ministry find support and encouragement." It is this spirit that Evans brings to his new role in the Diocese of Texas.

 

"My passion has long been to help faith communities discover and participate in whatever God is doing in their neighborhoods," Evans said. "I'm encouraged by the efforts the Diocese of Texas has taken in this direction and I'm excited to do what I can to further this mission."

 

Before joining the staff of the Diocese of Washington, Evans worked with a number of emerging church communities to provide support and coaching for new church communities, taught and preached in numerous venues. He holds a certificate in urban ministry from Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas and a masters of arts in global leadership from Fuller Seminary, California.

 

	The Rev. Elizabeth Magill

A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Magill graduated from William & Mary with a degree in sociology and received her Masters in Divinity from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in 2009. She served as associate at St. David's following her ordination, and prior to her ministry at the Episcopal Student Center where she has served since 2011. During her tenure at the Student Center, Magill established an advisory board to ensure sustainability of the ministry, worked to empower student leaders and deepen their spiritual formation. She has been instrumental, since Canon John Newton's move to the position of Chief of Staff, in supporting campus missioners across the diocese and keeping them connected to one another. Over her six and a half years in the Diocese of Texas, she has served on the Executive Board, the Quin Foundation Board, the Strategic Mission Grants Committee, and as a session director at Camp Allen. She sees a bright future for the Episcopal Church because of her experience.

"I am overjoyed with the level of engagement and deep commitment of young people to the Episcopal Church," she said, "We have a hopeful future in store."

 

Regarding the new position, Magill said: "It is a privilege to be in a diocese that is empowering leaders to become more creative in how we reach the world. I'm honored to be a part of the effort."

 

The position for the Canon for Mission Amplification, to succeed Mary MacGregor who leads the team and retires in February 2017, will be posted in the coming weeks.