SWEEP, SWEEPS
A process of congregational self-evaluation for mission and ministry. The name is an acronym for five aspects of church mission as expressed in “The Next Step in Mission”: service, worship, evangelism, education, and pastoral care. The Next Step was adopted by General Convention in 1982 at the suggestion of Presiding Bishop John M. Allin. It followed the “Venture in Mission” program, which was begun in 1976. It continued in use in the church in the 1990s. Some clergy and lay leaders added stewardship as a sixth aspect of church mission, resulting in the modified acronym “SWEEPS.”
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.