August 4, 2021

Developing Digital Faith Communities Workshop

Over the past 18-months, many churches have developed an online worship service and digital presence. But livestreaming worship alone isn’t enough to make disciples online.

Join Rev. Cathy Townley, your digital worship coach, for a two-part workshop on taking the next step to develop your online faith community. Cathy will teach you to:

• Connect with your worship viewers and build relationships with them

• Develop ways to help them grow as disciples of Jesus

• Provide Bible studies and member care

• Plan online serving opportunities that impact your community

• Develop participant giving to help support the work of your ministries

This learning opportunity is designed for churches seeking to go beyond just online services by making disciples in digital spaces.

Training sessions will be held from 4-6 p.m. on two Tuesdays, August 24 and 31. Registering signs you up for both sessions. Registration is $10.

Leading in Unchartered Territory with Tod Bolsinger - Sept. 9

Space is limited for this IN-PERSON event.

For the better part of a generation, the church has faced a rapidly changing world, one that has pushed the church out of the center of the culture to the margins. Then COVID-19 happened, and the disruption to church as we knew it accelerated. Join us on September 9 for a workshop on learning to lead all over again in a totally disrupted environment. Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains and Tempered Resilience, will serve as our guide into the uncharted territory.

MO State PAUMCS Conference - Sept 10-11

Are you a United Methodist church administrator/secretary/volunteer or pastor? You are invited to the upcoming fall Conference of the Missouri Chapter of Professional Administrators of the United Methodist Connectional Structure (PAUMCS) September 10-11, 2021. We gather once a year to provide training and information, networking, worship, and fellowship. 
 
The 2021 Fall Conference will start Friday, September 10 at 12:30 PM and end on Saturday, September 11 by 5:00 PM. The conference sessions will explore:

• Basics of United Methodist Terminology and Structure

• Techniques for working with different personalities and difficult people

• Tools for balancing the demands of ministry, work and life with a steady hand

• Opportunities to network and collaborate with other admins

The tentative location will be in Columbia, MO but in-person versus virtual is to be determined. The schedule, location and registration will be announced in mid-August.

New Places For New People Grants - Application Deadline Sept. 15

Congregational Excellence is accepting grant applications from now until September 15 from churches that are establishing new places for new people. The first step is to fill out a worksheet and submit it to your District Superintendent.

NW Lay Servant Class: Pastoral Care Giving-Online

Summary of Class: 
This course offers insights into the life span and the dynamics of contemporary life to help church leaders reach out with God’s love and care to others.

Description:
This class will be hosted by the Northwest District office and offered virtually via Zoom. Please ensure you can attend each class, held Wednesdays in the month of September (1, 8, 15, 22) from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.

Participants will need the book “Lay Pastoral Care Giving” by Tim Farabaugh. It is available through Cokesbury, and Amazon.  Participants are responsible for purchasing the book before class. Along with reading your book prior to the class, please be prepared for coursework to be assigned.  

There are no prerequisites required to take this course. It counts as an advanced lay servant ministry class upon completion. Attendance at each class is required to receive completion status.  

We can host up to 20 participants, and registration will close by end of day Monday, August 23, 2021.

Plan to have your book, a notebook, a pen and your bible with you at each class. You will receive the class Zoom link one week prior to the start of class.

Part-Time Ministerial Leaders Education Program

Part-Time Ministerial Leaders, or PML, is an educational multi-tool that is designed to be both a program (like a degree) and individual courses (freestanding course opportunities). Its dual purpose fulfills four educational needs in our Conference.

Who is PML for?

• Any lay person who wants to learn more about the Methodist tradition

• PML is the designated educational program for those pursuing Certified Lay Minister

• It’s the Missouri Course of Study program available to local pastors who have recently completed licensing school

• PML serves as an extension school for regular Course of Study. It’s available to part-time local pastors needing to fulfill a regular COS course.

How do I get started?

For those seeking to be Certified Lay Ministers and local pastors who have recently completed licensing school, PML begins with the PML Introduction, a digital course offered on Canvas.

Manchester's "Walk Justly" Conference - Oct. 22-24

Registration is now open!

Building on our rich Wesleyan heritage of social holiness, Manchester UMC will host Methodists from across the connection in a two-day conference dedicated to the topic of “Just Missions.” The Walk Justly Conference is a NEW annual gathering of Methodist pastors, ministry leaders, and congregants who are dedicated to creating change in their local communities.  

Conference Experience includes:

• Conference and District led networking lunches

• Workshops for pastors and laity

• Daily Worship

• Interactive Worship Arts and Prayer Opportunities

• Keynote Panel on conditions of poverty that highlight similarities and differences between urban, suburban, and rural Poverty

 Workshops include (but are not limited to):

• Ministry Highlights (Rural, Urban, Suburban),

• Introduction to Race and Poverty,

• Preaching to a Diverse Context,

• Faith and Social Engagement,

• Starting a Social Justice Ministry,

• Upgrading Your Little Food Pantry