[link removed]

August 11, 2021
[link removed] District Website →
#toc2 Save the Date: Charge Conference Schedule and Forms
#toc3 Free Used Color Printer Available From District Office
#toc4 Developing Digital Faith Communities Workshop
#toc5 Leading in Unchartered Territory with Tod Bolsinger - Sept. 9
#toc6 New Places For New People Grants - Application Deadline Sept. 15
#toc7 NW Lay Servant Class: Pastoral Care Giving-Online
#toc8 BMCR's "Resurgence: Navigating the Changing Ministry Landscape"
#toc9 Manchester's "Walk Justly" Conference - Oct. 22-24

Save the Date: Charge Conference Schedule and Forms
We are taking our fall charge conferences in an exciting new direction this year. Instead of doing them in the fall like usual, we are scheduling them in January. This will give churches additional time to set salaries in better alignment with their 2022 budget; and full time pastors to enroll in health insurance, complete the PSF and Addendum all at the same time. It also means new leaders for the coming year will not have to be nominated 3-4 months in advance of when their leadership role begins. Even though the charge conference dates will be in mid-January, the Pastoral Support Form and new leadership teams will still be effective January 1.
We are offering 3 locations for in person charge conferences in January. Each location will have a suggestion on the area of the district that should attend. However, you are free to attend any location that best fits your schedule. More information on registration for the locations will be sent at a later date. We will not be holding any individual charge conferences this year. All churches must attend one of these.
Sunday, January 9 from 2:00pm-4:00pm - Memorial UMC in Farmington

Saturday, January 15 from 9:30am-11:30am - Hermann UMC

Sunday, January 16 from 2:00pm-4:00pm - St. Charles County Location TBD

All of the charge conference forms, including the Pastoral Support Forms, are now available for download on the [link removed] Forms page of the district website. With the change in schedule, there is also a change in the deadline to submit the forms to the district office. All Forms, including the PSF Addendum for Full Time Pastors, will be due to the district office by Wednesday, December 1. We will not accept any forms that do not have the necessary signatures.
[link removed] Forms →

Free Used Color Printer Available From District Office
The District Office has a free used color printer available for pickup. It's an HP OfficeJet Pro 276dw multifunction printer and is a few years old. The unit will need a new printhead (about $180) installed before it will work. If you are interested in the printer, please mailto:[email protected] Email Me. We will give this away on a first come, first serve basis.


Developing Digital Faith Communities Workshop
Registration closes Aug. 17
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
[link removed] Learn More →

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.
[link removed] Register →

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.
[link removed] Learn More →

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 [link removed] Cokesbury, and [link removed] 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.
[link removed] Register →

BMCR's "Resurgence: Navigating the Changing Ministry Landscape"
Is your church making a significant difference in relevant mission or ministry? As a leader, are you seeking to know how to lead into the future? What would a fresh wind that rejuvenates a declining congregation, navigating societal shifts, look and feel like? One word: Resurgence, which is a rejuvenation of fresh wind. If ever there was time the church needed a refreshing and resurgence, it's now.
The St.Louis Chapter of BMCR is hosting a class based on the book Resurgence: Navigating the Changing Ministry Landscape by Rev. Drs. Candace Lewis and Rodney T. Smothers. They will be our teachers on Saturday, October 2 from 9 a.m. -12:00 p.m. This learning and leadership event is part of the Ignite Leadership Academy.
[link removed] Learn More →

Manchester's "Walk Justly" Conference - Oct. 22-24
Registration is now open!
Building on our rich Wesleyan heritage of social holiness, [link removed] 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

[link removed] Register →

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Gateway Regional District of the Missouri Annual Conference | 301 Sovereign Court, Suite 100 Ballwin, Missouri, 63011-4435 | (636) 891-8004 ext. 21 | www.gatewayregional.moumethodist.org