[link removed]

November 23, 2021
[link removed] District Website →
#toc2 District Office Closed
#toc3 Charge Conference Schedule and Forms - Due Next Week!
#toc4 Giving Tuesday Focus: Mozambique Initiative
#toc5 Changing Church For a Changing World
#toc6 2021 Conference & District Apportionments - Deadline Jan. 10
#toc7 Conference Lay Servant Ministry Class: Polity – Our Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (Online)
#toc8 2021 Year End Stats - Deadline Jan. 24

District Office Closed
The District Office will be closed Wednesday, November 24 - Friday, November 26 for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you have a pastoral emergency, please contact Linda Harris directly at 314-583-7251. The office will reopen on Monday, November 29.


Charge Conference Schedule and Forms - Due Next Week!
The deadline to sign up for a charge conference location is next Wednesday, December 1. If you have not done so yet, please make sure you sign up ASAP.
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. All forms should be approved by church council/leadership prior to submitting them to the district office by the deadline. 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. You are free to attend any location that best fits your schedule. We will not be holding any individual charge conferences this year. All churches must attend one of these.
Sunday, January 9 from 2:00pm-3:30pm - Memorial UMC in Farmington

Saturday, January 15 from 9:30am-11:00am - Hermann UMC

Sunday, January 16 from 2:00pm-3:30pm - SunRise UMC

[link removed] Sign Up →
Each church should sign up once for your preferred location. To do so:
Check Sign Up for your preferred time slot

Click "Submit and Sign Up" Button

On the following screen, your name and time slot will appear. There will be another box for you to enter the number of people attending from your church.

Click "Sign Up Now" to complete your sign up.

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. Any paperwork not turned in on time will result in removal from your timeslot on the Sign Up and a conversation with the DS.
[link removed] Forms →

Giving Tuesday Focus: Mozambique Initiative
For teenage girls in Mozambique, marrying before age 18 isn’t uncommon. With no economic opportunity outside of marriage, many young girls find themselves in early and often difficult marriages.

Local United Methodist Churches in Mozambique are helping girls avoid these situations by training them to sew. This vocational skill allows girls and women to both be financially independent and to help support their families.

The Mozambique Initiative helps meet the greatest needs of partner communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Our partners in Mozambique shared their hope to empower women and support girls by multiplying these sewing and design centers at churches across the country. We’re asking YOU to consider making a gift towards the Mozambique Initiative’s Giving Tuesday campaign. This year Giving Tuesday is November 30.
[link removed] Learn More →

Changing Church For a Changing World
Changing Church for a Changing World Missouri Vision Day
December 4th, 2021 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Charleston UMC
1700 E Marshall St., Charleston, MO 63834
In the midst of a rapidly changing ministry landscape, Fresh Expressions invites you to join us for a day of envisioning the unique ways the Holy Spirit might be inviting you to step deeper into mission.
In this interactive day of training you will:
Catalyze a vision for a church that sends out the everyday people of God to be on mission in their networks and neighborhoods

Brainstorm ways to connect with people your church may not be currently engaging

Discover how fresh expressions of church can emerge alongside your traditional church

Explore creative ways of being the church in the world today

Click the file linked below for the flyer. For more information contact Charleston UMC, 573-683-6188 or mailto:[email protected] Pastor Robb Webster.
[link removed] Register →

2021 Conference & District Apportionments - Deadline Jan. 10
The final date to submit 2021 apportionment payments is January 10th, 2022. Any apportionment payment sent after December 31st, 2021 will need to be sent with guaranteed delivery before 4:30 p.m. on the 8th (i.e. FedEx/UPS/USPS Guaranteed Deliver). Payments may always be hand-delivered to the Conference Office in Columbia or the District Office in Ballwin during business hours. Any payments received after 4:30 p.m. on January 10, 2022 will not be credited to 2021 apportionments.

Missouri Annual Conference
3601 Amron Ct.
Columbia, MO 65202

Gateway Regional District
301 Sovereign Ct.
Suite 100
Ballwin, MO 63011


Conference Lay Servant Ministry Class: Polity – Our Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (Online)
Have you ever wondered how this movement of Methodism started, how and why we do what we do and how we do it, at the local, district and Conference level? This class unpacks a lot of history of Methodism, along with why we believe what we believe, and the “hows and whys” of why we are organized the way we are. This is a great class for all laity to understand who the people called Methodists really are. It is an advanced Lay Servant Ministry class and required for laity seeking to obtain a certified lay speaking status.

The class will be taught by Rev. Ann Mowery, a retired Methodist elder. It will be an online Zoom class, with video, reading and other homework to be done between meeting times. The videos are narrated and produced by Rev. Nate Berneking, Conference director of finance and administration.

The class will be held four times from 7-8:30 p.m. on Zoom. Class dates are January 25, February 1, February 8 and February 15, 2022. The maximum number of participants for this course is 20 people.

In addition, participants will need to purchase the book, [link removed] Life Together in the United Methodist Connection by Beth Galbreath. Two other books are recommended for this course, but not required. The first is [link removed] The Method of our Mission by Laceye C. Warner. The other is [link removed] Polity, Practice, and the Mission of the United Methodist Church by Thomas Edward Frank. In addition, weekly videos, reading and discussion questions will be done in between class times.

A Zoom link will be sent to registrants before class begins. There is no cost to take this course, but the books are to be purchased by participants.
[link removed] Register →

2021 Year End Stats - Deadline Jan. 24
Below are the important dates regarding the 2021 Year End Stats.
Stats module opens – December, 27 2021

Stats Deadline Entry - January 24, 2022

Stats module closes – January, 31 2022 - No changes can be made after the module closes

The link to the Stats Module is below. The module is not open for reporting yet, but you can access previous years if you need that information now. You will need to know your church's Conference ID and GCFA #s. Both can be found on your conference apportionment statements.

[link removed] Click Here for the conference's year end stats resources page to view previous webinars that are helpful in breaking down each line of the Year End Stats module. There are also other resources on this page that might be useful as you prepare to enter your 2021 stats.
[link removed] Stats Module →

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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