Congregational Excellence Prayer Team [link removed] Hello Friends!
My oldest will turn 16 in two weeks. He’s an incredible driver. Not all kids are. I sure wasn’t. But my oldest is. He’s driven from Kansas City to St. Louis on 70, he can parallel park and he knows how to drive a manual. I don’t foresee my youngest picking it up this quickly, or having the same confidence or skill (I could of course be wrong). I’m just sharing the facts with you as I see them. It’s interesting to see something that you aren’t sure everyone else can see.
As a local pastor, I often wondered if the folks in my church saw the same things for the future of our church that I did. I do know for a fact that there were some who wondered if I saw what they did! These were the truly amazing experiences for me, catching a vision that a lay person had and fanning the flame of the Spirit.
In this role of congregational development, revitalization or planting, the dreaming phase when folks submit grants for new things they want to see in their midst is an exhilarating phase for me. Our grant deadline is April 1 and includes the same categories we’ve had for a while: small groups, recovery ministries, fresh expressions (renamed from missional communities), new worship services, or a multi-site or new church. There is also a category we debuted in the fall called collaborative partnerships, where a smaller church teams up with a larger church for resource-sharing. These grants can be found at [link removed] www.moumethodist.org/newplacesgrants.
Will you join me in prayer for pastors, lay people and churches to “see things others don’t”, and have the courage to risk for the Kingdom?
Holy Spirit – we recognize that often you stir the hearts and minds of some folks who get to see something the rest of us don’t. We ask that in the spirit of renewal you would sweep through our Conference and embolden people to dream/risk new ministry opportunities to expand you Kingdom in their community. May creativity, courage, hope and strength abound! In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen!


Forward this email [link removed]
View in browser [link removed]
To unsubscribe or manage mailings go to [link removed]
[link removed] Subscribe to our newsletter
Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
3601 Amron Court, Columbia, MO 65202 | Phone 573-441-1770 | www.moumethodist.org