News
January 10, 2018
The Lay Leader
By Mitch Ross What does a Lay Leader really do? The United Methodist Church Book of Discipline outlines responsibilities for lay leaders, but that is the easy answer. To answer candidly, we need to recognize the ...
January 07, 2018
The Power of my Grandfather’s Prayer
By Lydia Istomina When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12 In spite of present ...
January 03, 2018
Rev. Molly Moore to be Conference Ministerial Leadership Recruitment Coordinator
Rev. Molly Moore has been named as the part-time Ministerial Leadership Recruitment Coordinator. She will begin in this role on Jan. 1, 2018. Molly is an ordained deacon with years of experience in discipleship ...
December 23, 2017
Advent Reflections from the Mozambique Initiative
By Craig Stevenson The season of Advent is upon us, and as we anxiously await the arrival of our savior, Jesus, I also think about what this time of year conjures up for me. This time of year I am full of nearly the ...
December 21, 2017
Coming Together for Sharing
By Sidney Owens On the third weekend in October, youth through retirees gathered to carry out the work necessary to feed, clothe and comfort our brothers and sisters in need. This 36-year-old tradition was an ...
December 12, 2017
Breathe
As the Advent season begins, remember to breathe. Remember the birth of God’s son Jesus grounds our identity in God’s grace and not in ourselves. Craig Finnestad writes a liturgy prayer “Christmas” in his book, Prayers ...
December 03, 2017
Building for Education
When Ava Swafford approached fellow Community UMC member Sass Tracy about building desks for schools in Nicaragua, he said sure. It would be something to do. “If you aren’t doing something, you’ll just die,” he ...
December 03, 2017
Not So New People
The other day I was in a church with Oliver, my 13 year-old, and he looked around and said, “Dad, have you noticed that everyone here is pretty old.” “Yes,” I replied. “But, like in a few of years, who’s ...
December 02, 2017
Chartering The Way
There are many different models of new church starts, and often as soon as a church launches, it looks and feels like a church to everyone involved. But in the United Methodist Church there is an official process for ...
December 02, 2017
Four Weeks of Advent
By Amy Thompson Advent is the season of the church in which we prepare our lives for the coming of Christ. Growing up, my favorite part of Advent was placing our advent wreath with its three purple candles and one pink ...
December 01, 2017
Formalism
By Hal Knight We have been looking at dangers to the Christian life. This month and next I want to examine what may be for Wesley the greatest danger of all: formalism. In our day this is often called “nominal ...
December 01, 2017
New Hope's Day of Service
New Hope UMC in Arnold has been providing a special day of service in the fall each year for six years. This year was the most successful yet. The church had more than 100 people who worked on eight different mission ...
December 01, 2017
New Scholarship Benefits Five Missouri Candidates
“This connects a lot of dots in support of our Missouri students,” said David Atkins, executive director of the Missouri United Methodist Foundation. “The Lilly Endowment, Wespath, GBHEM, the UM Seminaries, the Missouri ...
December 01, 2017
Parting Shot
By Eric Mattson “All of us are meaning-seekers. We approach every painting, novel, film, symphony or ballet unconsciously hoping it will move us one step further on the journey toward answering the question ‘Why am I ...
December 01, 2017
Sing Along
By Ryan McLouth Have you ever noticed that congregations seem to participate less in singing in recent years? This is a growing challenge that churches should be addressing sooner than later. Part of the issue is that ...
November 22, 2017
Cheap Grace
By Hal Knight Last month we looked at how legalism endangers the way of salvation. Now I want to identify the opposite danger, and to begin not with John Wesley but the 20th century theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a ...
November 22, 2017
Stride: Creating a Pathway of Discipleship
Mike Schreiner grew up in Jackson in the Southeast District. His home church was New McKendree UMC. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State with a major in pre-medicine/interdisciplinary studies, and graduated from ...
November 14, 2017
Immediate Critical Needs in Haiti
Food insecurity remains at crisis level in Haiti. Hurricane Matthew devastated the bread basket of Haiti in October of 2016. Beyond the devastation to houses and the reported 1,000 lives lost in the country, livestock ...
November 14, 2017
Revelation and Response
By Ryan McLouth Do the actions and songs of your worship service provide opportunities for both revelation and response? As worship musicians and leaders, it is our job to ensure that worshipers have the opportunity to ...
November 13, 2017
Prayer Circles of Thanksgiving
By Amy Thompson The month of November reminds us to be thankful as we celebrate Thanksgiving. I along with many of you offer thanks for our health, family members, friends, employment and healing. I also offer thanks ...
November 10, 2017
A New Way of Engaging the World
John’s disciples reported back to him the news of all these events taking place. He sent two of them to the Master to ask the question, “Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?” The men showed up ...
November 10, 2017
Bishops Uphold Values in Interim Report on Way Forward Work
By Fred Koenig Placing emphasis on the values of unity, space and contextuality - all for the sake of mission – the Council of Bishops is exploring sketches of three models as possible directions for a way forward for ...
November 10, 2017
Ministry with the Military
Many churches are engaged with various types of ministry with the armed services when war is at the forefront of the news, but fewer remained so when conflicts stretch on and the attention of the nation is elsewhere. The...
November 10, 2017
Operation Healthy Delta
Two United Methodist Churches in southeast Missouri were occupied by the military for more than a week in September. The joint act of community service had people lined up outside the doors each morning. The U.S. ...
November 10, 2017
The Ship is my Parish
One thing Commander Tom Statler appreciates about serving in his role as Navy chaplain is that it is very people centric. He’s not attached to a chapel. When the troops that he ministers to deploy, he deploys with them. ...
November 10, 2017
UMC Bishops call for respectful conversations in time of uncertainty
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, November 10, 2017 UMC Bishops call for respectful conversations in time of uncertainty LAKE JUNALUSKA, NORTH CAROLINA _ United Methodist Church bishops are calling on members of the ...
November 06, 2017
Calling for Kinship: Monthly dialogues provide space to discuss walks toward social justice
The first in a new series of monthly dialogues at the Center for Social Empowerment was a timely one. The center, located at Wellspring United Methodist Church in Ferguson, was facilitating a conversation about race and ...
November 04, 2017
Seven Keys to Reaching the Next Generation
By Lauren Miers Reaching the next generation centers on listening up and meeting Generation Z (those born from 2001 to 2018) where they are. On October 14, the Office of Next Generation Ministries hosted its annual ...
November 01, 2017
"... I was in prison and you visited me." Matthew 25
Jesus only names about a half a dozen things people need to do when it comes down to being on the right side of the sheep/goat divide at the end of the line. The whole food, water, clothes, sick care, stranger welcoming ...
November 01, 2017
Boonville Inmates Find Inspiration in Community Service
Story by Yehyun Kim, Photos by Pam Houser A man in a prison uniform stood on a podium Sunday morning at Nelson Memorial United Methodist Church and spoke to a group of church members and nine inmates from the Boonville ...
November 01, 2017
Clergy Encouraged to Consider All Options on Conference Group Health Plan
In October, Director of Finance & Administration Nate Berneking and staff took to the road to explain changes coming to the Conference’s group health plan for 2018. The Annual Conference session approved those changes in...
November 01, 2017
Keep the Movement Moving
Southeast District Superintendent Bruce Baxter has transitioned into his position with a guiding principle that serves as a lens through which to view any present or future ministry. “I ask you to help me stay focused ...
November 01, 2017
New Wineskins
On October 9–11 the Missouri Conference’s Center for Congregational Excellence presented New Wineskins, a conference centered on replicating healthy ministry through multi-site ministries, relocations, creative ...
November 01, 2017
Parting Shot
By Eric Mattson Many of my photos have to do with relationships. My eye is often drawn to images of glances between people, someone touching another in a meaningful way, people engaged in a common activity such as ...
November 01, 2017
Robin Shepard to be next Conference Disaster Relief Coordinator
The Missouri Annual Conference announced that Robin Shepard has been selected as the next Conference Disaster Relief Coordinator. She begins her work this week. Robin grew up in St. Louis, and was trained as a chemical...
October 24, 2017
Global Connect: A New Path To Mission
People who want to make a difference can now start their journey with Global Connect. “The purpose of Global Connect is to prepare people to engage in mission,” said Missouri Conference Mission Strategist Lucas Endicott....
October 23, 2017
Spreading Out
Festival of Sharing to Transition from Single Statewide to Regional Events in 2018
October 20, 2017
Turning Heads
Transforming Grass to Garden in Front of Church Enhances Neighborhood
October 18, 2017
Leading an Active Prayer Life
By Amy Thompson As leaders, it is important to be intentional in your own personal spiritual development. Your personal commitment to growing in your faith could begin with many things. I would like to suggest prayer. ...
October 14, 2017
Music Ministry at CMU
By Ryan McLouth I often have friends in the church community ask me about my position at Central Methodist University and our Music Ministry program. Today I thought I would tell you a little bit about what we do. The ...
October 13, 2017
Legalism: A Danger on the Path to Salvation
By Dr. Hal Knight For John Wesley salvation was not a status attained but a path to travel, with the goal to increasingly love God and others as we have been loved by God in, Jesus Christ. He knew that there are dangers...
October 12, 2017
Pastoring in Partisan Times
By Jim Simpson At ordination, the Bishop lays hands on elders and deacons and says: Take authority to preach the Word of God … Faithful pastors know this authority reaches far beyond the pulpit to include organizing the...
October 10, 2017
Bike to the Future Celebrates First Year
Your alarm blares at 3 a.m. You stash a granola bar in your backpack, throw on your jacket and lace up your tennis shoes with the worn out soles. You head out the door and begin your nine mile walk to work. After a ...
October 06, 2017
Reset the Heart: Unlearning Violence, Relearning Hope
By Dr. Jessica M. Smith As Mai-Anh Le Tran writes in her book Reset the Heart: Unlearning Violence, Relearning Hope, August 9, 2014 “disrupted” her world. It is the day that a young black man Michael Brown was ...
October 05, 2017
Rebuilding Puerto Rico: How You Can Help
People in the Caribbean are still recovering from hurricane Maria. With power still out and water in short reply, first responders are working across the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Our Conference has been in ...
October 01, 2017
Biased
I’m biased. I’ll admit it. You caught me. If you look at any of the Festival of Sharing stories I’ve put out in the past 16 years, you’ll read United Methodist quotes, get United Methodist stories and see United ...
October 01, 2017
Disaster Response: Hurricane Harvey
An Early Response Team from Missouri traveled to Texas shortly after Hurricane Harvey to assist with tree removal in wind-damaged areas. They were based out of First UMC in Victoria, Texas. The first to leave traveled ...
October 01, 2017
FREE Handheld Devices!
Communication technology is the wonder of the present moment. Therefore, all feel the irony of how challenging it can be to communicate with a congregation. Social media and smartphones are wonderful and cost-effective ...