News

Bishop Farr and his wife Susan lead a group of motorcyclists on a 1,000 mile loop around Missouri to kick-off a campaign to raise money to purchase motorcycles for pastors in Mozambique.

A celebration at Missouri's only national United Methodist historic shrine commemorates 210 years since the organization of the congregation and 200 years since the building of the chapel.

The St. Louis Black Methodist for Church Renewal have a worship service on fifth Sundays of the month. Missouri Bishop Bob Farr was the preacher for the September 29 service.

This is the third article in a series on clergy health factors. The Wesleyan way links the health of the Church with the health of its clergy. The leadership of healthy clergy is essential for developing outwardly ...

The Office of Finance and Administration is pleased to announce that Ilda Guambe has accepted a full-time position as Evaluation and Learning Specialist.

South Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops Join Texas Bishops in a Call to Address the Humanitarian Crisis Along U.S. Southern Border October 2019 Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We ...

The Center for Congregational Excellence is pleased to announce that Melanie Smollen has accepted a full-time position as Missional Strategist. The focus of this new role is to develop systems that find and equip ...

To reshape the future of your church you must set aside old assumptions, fears, and stereotypes and embrace new experiences and methods. In the new book Blank Slate, Lia McIntosh, Jasmine Smothers, and Rodney Smothers ...

On February 8-9, 2020 we will celebrate the good work God has done! Bishops Farr and Ortiz of the United Methodist Church of Puerto Rico will be traveling to the island of Vieques to celebrate our connection and the ...

Our vision for the Missouri Annual Conference is to relentlessly lead our churches to become outwardly focused and spiritually centered Christ followers.

Hebrews 10: 24: Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.  If you’ve had the opportunity to visit us at the Missouri Conference Center at 3601 Amron Court in Columbia, when you started getting ...

This is the first article in a series on clergy health factors. The Wesleyan way links the health of the Church with the health of its clergy. The leadership of healthy clergy is essential for developing outwardly ...

As Christians in the Wesleyan tradition, we can say our human worth and that of all persons is grounded in three things.

After years of photography through personal projects and an education at the Missouri School of Journalism, I’ve found that I experience life differently when I’m looking through the lens of my camera. I pay more ...

2019 has been a record year for Methodist conferences in Missouri!

Calling All Motorcycle Riders Mozambique Initiative Supporters

"We know we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death [1 John 3:14].” God’s love poured into my heart by the searching and refining fire of the Holy Spirit is not ...

I don’t know about you, but I needed a renewal break this summer from all the events of 2019. The issues and theological polarization within our church and the political polarization within our world can become ...

April 16 was a monumental and historical day for the Southeast Correctional Center, Cape Girardeau’s La Croix United Methodist Church and the Missouri Department of Corrections. On the Wednesday before Easter, 159 ...

“Will the ushers please come forward…”  That single phrase used to be the primary (if not the only) way the church gathered the gifts of the faithful and funded the ministries of the church. While the offertory remains ...

While the offertory remains a meaningful part of our worship, the practical ways that devoted disciples can give in support of the church have expanded. The ‘offering plate’ is bigger than ever, but church offices need ...

Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church Statement Regarding Culture of Violence   In the aftermath of the horrific mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, I call upon United Methodists in Missouri ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is inviting applications for the following programs: 2020 Local Initiatives Grants Scholarship to Attend The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey 2020 ...

The first Sharefest is in Macon on September 7th, and the last one wraps up in Ferguson on October 19th. More information on the schedule can be found under the Sharefest tab at www.festivalofsharing.org.  This year we ...

We're pleased to announce that Rev. Geoff Posegate has accepted a part-time role as a Missional Strategist with the Center for Congregational Excellence, beginning on September 1, 2019. Posegate will work primarily with ...

By Ryan McLouth To auto-tune or not to auto-tune, that is the question! If you’re unfamiliar with the term auto-tune, it is a device or technology that can be used to correct errors in pitch or intonation of a vocal ...

By Fred Koenig   August Barker UMC participates in a back-to-school fair that provides school supplies. September Wayland UMC provides back-to-school supplies. October Nelson Memorial UMC hosts a pumpkin carving and ...

Hold September 29 to October 1 on your calendar for a ride to support Mozambique! Bishop Farr will be leading motorcycle riders on a loop around the state, and you are invited to join.  Ride for the whole three-day loop,...

By Fred Koenig Most people have kind of forgotten about the big dust up in St. Louis involving a mainline protestant denomination and the prevalent societal issue of the day. No, I’m not talking about General Conference...

By Marsha Egan Our Conference is responsive when we see needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our Bishop challenged the Missouri Conference in the summer of 2018 to be generous with our time and money. He ...

By Fred Koenig The Missouri Conference Ignite Mobile Camp program is in the midst of its largest camp season yet. There are 54 camps across Missouri, made possible through partnerships with Eagle Lake, Heartland Camps, ...

By Eric Mattson We lose our spiritual power if we cease to focus on the right thing. In contemplative photography, photo walks seek to see with fresh eyes and receive what God desires for you to see. Ending this walk, I...

By Fred Koenig When you see the object of Rev. Jim West’s affection, you may assume it’s her beauty that drew him to her. You would be wrong – it’s what she has inside that means the most to him.  “She plays better ...

By Fred Koenig Sidney Owens has a drive to help communities have healthier lives, which led her first to a dual-degree in health science and communications and then to a Masters of Science in Public Health from the ...

“Discernment is the capacity to recognize the presence and activity of God. Paul says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can discern what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable, ...

Prayer is our road home to a God who loves us, and the way in which, through trials as well as the good things in life, we can continually rejoice in the Lord.

By Matt Miofsky Perhaps the number one question I get from church leaders is this: “How do you explain the growth of The Gathering?” My answer usually begins with this: Any rapidly-growing church, ours included, is ...

By Fred Koenig On an appropriately hot first day of July, Beloved Community UMC buzzed. As various groups headed this way and that, Rev. Kevin Kosh walked around beaming. The church was being turned inside out, and that...

United Methodists can now submit petitions for consideration by the 2020 General Conference to the petitions secretary. The deadline for submissions is September 18. Detailed instructions for submitting a petition are ...

By Fred Koenig A christ candle was lit during the Memorial Service on Saturday morning of annual conference to represent the light of hope that shines on from generation to generation. Those in attendance were invited ...

By Pam Ekey The Missouri Conference set a record for apportionment giving last year with 89.32 percent of apportionments paid. That is important because 72 percent of all apportionments paid stay in Missouri. A total of...

By Fred Koenig If you were a lay member who attended annual conference this year, I have a favor to ask you: Don’t come back next year.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved our time together. It’s just time for us to start ...

By Pam Ekey The Missouri Conference ordained 10 new elders, commissioned one provisional deacon and eight provisional elders, and recognized two new associate members in a special worship service Sunday morning.     ...

By Fred Koenig and Susan Sneed It may be a first for Missouri Annual Conference delegation elections: The entire General Conference clergy delegation was elected on one ballot.  In one hour and 15 minutes the Missouri ...

By Ken Rosenauer   “You bloom where you are planted.”    That was among the points that the Rev. Joseph Daniels Jr. used to capture the attention of the body during his learning keynote on Friday afternoon. He recalled ...

  When the Missouri Conference Sessions team decided to slim annual conference down to the three-day schedule, they knew it would be challenging to hold onto that schedule in an election year. To address that, they got ...

$13,365 for Pathway Out of Poverty This offering was given during the opening worship service on Friday. Empowering the next generation for a different tomorrow is one of the Conference’s priorities. The Pathway Out of ...

By Ken Rosenauer John Wesley considered Communion “the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.” Along those lines, it follows that the 2019 Annual Conference ...

By Fred Koenig In a year of turbulence, Bishop Bob Farr reminded people in his address of the steadfast purpose of the United Methodist Church that binds the churches in Missouri together.  This is the 200th year of ...

By Pam Ekey If the church is to survive in the future, its leadership must change, says Tod Bolsinger, Ph.D., who is the chief of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Unfortunately, most seminaries do ...