During Annual Conference, on Saturday, June 17th, Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett, Executive Director of the office of New Faith Communities, celebrated the 70th anniversary of the $10 Club.
In 1953, Bishop Paul Garber and Methodists in the North Carolina Conference created the $10 Club in order to establish new United Methodist congregations across the conference. By the time Bishop Garber retired, 108 new churches had been created.
In the spirit of Bishop Garber’s commitment, the Conference continues to believe Church Extension is a vital ministry of every local church. The $10 Club is our Conference-wide Calling to extend the reach of the Church. Currently, New Faith Communities has many new churches meeting in homes, farms, churches, movie theaters, schools, bars, and museums in order to create new places for new people to gather into communion with Jesus Christ.
In addition to $10 Club members’ support, Duke Endowment has awarded a $5.25 million grant to support the creation of new United Methodist faith communities and to strengthen existing congregations within the North Carolina and the Western North Carolina Conferences. The grant will support the ongoing work of the UM Collective, UM Collective Chaplains, and UM Collective Communities in the North Carolina Conference.
Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett also celebrated Lighthouse Congregations. Currently, 99 local churches in The North Carolina Conference that are equipped and willing to be a caring and hospitable place that welcomes anyone whose church has closed or disaffiliated.
In addition to these celebrations, we welcomed our newest chartered church, Grace UMC in Elizabethtown, NC. They were presented with a certificate of Charter.
New Faith Communities believes the ministry of Church Extension is the Calling of our Connection, and that Grace UMC will be the first of many chartered churches. Together we can continue co-creating new places for new people to gather into communion with Jesus Christ.