Following the conference theme of Leader Forming, Friday’s morning plenary included a number of presentations celebrating the work of the denomination and within the conference – especially in the area of Connectional Ministries.
UMC General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM)
With humor and excitement, Rev. Trip Lowery, Associate General Secretary of Theological Education and Clergy Formation, shared the work of GBHEM with the body, highlighting the agency’s work to unite the concepts and practices of “Knowledge” and “Vital Piety” for United Methodists. This unification is represented by the work and denominational support of historically-black colleges and universities, development of Leadership, Education, and Development Hubs which partner with ecumenical partners around the world, leadership and re-imagining of Course of Study programs, support of United Methodist theological schools, and offering higher education scholarships. Lowery noted that 15,000 students world-wide were supported in their educational goals last quadrennium.
Center for Leadership Excellence
Executive Director, Leah Wiebe-Smith, highlighted the work of the Center for Leadership Excellence which offers the Leadership Fellows Program, webinars and workshops, days of learning, Impact for the Rural Church program, NEXTGen Children’s Ministry Cohort, Lay Servant Ministries courses, and January Leadership Committee Training. She celebrated that almost 3,000 participants have participated in center offerings since July 2023 – both in person and online. Recordings of many of these are archived at nccumc.org/leadership/events-archive. Upcoming training sessions will discuss topics including safe gun storage, unity in a world of disunity, dementia, understanding trauma, and fresh expressions in church.
Connectional Ministries
Rev. Ernesto Barriguete and Home Missioner Steve Taylor celebrated the work of conference Connectional Ministries in the areas of leader-formation, disciple-making, and peace-building. The presentation included a video overview of ways that Connectional Ministries teams including Race, Equity and Justice Ministry, Native American Cooperative Ministry, Youth Ministries, and the Lay Minister programs are forming a more inclusive church, shaping leaders, and promoting spiritual growth.
NCC Commission on the Status & Role of Women (COSROW)
Rev. Laura Dunlap presented the work of COSROW including educational workshops, book clubs, devotional emails, advocacy for equity within the church, and sexual ethics training. She also encouraged those gathered to make use of the online resource available on the denomination’s COSROW site and to support Resolution VII entitled, “Striving Towards a Diverse & Equally Paid Clergy.” A Service of Repentance and Lament for Sexual Misconduct is set for Saturday morning at 9:10 a.m.
Youth Ministries
Rev. Jason Villegas, Director of Youth Ministries, Emily Johnson, NCC Youth President, and Yani Anwar, NCC Youth Treasurer, gave the Youth Ministries report. Gratitude was extended to the strong community of volunteers who work alongside youth leaders to keep NC Conference Youth events going strong. Citing statistics showing increasing numbers of young people walking away from their faith, Villegas asked those gathered to re-focus their efforts to engage with youth, connect with district youth coordinators, and learn more about the TENx10 leadership empowerment program for adults who want to work with youth. Cohorts are forming for a grant-paid resource called “The Relational Discipleship Kickstart” starting soon. Johnson shared about Youth events including Pilgrimage, Kaleidoscope, Breakaway, Global Vision, and Youth in Unity (formerly called Más Diversity). Youth in Unity is an event dedicated as a sovereign space for ethnic minority youth to caucus and come into action through hard-working youth in the conference. Johnson reported that, “We have students as young as 12 inspired to run for positions of leadership in this conference every year. Every theme of every event is youth-designed. This youth leadership is important because it ensures that attending youth are hearing messages that they are more likely to relate to, making the events that much more impactful.“ The youth are the future of the church, but this ministry is also an amazing part of the church right now” shared Johnson. To close out the Youth Report, Anwar offered a prayer, saying, “Lord, as we move into an uncertain future, we pray for Your continued guidance and strength. Help us lead by being led by You, remaining open to Your direction and wisdom in all that we do. Empower us to lead with courage, grace, and humility, always seeking to serve others and to share Your love. May we be vessels of your peace and instruments for Your will. We place our future in Your hands, confident in your unfailing love and provision. Guide us, sustain us, and use us for your glory. In your Holy name, we pray Amen.”
Christian Unity & Interreligious Relationships (CUIR)
Rev. Grayson Dye reported on the work of CUIR at the NC Conference- and denominational- levels, which focused on dialog and relationship-building for inter-religious hospitality. She noted that much of this work promotes peace-building and celebrated that scholarships were awarded to allow several from the NC Conference to attend a gathering of the World Methodist Council. Dye also noted that ecumenical work bore fruit at General Conference last month when delegates approved a full communion relationship with the Episcopal Church. She invited those gathered to participate in an online webinar led by Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst entitled, “Christian Unity in a World of Disunity” and will consider why and how we are called to Christian unity and to interreligious hospitality, and it will give some practical guidelines and suggestions for how to live that out in the life of a local congregation. Learn more and register on the Center for Leadership Excellence website.
Church Transformation Ministries
Offering the CTM report, Rev. Ken McLean highlighted the work of supporting healthy communities as they manage change and transition. The CTM team supports discernment processes for fruitful ministry by churches and helps churches form new, cooperative partnerships within their communities. These partnerships can end isolation and encourage groups to live into the fullness of God’s vision in their geographic location.
Safe Sanctuaries
The NC Conference Safe Sanctuaries Team report was presented by the Chair, Rev. Mamie Alley. Safe Sanctuaries is a movement and initiative to fulfill a call to make our churches safe places for the young and the vulnerable and those in ministry with them. Sample policies are available for Small Membership Churches and Large Membership Churches, and a team is available to resource local churches as they develop their own unique policies. Once those policies are in place, it is the responsibility of a local church to train its members on the policy.