Local Church Leadership Q&A
February 23, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Free
The NC Conference provides training and support for local church administrative committees. This year, we are encouraging local church committees to either host watch parties or individually view your committee’s recorded training. Then, join the live Q&A sessions that last up to 45 minutes on February 23, 2025, starting at 1 pm.
From 1-7 pm, a committee will be featured every hour in a live Q&A session, with a break for dinner.
Each live session will start with a 5-10 minute overview of key points and updates from previous trainings, followed by a time for your questions.
Q&A sessions will be recorded, but we encourage you to attend live.
Resources and Training Videos
Visit these resource pages to find the training video and other helpful resources for your committee.
Schedule of the Day
- 1-1:45 pm – Trustees with Gray Southern
- 2-2:45 pm – Staff/Pastor-Parish Relations with Beth Hood
- 3-3:45 pm – Finance with Christine Dodson
- 4-4:45 pm – Church Council with Laura Stern
- 5-5:45 pm – Lay Leaders with John Hall
- 7-7:45 pm – Nominations with Donna Banks
How it Works
- Gather Your Team
Kick off 2025 by hosting a watch party for the training specific to your team at your first committee meeting. Don’t forget the popcorn and snacks—we are United Methodists, after all! - Watch the Training Video
Each training video runs 60–75 minutes. To ensure smooth viewing, consider downloading the video ahead of time, so you’re not dependent on your internet connection. While team members could certainly watch on their own prior to your meeting, we encourage you to watch as a group. - Discuss as a Team
Every church setting is unique. Take time to discuss the training with your team and create a list of questions for the Q&A session. - Register and Attend the Q&A
Register and attend the Q&A session (everyone is welcome to join!). Registered participants will receive a recording 1–2 weeks after the event.
About the Presenters
Donna Banks currently serves as the Lead Pastor at Epworth UMC in Durham. Upon graduation from Duke Divinity, she joined the staff as the Associate Pastor of Christ UMC in Chapel Hill. She has also served appointments as the senior pastor at McMannen UMC in Durham, St. Francis UMC in Cary, and Evergreen UMC in Chapel Hill; as Director of Student Life at Duke Divinity; and as district superintendent for the Corridor district. She has previous experience from her 16-year career in the chemical industry which afforded her the opportunity to have a succession of roles as a research chemist and in corporate sales, marketing, and management. Donna is married with two daughters.
Christine Dodson is the Conference Treasurer and Business Manager. She has been with the Conference for over 20 years and provides leadership for the overall financial and administrative ministry of the Conference. Christine is a lay member of Mt. Moriah UMC in the Harbor district where she serves as Finance Committee Chairperson. She also serves the wider denomination as Vice-Chairperson of the General Council on Finance and Administration. Christine is a CPA and received her Doctorate in Business Administration, focused on leadership. Christine is married with one child in college and two in high school.
John Hall was elected Conference Lay Leader of the North Carolina Conference in June 2020 and previously served as the Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries. He has been an active member of the laity within the NC Conference for many years, including serving as a district president of United Methodist Men and participating in the Leadership Fellows program in 2013-2014 as the lay partner from Aldersgate UMC in Durham, where he continues to serve as a lay minister with a focus on church sound and media. John enjoyed a 23 year career as a R&D development engineer with Hewlett Packard company, retiring in 2006. He then joined SAS as a technical trainer with a focus on computer architecture, retiring in 2018. John is married to his wife Holly and has two children and one amazing grandson.
Beth Hood is an ordained elder in full connection in the North Carolina Conference and currently serves as the Assistant to the Bishop for the Office of Clergy Life. Beth has served churches in Sanford (St. Luke 1992-1997), Lemon Springs (Lemon Springs 1997-2004), Aberdeen (Page Memorial 2004-2007), and Wilmington (Wesley Memorial 2012-2020), and has also served as Superintendent of the Greenville district (2007-2012). Having grown up in Carrboro, NC, just outside of Chapel Hill, Beth has affection for all things Carolina blue, and especially loves watching the UNC Tarheels play basketball. They are parents to an adult son, Adam.
Gray Southern is a retired elder of the NC Conference and the Conference Secretary. He previously served the Capital district; The Apex UMC Family; the former Durham District; St. James Church (Greenville); Trinity Church (Durham); West Nash (Wilson); Oriental; and St. Paul (Goldsboro). Gray grew up in Smithfield, NC, and graduated from Smithfield-Selma Sr. High School. He also holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, Yale Divinity School, and Columbia Theological Seminary. Gray was a part of The Lily Endowment’s Pastor-Theologian Program which was also a formative part of his life. He was a member of General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2008, 2012, 2016/2019. Gray and his wife Susan, a former public school teacher, have two children: Kirk (married to Giselle) and Mary-Gray; they are expecting their first grandchild on Easter 2024!
Laura Stern is an ordained elder in full connection in the North Carolina Conference. In 2021, she was appointed to Apex UMC, having served in a variety of congregations, urban and suburban, small and large, in both the North Carolina and North Georgia Conferences, including four years on the Outer Banks. In all of these locations, she has brought a love of scripture, a commitment to excellence in preaching, and a heart for missions. She was the first woman appointed senior pastor of Apex UMC in its 150 year history. Over her tenure, she has led through a pandemic, re-structured the church governance, and helped the congregation toward better financial health. A graduate of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology (M.Div.) and Georgetown University (BA), Laura has been in ministry for twenty years.