North Carolina United Methodists, the Bishop’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and the Board of Church and Society want to equip you for this Lenten season with a resource called Kingdom Dreams, Violent Realities. It’s a bible study created by the General Board of Church and Society.
Sign up to get this free resource. Over the next few weeks, the task force will offer online resources, videos of United Methodists sharing personal stories, and suggestions for five weeks of content.
Your Lay Servant Ministries team is excited to announce seven courses for the 2025 Spring Quarter (March-May)!
With four online options and three in-person classes, there’s something for everyone. This quarter offers a variety of opportunities, from exploring the basics of lay ministry to sharpening skills in areas like public prayer, worship, and preaching. You’ll also find classes that focus on personal prayer and ministry with older adults.
Click the red button below to check out all of our upcoming classes. Some of our February (Winter Quarter courses) are still open for registration, including in-person and Zoom offerings of UM History.
Deepen your faith and equip yourself for ministry—register today!
Public Prayer
with Ernest Leatherman
Mar 8, 8am-4:30pm, Zoom
Register by Feb 20!
Basic Course
with Shawn Blackwelder
Mar 15, 8:30am-5pm, Cary
Register by Feb 27!
Called to Preach
with Tom Hallberg and Tom Santa
Mar 15, 8:30am-5pm, Hertford
Register by Feb 27!
Embracing Personal Prayer
with Effie McGill
Mar 22, 8am-4:30pm, Zoom
Register by Mar 6!
Aging and Ministry
with Ray Broadwell
Mar 22, 8:30am-5pm, Goldsboro
Register by Mar 6!
Life Together (Polity)
with Laura Wittman
April 12, 8am-4:30pm, Zoom
Register by Mar 27!
Leading Worship
with Chuck Frost
May 3, 8am-4:30pm, Zoom
Register by April 17!
Project AGAPE is “dedicated to supporting displaced families from Artsakh, meeting both their immediate needs and fostering long-term, sustainable development.”
In 2022, Nara Melkonyan, the Director of Project AGAPE, launched a vocational training program for recently displaced families, establishing a one-room school in Vayk, Armenia.
The North Carolina Conference, the Western North Carolina Conference, and Myers Park United Methodist Church provided grants to help expand the program and construct an eight-room vocational school. Project AGAPE states that the school’s goal is to “equip graduates with skills relevant to the current job market, fostering technical, entrepreneurial, and employment-related expertise.”
Learn more about the school and ways you can help support the vocational programs→
Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and Easter is on Sunday, April 20. Now is the time to request resources that your church or small group would like to use during the Lenten season.
On this page, we have highlighted new and popular resources used during Lent and Easter, but the NC Conference Media Center offers many more, including:
The Media Center offers these pathfinders that contain complete lists of all of our resources designed to be used during Lent and Easter.
Lent and Easter DVDs for Adults
Lent and Easter Books for Adults
Lent and Easter Resources for Youth
Lent and Easter Resources for Children
Cokesbury offers a Lenten Studies Interactive Comparison Chart for 2024. Most of the studies on the chart can be borrowed from the NC Conference Media Center, and many of them are listed on this page.
This year, Bishop Connie Shelton, The Bishop’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and the NC Conference Board of Church and Society invite churches and small groups to participate in a Lenten study on gun violence prevention.
Kingdon Dreams, Violent Realities focuses on Micah 4:1-4 and offers a launching point for additional discussion and sharing experiences related to gun violence, preventing loss of life, and advocating for common-sense gun laws.
This PDF study was created by the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and can be downloaded for free from their website. Sign up to receive supplementary resources coming from the NC Conference.
Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church is offering a new experience for small groups during Lent this year. The Lenten Small Group Project: Empowering Leaders, Growing Disciples offers pastors and church leaders the tools and resources to lead a four to five-week small group experience that fosters discipleship, accountability, and spiritual growth. There are three tracks available: Bible Knowledge, Spiritual Formation, and Creativity. Sign up at their website to receive free training and resources.
Discipleship Ministries also offers a free worship series for Lent. Steadfast Love: A Lenten Playlist offers a playlist as another tool for your worship experience this season. It includes a song for each worship moment in the series from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. They aren’t suggesting that these are to be used in worship, unless that fits your context. Rather, this is preparation work, thinking about making connections, about plumbing the depths of heart and soul, of the community of faith and the wider culture.
The Message of Jesus: Words that Changed the World by Adam Hamilton. More than 3 billion people claim to follow Jesus. But aside from a few verses, how many actually know what he taught? In fact, much of what people think Jesus taught, he never said. In this six-week study, pastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton explores six of the most important themes in Jesus’s teachings, why they matter, and how they speak to us today. The study will explore Jesus’s preaching on the Kingdom of God, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the “I am” sayings in John, and more.
The Final Days: A Lenten Journey through the Gospels by Matt Rawle. The four New Testament Gospels aren’t the same story, but they offer the same Resurrection hope. Each Gospel offers a different lens through which we understand Jesus’ Passion. One portrait reveals Jesus to be in control, while another emphasizes his suffering. In one story, Jesus offers hope to the thief on the cross, and in another, Jesus only receives derision. These different perspectives aren’t a reason to dismiss the Gospels; rather they reveal an abundant, diverse, and complementary picture of God’s work in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Gospel of John: A Beginner’s Guide to the Way, the Truth, and the Life by Amy-Jill Levine. With her characteristic wit and charm, Amy-Jill Levine introduces readers to the world of the Gospel of John by unpacking the stories in their original context, along with examining how the text is read today. This book considers the Gospel of John in its entirety, moving through the Gospel and exploring the prologue, the wedding at Cana, the Samaritan woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery, the healing of the man at the pool and the man born blind, foot washing, Mary Magdalene and Doubting Thomas, and the Lamb of God.
Believe Like Jesus: Rising from Faith in Jesus to the Faith of Jesus: 40 Days to Spiritual Transformation by Rebekah Simon-Peter. These 40 days of transformation invite you to shift from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus, from rising from faith in Jesus to the faith of Jesus, from being a disciple to being an apostle, all to become more Christ-like. Just as a tree puts down deep roots to grow tall, take a deep inward journey of spiritual transformation to rise into a human being who lives your faith more courageously, more miraculously. This is a fresh approach to spiritual growth unlike anything you may have experienced before.
Turning Over Tables: A Lenten Call for Disrupting Power by Kathy Escobar. With keen insight and unwavering conviction, visionary pastor Kathy Escobar guides readers on a Lenten journey inspired by the ways of Jesus to dismantle the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice. In each week of Lent, readers will dig deeper into Jesus’ challenge to the pervasive influence of privilege and oppression that have dominated since ancient times. Through poignant reflections and thought-provoking practices, readers will discover how they can harness the disruptive power of Jesus’ teachings to bring about meaningful change in their communities and beyond. In addition to the wealth of devotional and group study resources found within the book, you can access free digital resources, which include a sermon series guide, group study videos from the author, images for use during worship or group study, and resources to promote your outreach.
The General Commission on Religion and Race invites you to use this Lenten devotional, Learning Together: A Lenten Exploration of Anti-Racist Values in Matthew, Mark, & Luke, for personal or congregational use.
This devotional was inspired by a desire to showcase, through the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus’ faithful demonstration and engagement of anti-racist values – values of shared power, shared responsibility and authority, and openness and curiosity.
This study must be purchased and downloaded from The General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church.
GCORR also invites you to use this Lenten devotional, Transform Us: Journeying with Jesus Towards a New Church, for personal or congregational use. This devotional was inspired by themes from their Racial Justice Prayer and Action Challenge: lament, repentance, hope, liberation, healing, and reconciliation. Free download.
The Third Day: Living the Resurrection by Tom Berlin with Mark A. Miller. Tom Berlin uses his gifts of storytelling and understanding the Scriptures to connect the reader to the experiences of several individuals around Jesus in his final days, focusing on new life and redemption rather than loss. Join Peter, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas as they feel the despair of losing Jesus and the surprise and joy that awaits them in the resurrection.
Remember: God’s Covenants and the Cross by Susan Robb. God’s covenants throughout the Old Testament show the character of God’s promises to God’s people. Susan Robb leads readers through the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses and Israel, and David, followed by the New Covenant established on Maundy Thursday. The Lenten story culminates with an examination of the cross as another example of God’s promise for a new world.
Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws by Adam Hamilton. Jesus brought the good news of God’s kingdom to those who most needed to hear it. In this 6-week study, Adam Hamilton explores the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Luke. Through Luke’s stories, we find Jesus’ care and compassion for all as he welcomes sinners and outcasts. As we study Luke and see Jesus’ concern for those who were considered unimportant, we hear a hopeful and inspiring word for our lives today.
Jesus Revealed: The I Am Statements in the Gospel of John by Matt Rawle. Rawle explores the “I Am” statements in John as works of art that resonate throughout the Gospel and all of Scripture. He shows how these words point beyond themselves to the deep mystery of Jesus Christ.
Finding Jesus in the Psalms: A Lenten Journey by Barb Roose. Combining an interpretation of the Psalms with real-life stories, this 6-week study moves through the familiar words of Psalm 23 toward the painful cries of Psalm 22 uttered by Jesus on the cross. The study includes reflections on the life of King David and the original context of the writings, along with connections between the psalms and the life and death of Jesus the Messiah.
Witness at the Cross: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Friday by Amy-Jill Levine. Levine shows how the people at the cross each have distinct roles to play. Each Evangelist presents a distinct picture of the death of Jesus. Each portrays different individuals and groups of people at the cross, each offers different images and dialogues, and so from each, we learn how those meanings and messages cross the centuries to any who would come to the cross today.
The Media Center has 49 total DVD studies designed to be used in small groups during the Lenten season. Browse the full list and discover something new! The list also contains movies and documentaries that you can use to supplement your study.
Hard and Holy Work: A Lenten Journey through the Book of Exodus by Mary Alice Birdwhistell and Tyler D. Mayfield. Many of us want to understand how to integrate our personal spiritual lives more actively with our engagement in working for justice and the liberation of the oppressed and marginalized. Hard and Holy Work provides a space for just that, helping readers participate in Lent in a new way by becoming attuned to God’s boundless presence in our world and waking up to and taking action for God’s justice through exploring stories from the book of Exodus that have inspired the work of liberation for centuries.
Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! by Kate Bowler. Bowler is inviting readers for the first time to fully embrace the terrible along with the beautiful by offering readers honest, heartfelt daily devotionals followed by blessings and action steps that lead readers to feel seen, heard and understood no matter what their day may bring. In addition, Bowler has written Advent and Lenten sections to round out the book that offer readers a rich, meaningful way to enter into these seasons of expectation and contemplation. Sign up for additional Lenten resources.
Where We Meet: A Lenten Study of Systems, Stories, and Hope by Rachel Gilmore, Candace Lewis, Tyler Sit, and Matt Temple. Meet Jesus at the intersection of faith and justice Jesus devoted himself to uplifting the poor, reaching out to the marginalized, and fearlessly challenging systems of oppression. The authors guide you through a series of daily reflections, exploring a spectrum of critical themes—from diversity and equity to the challenges of the post-colonial church. They will also delve into the vital need for innovation and contextualization in doing the work Jesus had called us to do.
Struggle to the Cross: A Lenten Study for Individuals and Groups by Sharma D. Lewis. United Methodist Bishop Lewis invites readers to observe Lent by introspection, repentance, forgiveness, renewal, prayer, fasting, and Biblical study. Each daily reading ends with the “My Action” section, inviting readers to put into practice what they have read and reflected upon. Each Sunday, readers are asked to reflect and journal on the past week’s study using questions provided by the author.
Atone: The Difference the Cross Makes by Wil Cantrell. Cantrell explores the great mystery behind all the theories of how Jesus’ sacrifice enables us to be at one with God, ourselves, and others. Readers will be challenged to move beyond solely intellectual discussions to atonement and to experience for themselves the transformation made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Written especially for the Lenten season, the book is divided into six chapters designed to be used as weekly studies for individuals and small groups during Lent.
Embracing the Uncertain: A Lenten Study for Unsteady Times by Magrey deVega. Engage and wrestle with life’s uncertainties, not ignore them. The six chapters focus on six post-Transfiguration, pre-Passion stories in the Gospels. Each of these stories is a signpost in the gospel narrative, pointing down at a world filled with uncertainty but pointing us forward to a cross that can show us how to follow Jesus with courage, hope, and obedience. Includes discussion questions that can be used in small-group Bible study sessions or for personal growth.
The Media Center has 30 book-based studies that were designed for small groups to use during the Lenten season. Browse the full list to find the right study for your group.
Looking for a Lenten study that is a bit off the beaten path? These DVD studies offer an unusual subject matter or more sessions than the typical six weeks.
Words of Life: Jesus and the Promise of the Ten Commandments Today by Adam Hamilton. Hamilton brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history. He considers the commandments in their historical context, considering the meaning of each commandment in Hebrew, unpacking how Jesus reinterpreted them, and showing how every thou-shalt-not was intended to point to a life-giving “thou shalt.” This study can be completed in 6 or 10 sessions.
The Grace of Les Miserables by Matt Rawle. Rawle dives into six ideals found in the story of Les Misérables—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Victor Hugo’s story. Rawle draws parallels between the iconic story and musical and our Christian calling, inspiring us to both understand our faith and live it out in the world.
The Passion Narratives by Mickey Efird. If you are looking for an in-depth biblical study, join Dr. Efird as he walks students through each of the four Gospel accounts of Christ’s last days. The DVD has twelve 20-minute sessions.
Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright. Jesus called his followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Your life here and now is of tremendous consequence, and what you believe about the future has a direct impact on how you live in the present. In six transforming, faith-inspiring sessions, premiere biblical scholar N. T. Wright opens your eyes to the amazing full scope of what God’s Word has to say about the world to come and the world that is.
The John Wayne Movie Bible Study by Stephen Skelton. Angel and the Badman is the most Christian film the Duke ever made. It is the redemption story of a wounded gunfighter and the Quaker family that helps him to heal—not only physically but also spiritually. These four sessions consider vice, virtue, decision, and redemption with clips of the movie. The student book can be copied for everyone in your group.
Easter from the Back Side by J. Ellsworth Kalas. Kalas looks beyond the traditional gospel scriptures to connect the story of Christ’s resurrection with other stories and scriptures throughout the Bible, including both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Kalas’s creative approach both clarifies basic teachings and introduces new possibilities of meaning, even for those who are most familiar with the Easter story.
A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey by Esau McCaulley, Tish Harrison Warren, Sheila Wise Rowe, Ruth Haley Barton, and others. To better confront oppression in the world, we must own that reality and look to Christ our liberator. Lent is the opportune time for this as we contemplate his suffering together. With selections from a diverse range of InterVarsity Press books, A Just Passion has been curated to hold in tension the immense weight and hope of the Lenten season. This collection of short readings, breath prayers, and Scripture passages from the First Nations Version guides readers through a six-week journey of repentance, lament, worship, and healing.
My Body Is Good: Giving Up Diet Culture and Embracing Body Positivity for Lent by Anne Cumings. Equipped with a body-positive mindset, Cumings has created an engaging and uplifting study to guide readers through a Lenten season of celebrating their bodies. Written specifically for women, each daily meditation offers a scripture passage, a reflection, and a prayer. Readers are encouraged to capture their questions, ideas, and thoughts through journaling and other spiritual practices, all with the intention of healing from diet culture. Join her on this Lenten journey, and never again forget that your God-given body, made from dust, is good.
A Time to Grow: Lenten Lessons from the Garden to the Table by Kara Eidson. Eidson encourages readers to slow down, move through the painstaking process of growth, and end together with great feasting and celebration of the resurrection. Readers will explore the intricacies of how faith is required to produce food and how that faith can lead us all to feast at the table on Easter morning.
Unrevealed Until Its Season: A Lenten Journey with Hymns by James C. Howell. Howell takes readers on a 40-day journey through popular songs of the church. Reflecting on well-loved hymn phrases, Howell helps readers discover who God is and what following Jesus means.
Lent of Liberation: Confronting the Legacy of American Slavery by Cheri L. Mills. Each of these forty devotions for Lent includes the testimony of a person who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad, a Scripture passage, and a reflection connecting biblical and historical themes to challenge modern readers to work for liberation.
Gifts of the Spiritual Wilderness by J. Dana Trent. In this daily devotional, readers will explore: What Jesus’s experience teaches us about the gifts to be found in our modern wilderness experiences; How a spiritual drought can create a more meaningful Lent experience; What fasting, sacrifice, and temptation look like in our daily lives; and How we prepare to experience new life on the side of the Lenten journey.
The Media Center has 26 devotional books designed for individual or group use during the Lenten season. Browse the full list to choose the right devotional for you.
Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, & Resurrection: Simple Ways to Create Meaning for the Season by Traci Smith. Parents, guardians, teachers, and ministers will find dozens of fun and easy practices for celebrating the Easter season with our kids. Smith also offers theological notes guiding parents on addressing the violence of the crucifixion and the meaning of Jesus’ death.
Messy Easter: Three Complete Sessions and a Treasure Trove of Ideas for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter by Jane Leadbetter. This book offers your church a tool to bring together people of all ages and stages of faith for a unique come-as-you-are experience of creativity—allowing space for all to play and create, celebration—worshiping God and his redeeming work in Jesus, hospitality—sharing a meal where all are welcome. These three once-a-month sessions include ideas for activities, games, crafts, food, and much more to help us learn about Lent, Holy Week, and Easter in an excitedly messy way.
Essential Lent: Holy Moments and Sacred Experiences for Your Whole Congregation by Aimee J. Jannsohn. This book offers interesting, easy-to-prepare activities and worship resources that invite your church to delve a little deeper into this season and make it more meaningful than ever. You’ll be encouraged to try new things in worship, but will find it equally fulfilling to practice traditional Lenten rituals included here, such as foot washing, stations of the cross, and more. It is designed to engage everyone in your congregation, regardless of age or individual faith journey.
Hearing God in Poetry: Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter by Richard Harries. From Yehuda Amichai and W. H. Auden to Phyllis Wheatley and Walt Whitman, this book invites you to take a closer look at fifty great poems by some of the finest poets in the English language. This beautiful Lent book for 2022 offers six poems for every week from Ash Wednesday, leading up to Holy Week, with ten poems specially chosen for Easter. A short reflection from Richard Harries accompanies each poet and the poem, drawing out their spiritual insights and how they communicate God’s presence.
Palm Sunday and Holy Week Services by Robin Knowles Wallace. This book features ready-to-use lectionary-based worship and preaching resources for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. It includes three options for Palm Sunday services, including procession suggestions with special emphasis on participation by children. Includes ready-to-use Palm Sunday and Holy Week services for worship with multiple worship options for each lectionary year scripture and gives suggested liturgies for each service, including those related to Taize.
Easter Services, Sermons, and Prayers by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. Based on the Revised Common Lectionary and broadly ecumenical, this book provides creative liturgies, sermon helps, and prayers for Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday, and the 40 days of Easter.
Fathom: The Passion, The Death and Resurrection of Jesus by Katie Heierman. This 4-session youth study will explore the events surrounding Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion and their meaning for believers today. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story, and how that story is meant to be theirs.
Lent: A Journey of Discovery by Addition, Subtraction and Introspection by Erik E. Willits. This little book is a guide…a help…a companion on the 40-day journey of prayer and Christian practice known as Lent. On this journey, you’ll practice the disciplines of addition, subtraction, and introspection so that you may more fully participate in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Children’s Dramas For The Church Year: Reproducible Dramas for Lent, Easter, and Pentecost by Linda Ray Miller. This reproducible resource consists of very simple Easter dramas that can be performed by kids of all ages. Short poems are also included for use in programs. Selections take no more than 10 minutes to perform and the number of children can vary as needed by the size of the church. Props and scenery are minimal and selections can be performed with little rehearsal.
Make Room: A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter by Laura Alary. This book uniquely connects its projects to the story of Jesus. Simple and practical activities such as baking bread, having a neighbor over for dinner, uncluttering your room, and watching less TV become acts of justice and kindness, part of a life of following and imitating Christ, and a way to make room for God in our lives and in the world around us.
Easter-rific! Teaching Kids… It’s More than Just One Day! by Tina Houser. This book includes nineteen stories that occurred during Holy Week, four more stories that occurred before Christ’s Ascension, and between two and four activities per story such as games, crafts, snacks, science experiments, storytelling ideas, and object lessons.
Sharing the Easter Faith with Children by Carolyn C. Brown. Being sensitive to the developmental maturity of children from ages birth to 12, Carolyn Brown provides materials, activities, and resources for congregations and families.
Cokesbury offers several Lenten curricula for youth and children that can be downloaded directly from their website. They are:
The Media Center has 17 resources for youth to use during Lent. Many of these are companions to adult studies. Browse the full list to find the right Lenten study for your youth group.
The Media Center has 12 DVDs and 33 picture books for children that are related to the Lenten season. Browse the full list to choose videos and books that will help you teach your children about Lent and Easter.
Bishop Connie Shelton invites all local churches and small groups to participate in a Lenten study on gun violence prevention.
The Bishop’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and the Board of Church and Society want to equip you for this upcoming Lenten season with a resource called Kingdom Dreams, Violent Realities, created by the General Board of Church and Society.
Focused on Micah 4:1-4, this study offers a launching point for additional discussion and sharing experiences related to gun violence, preventing loss of life, and advocating for common-sense gun laws.
Will you consider leading this study in your local church or a community gathering? Sign up to get free resources from the task force.
We’d like to keep everyone up-to-date about the happenings all across the NC Conference offices and committees, so we’ll be posting a roundup of all the major news at the end of every month.
Here’s an overview of NC Conference events and updates from the month of December.
NC Conference
Center of Leadership Excellence
Office of Clergy Life
Outreach Ministry
Treasurer’s Office
Youth Ministries
