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North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church

Announcements

Last Month in the NC Conference: January 2024

Announcements

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 January.

NC Conference

Center for Leadership Excellence

  • Lay leaders and local church committee members attended a Conference-wide Leadership Training on January 7. Watch the recordings.
  • Hosted a Day of Learning, “The Good News of Shipwreck: What Does Church Look Like Now?,” with Kenda Creasy Dean. View photos of the event.
  • Registration opened for “Teaching So Kids Can Learn,” a webinar to help equip those who teach and disciple children. 

Media Center

Outreach Ministry

Treasurer’s Office

Youth Ministries

Lay Equalization Plan Nominations Open on March 4

Announcements

Nominations for the Lay Equalization Plan (LEP) delegates for Annual Conference 2024 will open on March 4, 2024. Nominations can come from pastors and congregational lay leadership, or interested laypersons can self-nominate. The link for nominations will be shared on our conference website as well as email distributions such as Connections. 

In 2021, our annual conference adopted a Lay Equalization Plan that helps guide the nomination and selection process for at-large lay members to our Annual Conference. The purpose of this plan is to ensure an equal number of clergy (active & retired) and lay members participate and vote in our NC Annual Conference. This plan calls for the District Superintendent, in partnership with the District Lay Leader(s), to nominate professing members from within their district as At-Large Members for participation in the NC Annual Conference meeting. Election is done by the Conference Board of Laity. 

Remember, this is a nomination in addition to the name(s) you have already elected at your annual charge conference. All nominations will be reviewed by our conference Board of Laity, and all who have been nominated will be notified by April 6, 2024, as to their status – either elected or alternate.

Please submit all nominations by midnight on March 23. 

We are asking both pastors and laity to help us seek, encourage, and ultimately send lay members of every age, gender, and ethnicity to Annual Conference as we work together for our conference and the glory of our Savior. 

Please note that elected lay members will be responsible for their own travel arrangements and accommodations. There is no funding available from the district or conference for travel, meals, or accommodations. College Hill Suites at East Carolina University provides very affordable lodging for Lay members to Annual Conference. 

We are seeking committed and willing hearts to serve as at-large members to Annual Conference. Thank you in advance for helping us to ensure that our decision-making members are as creative and diverse as the God who created us all!

John Hall
NC Conference Lay Leader

TENx10 Relational Discipleship Kickstart

Announcements

Are you a youth pastor, passionate volunteer, or someone who is looking for ways to deepen your faith and empower others to do the same? Join the TENx10 Relational Discipleship Kickstart and unleash your potential to cultivate a culture of discipleship! Through this ten-week encounter, you’ll gain practical tools and strategies to equip yourself and others around you in ministry to effectively share your faith, disciple others, and develop a lifelong commitment to following Jesus.

Together, we will create a lasting impact for Christ. The yearly trend for students who have grown up in church shows that, in the United States, each year, 1 million youth will leave the church and never return. Through the TENx10 program, you can join in fostering an effective environment where students will desire to stay, to pray, to serve, to transform, and to fulfill the Great Commission. The second set of cohorts will begin in April. If you are interested, please fill out an interest form by March 15.

Partnership with New Faith Communities and Center for Leadership Excellence

Announcements

The Office of New Faith Communities partnered with Center for Leadership Excellence for a Common Learning Day with Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean presenting at Hayes Barton UMC. The day and a half event was filled with learning and conversation about holistic mission, Christian social innovation, and nontraditional ways to engage in ministry – both inside and outside of the church.

On day one, the gathered church planters participated in activities and games that invited them to grow in creative imagination as they lead, particularly when it comes to utilizing existing resources and thinking outside of the traditional church model.

Day two included, New Faith Communities planters, Leadership Fellows, and other Center for Leadership Excellence attendees. Around 150 people began the day by examining Paul’s story of shipwreck on Malta (Acts 27). Kenda Creasy Dean challenged us to flip our interpretation of the story and the devastation. Might Paul’s shipwreck, with broken boards of the boat strewn through the seas, actually be what he needed to be saved? 

In the same way that Paul’s shipwreck saved him, are challenging times in churches a chance to look at shipwreck and an ‘unfamiliar shore of Malta’ as an opportunity rather than devastation? Creasy Dean urged the group to consider if their churches should ‘throw something overboard’ to stay afloat, acknowledging that when societal change is front and center, churches may need to prune ministries that do not fit. She challenged the clergy and laity to take the lessons learned on Malta to make sense of the unfamiliar territory that many of our churches are in right now.

Throughout the Day of Learning, Creasy Dean’s experiential activities and times for reflection meant that ideas were birthed, some were fine-tuned, and others reached that critical point of inflection where they will move from idea to reality.

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An Important Announcement About Ramus

Announcements

The Ramus Local Church Hosting platform has supported nearly 400 local churches and ministry websites. It’s been a valuable resource, but recently, we’ve faced challenges, especially after losing staff due to churches leaving The United Methodist Church.

We’ve decided to stop hosting local church websites because of these challenges and our inability to support users and maintain systems and security adequately.

I want to apologize for any disruption this may cause to your church. We didn’t make this decision lightly, and we’re thankful for your church’s support of the Ramus platform.

We want to make this transition as smooth as possible, so please keep reading for more details on our timeline, next steps, and some new hosting options.

When?

We will continue hosting websites until June 1, 2024.

After this deadline, even if your domain (Example: churchname.org) is active, your website content will be inaccessible if you have not transferred to a new hosting provider.

You need to select a new host and begin the transition as soon as possible to help make this process smoother.

We can only offer technical support via phone and email through March 31, 2024.

After this date, our Church Communications Consultant position will no longer exist, so we will no longer be able to offer technical support. We will only be able to transfer domains.

For sites on our Paid tier with a domain expiring before the deadline, we will renew domains expiring through June for one year (instead of three) to give you time to secure an alternative hosting option before the June 1 deadline.

What’s Next?

One of our main goals with Ramus was that every church in the Conference would have an effective website. It’s still our hope.

When we created Ramus, designing an affordable website without hiring someone to build it for you was challenging. Now, many tools are available at affordable prices that allow you to make fantastic websites.

We’ve researched some that we believe are the best compared to what you had with Ramus. I’ll share those below.

Hosting Options

UMCChurches.org
For our Paid tier, this is our preferred option. Managed by United Methodist Communications, they use WordPress and have a pricing option similar to our Ramus platform. Look for the Silver or Gold packages.

WordPress.com
Website hosting directly from WordPress with a variety of plans available.

SiteGround
A great, low-cost hosting platform that uses WordPress.

Squarespace & Wix
Competitors to WordPress, but both allow you to build a website quickly. These options may not be as customizable.

Find-A-Church
If you are on our Free tier, we recommend the recently updated Find-A-Church page from United Methodist Communications. You can pay a small yearly fee to purchase a domain and point it directly to your listing. Look for the Bronze (Free) package. Alternatively, switch to a different provider using the options above.

Questions?

Please know that we are here to help walk you through this process.

For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions below. If you don’t see your question answered, contact support@nccumc.org.

If you’d like to talk to us directly, we ask that you schedule an appointment with Jay Locklear, our Church Communications Consultant. He can walk you through your specific scenario and offer a recommendation.

Thank you for trusting Ramus with your ministry’s website and your patience as we transition to new ways of working together.

—
Derek Leek
Director of Communications

Frequently Asked Questions

What if our Ramus website isn’t being used, or we have already switched to another hosting provider?

If your Ramus website is no longer in use or you already switched to another hosting provider, please let us know as soon as possible, and we will remove your site.

What’s the process of moving my site to another host?

First, find a new host (see our recommendations above). Then, if you are using WordPress with your new site and want to keep your text and image content, export your site content from Tools – Export in the Dashboard. Transfer the domain name (if applicable). Import the site content to your new website. Migrate email accounts (if applicable).

How do I transfer my domain?

Email us at support@nccumc.org, and we will unlock the domain and send you the transfer authorization (EPP) code.

Is there a cost to transfer my domain?

Maybe. If you have (or create) a Name.com account, we can internally transfer the domain with no fee. If you have a different domain registrar or choose a host where they manage the domain, there will likely be a fee to transfer the domain. However, paying for a domain transfer usually adds a year to the expiration date.

Do I have to wait until June 1, 2024?

No! If you have selected a new host and are ready to transfer, we encourage you to move forward with your new host.

What about my email accounts?

Our email system uses Google Workspace. To migrate your accounts, please apply for Google for Nonprofits to begin the process. Once you are approved, email us at support@nccumc.org to schedule a time for the migration.

What if I recently renewed my domain and Ramus hosting agreement?

Most of the money you pay when you host with Ramus goes toward the domain renewal ($12.99/year = $38.97). Any years purchased are transferred with the domain wherever it goes. When you transfer your domain to a new host, you may have to pay a small fee (which would then add an additional year to your domain). For example, let’s say your domain expired on 1/15/24. You renewed in November 2023 with Ramus for three years. Your renewal date is now 1/15/27. When you transfer to a registrar/host other than Name.com, you may pay a small fee, and the new renewal date will be 1/15/28.

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Garner, NC 27529

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