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Healthy Congregations and Effective Leaders in Every Place Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World
I was born into a church not of the Methodist denomination, but soon transitioned to Garber UMC in New Bern. After six years of membership, my family relocated and my church membership changed to First UMC of Laurinburg. After a short two years, my family relocated once again, and in the process, my home church… Continue Reading→
I come from a strong United Methodist heritage! My father was a pastor in the North Carolina Conference for 42 years and has continued to faithfully serve in a variety of capacities in the 13 years since his retirement. When well-meaning people would ask me, as a child, if I was going to follow in… Continue Reading→
When I returned home to New York from Central America after eight years (beginning in the mid-1980s), I wondered what I would do with myself. I’d stayed much longer than the six months I’d banked on, and my return home was more like a return to a different country than the one I’d left. I… Continue Reading→
It only took me 56 years! I have always been a late bloomer but 56 years may be a bit much – even for me. All my life I struggled with a deep need, a burning desire to help others in a meaningful way. I had no idea that God was calling me to servanthood…. Continue Reading→
Robin sat at her desk toward the back of the room, sobbing softly. Her chin hung low and touched her crisply ironed dress. It was the first year of voluntary integration in our school. I sat a few rows over, also in the back of the room, watching her. Miss Ewing saw her too and… Continue Reading→
My late father and grandfather always spoke of the “little acorn that became the mighty oak.” They referenced it in sermons, in family gatherings and lessons they taught to their children. I always thought of them as mighty oaks. They were strong, powerful, loud men and when they spoke, people listened and acted on those… Continue Reading→
The time was 1997 and Nara Melkonyan sat in an office at the American University of Armenia, with her degrees in political science and international studies and her ambition to be an ambassador. In fact, she had applied for a job at the US Agency of International Development and was waiting for a response, when the… Continue Reading→
I didn’t move to China to have myself changed. I’m not sure many people do. But that’s where my most significant, God-led, life change happened. I had visited before on short mission trips, but never felt led to do more. I was a self-doubting, painfully awkward girl who lacked an ounce of self-esteem–I was convinced… Continue Reading→
When I was a child, my mother worked at a home near her mother – my grandmother, Izabelle. I called her “Mama Izabelle.” To me, she was the greatest. She loved the Lord, and she loved me. During the summer, I would go with my mother to work on Thursdays and my grandmother would come… Continue Reading→
I grew up in Bolton, N. C. My father worked as a laborer in the local paper company providing for our family of seven children (I was the knee baby). During summer breaks, us children and our mom would work as laborers on other people’s tobacco farms, and picked huckleberries and planted and harvested vast… Continue Reading→
I was born in High Point, NC and moved to Raleigh with my family when I was 2 years old. I grew up and went to elementary school in the historic Oberlin Village section of Raleigh. I am still an active member of Wilson Temple United Methodist Church. Every night before bed, my brother and I… Continue Reading→
One summer, many years ago, while working for a geophysical seismic survey crew outside of Meeteetse, Wyoming, I was hiking with another woman, picking up cables and geophones in some steep, craggy terrain. We had flown up into the mountains in a helicopter with our crew, but the two of us were alone on this… Continue Reading→
My name is Marcharkelti McKenzie. My name is original. It is made up of my mom’s, dad’s, and two brother’s names: Mary, Charles, Kelvin, and Tim. Just as my name is unique, my story is as well. From the time I was 9 years old, I played softball with my dad. He has always been… Continue Reading→
I was raised on the outskirts of Washington, DC at a time when one could sleep without locking the house up at night, everyone knew each other in the neighborhood, and children and pets could freely play outside. My parents and grandparents were tobacco and cotton farmers. During summer months, we would head off to North Carolina… Continue Reading→
I was born in October of 1996, in Petersboro, Virginia. I had been asked to be part of a mission saturation event in the Petersboro District in Virginia. As a missionary, I was to speak at a local church during the weekend. The keynote speaker for the kickoff event was Bishop Ruediger Minor of the UMC… Continue Reading→
In our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power. Acts 2:11b (NRSV) By the time I was 3 years old, I was living on my third continent! I was born on a wintry January day in Louisville, Kentucky, where my father was completing his seminary degree and my mother was teaching nursing. … Continue Reading→
He called me Mary Katherine. I called him Mr. McNabb. I do not even remember a first name. But he knew mine. His home was a dusty shack with dirt floors, and his resting place, an old wooden pole he leaned on because he had artificial legs from the knee down. He lost them in… Continue Reading→
I was born in the Christmas City, (Minden, NE) and raised in the center of the U. S. (Kearney, NE). A job transfer for my husband brought us and our four children to North Carolina in 1985. Locating Knightdale UMC on the third day, just blocks from our new home, I vowed to God “You… Continue Reading→
I am Amy Lynn McCurry Perry. I am a native of Raleigh. The only time I have lived away was when I attended UNCW. I currently live in North Raleigh with my 18-year-old daughter, Chesson, who will be attending ECU this coming fall. I guess that would put me in the pre-empty-nester stage of life…. Continue Reading→
When I reflect upon the person known as Melba Denise Goode McCallum, I find myself humbled by all that I am and all that I aspire to be, for I am truly blessed by the Lord. I started life as a daughter and sister, growing up in the Method community of Raleigh. I was the… Continue Reading→
I know the happiest people on earth. Let me introduce you. One of these happy people will call me from Pennsylvania or Florida or Oregon or North Carolina and schedule a work team to come for a weekend in February or a week in July. These folks pile into vans and drive for hours or… Continue Reading→
I am a Methodist preacher’s kid, and in a feat to seek my individuality, as well as seeming a little rebellious, I got into tattoos and piercings. I have ten piercings (four on my right ear, five on my left ear, and one in my nose.) I currently have two tattoos. The first is on… Continue Reading→
I like books. No big shocker there. I’m a librarian. But I almost equally like television, movies, music, and any kind of game that does not look like a sport. As an only child, I learned to love entertainment, and I find rest and peace in solitary activities. I used to beg my parents not… Continue Reading→
I was 10 years old and, in my attempt to become an independent boy, I became a little careless about church attendance. There came a time when I missed two Sundays back to back from church. On a Saturday morning, I saw the mail carrier put mail in our box, so I went to collect… Continue Reading→
Hey! My name is Ellyn Benson Dubberly. The majority of my life, my home has been in eastern North Carolina. My childhood was in New Bern, while my teenage and adult years were in Rocky Mount. More recently, my husband Brian and I call Ahuachapan, El Salvador home. We live here with our dog, Buddie. … Continue Reading→
Late one warm evening, towards the end of September, slowly approaching October. During the time before ultra sound. There came a beautiful, darling little bouncing baby girl, born to Joseph and Hettie Hunter. This little baby girl already had a brother, wondering and waiting. He wanted somebody to play with. The whole family was waiting… Continue Reading→
I’m the artistic son of an Old Testament professor and a counselor who helps survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. In other words, my creativity has been steeped in an environment in which the love of Scripture and the love of God’s people have never been mutually exclusive. My doodles became meaningful to my… Continue Reading→
Regine Jean-Baptiste is a daughter, sister, pastor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Regine is a child of God. “I love to share life with others,” Regine says, “because we each have a story to share of God’s goodness in the earth. So my life is like an open book and I invite others to read it and… Continue Reading→
