On May 26, Dr. Leah Hidde-Gregory, South/Central District Area Superintendent, lent her experience and expertise to the mix alongside Bishop Mike Lowry and Rev. Mike Ramsdell for the fifth and final webinar in the New Church for a New World Webinar Series. During their conversations, the trio focused on “Micro Churches” and small groups – both essential elements in our mission and Wildly Important Goal of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. While “the shutdown” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic revealed many methods churches can use to reach new people in new ways, perhaps the most unique discoveries were the birth of “Micro Churches” within an existing church, along with the rediscovery of the critical nature of small groups. The on-demand replay of their discussion is now available at ctcumc.org/building-micro-churches-small-groups.
Building a new church vision in this new world in which our churches are living out the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ is critical. Typically, the vision for the New Church in the New World cannot be the same vision the church had before the pandemic. A key component of building a successful vision is by doing a Ministry Audit - an objective analysis of budgets, ministries, buildings, staff and church teams. Watch and/or download and share this replay to hear from Bishop Lowry, Rev. Mike Ramsdell and Rev. Leslie Byrd as they share their experiences and insights on how to build a vision for your church and why Ministry Audits are vital in your church taking the next step(s) in achieving your mission and vision?
The future of the post-COVID-19 church is not going to be about how to best reactivate the “dropouts” – church members and regular attendees pre-COVID who have been absent during the pandemic. The future of the church going forward is in reaching new people. This has always been true, but in this new season, it is even more vital. View this replay to hear Rev. Mike Ramsdell, Rev. Louis Carr and Bishop Lowry discuss Building Evangelism in the local church, and more specifically on how to reach people we aren’t already reaching.
One of the things we are discovering in this COVID-19 season is how vital it is to rely on the team - pastors, staff, and laity. How do we build and rebuild a new team that can tackle the opportunities and seasons ahead? Along witht the riveting discussion around building a succesful team, Bishop Lowry, Mike and Pat also discuss some methods to help churches strengthen stewardship and giving in the local church, a crucial need in the next season.
The Churches spiritual core is the foundation of the new future. In this presentation, Bishop MIke Lowry, Rev. Mike Ramsdell and special guest Rev. Joseph Nader focus on making disciples and strengthening our churches' spiritual lives.
Thom Rainer, a former local church pastor and a premier church consultant, discusses the church's challenges and opportunities in today's new reality and include a live Q&A afterward. Where do we go from here? In this session, Thom offers invaluable tools for what is next. You can find his book, "The Post Quarantine Church," on Amazon along with other resources.
An On-Demand Replay of this webinar is now available at txcumc.org/thom-rainer-webinar
In partnership with the Order of Elders, Order of Deacons, Fellowship of Local Pastors, and the Cabinet, this presentation by Midnight Oil Productions was led by Jason Moore. The two-hour workshop delved into strategies for how to create powerful transformative worship where no one feels like they are an afterthought. Registrants received a 20-page handbook pdf. (Event will be available for viewing for 90 days after the webinar, and Jason will host a Zoom with clergy within the first 30 days to answer questions, etc.). For more information, please contact Rev. Meg Witmar-Faile (megwitmar-faile@ctcumc.org)