New Church Start

Bishop Lowry and the Cabinet ask each local church in the Central Texas Conference make it a priority to return to weekly narrative and statistical reporting via VitalSigns.

During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, reporting weekly narrative and statistical data via VitalSigns to the Districts and Conference was not seen as a priority. However, the time has come to resume accurate, weekly reporting via VitalSigns. Knowing where we are is the first step in leading to where we are going. The metrics reported should include worship attendance (in-person and online), professions of faith, number of small groups (in-person and online), and probably most importantly, the stories of the daily life and mission of the church that speaks so much to what God is doing in our churches and communities throughout the CTC. Please visit ctcumc.org/vitalsigns for more info and/or to access the VitalSigns tool. See also Rev. Mike Ramsdell's Weekly eNote from July 7, 2021 for more details and context.

Building Micro Churches & Small Groups Webinar Replay Now Available

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.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 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.

Click on the player below to view a replay of May 26 webinar and hear the insights and ideas shared by Bishop Lowry, Mike and Leah. To download a replay for sharing or use in a small group, please visit the CTC Vimeo page

Bishop Lowry Announces Retirement from Episcopacy Effective Jan. 1, 2022

Bishop Mike Lowry, episcopal leader of the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church has announced that he will retire from the episcopacy effective January 1, 2022. Bishop Lowry, who will enter into Vocational Retirement as defined in ¶408.2b in the 2016 UMC Book of Discipline, is the longest tenured episcopal leader in the history of the Fort Worth Episcopal Area having served as bishop of the Central Texas Conference since his election to the episcopacy in 2008.

Because a new or permanent bishop cannot be assigned to the Central Texas Conference until a duly held meeting of the South Central Jurisdictional Conference (SCJ) is convened, the Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church has the duty of providing episcopal coverage for the conference according to ¶407 of the UMC Book of Discipline. Though it is anticipated to be sometime this summer, currently there is no official timetable for when or who the Council of Bishops will announce as the bishop to cover the episcopal duties for the conference until a permanent bishop can be assigned. The 14th session of the South Central Jurisdictional Conference is tentatively scheduled to convene sometime in the fall/winter of 2022 following the announced Aug. 29 – Sept. 6, 2022 meeting of the Postponed-2020 General Conference. As such, it is anticipated that whomever the COB selects to provide episcopal coverage for the Central Texas Conference will do so until Jan. 1, 2023. Please visit ctcumc.org/bishop-lowry-to-retire-jan1_2022 for more details.

Meet the District Discipleship Coaches

Making disciples of Jesus Christ is at the core of everything we do in the Central Texas Conference. The establishment of District Discipleship Coaches as part of the Forward to a New Spring initiative is designed to provide clergy and lay leadership with dedicated resources and work with each church’s unique character and mission field to develop, improve, implement and grow discipleship pathways that lead to a vibrant culture of discipleship in each of our local churches. Please view the video below featuring Revs. Joseph Nader, Sharon Reid and Gary White as they briefly touch on how they view their role as a District Discipleship Coach, some of the plans and visions they have in the short- and long-term for their district areas and how each is eagerly looking forward to contacting and beginning to work the clergy and lay leadership in each district as we together journey Forward to a New Spring in our wildly important goal of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

To view the full interviews with each of the District Discipleship Coaches, please go to ctcumc.org/districts.

New Faith Community Grants - Phase II

As the CTC continues to move Forward to a New Spring and reimagine all the ways that our churches and people go about our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, the Center for Evangelism, Mission and Church Growth (CEMCG) has also reimagined its New Faith Communities Grant Initiative by adding two new levels of grants and changing the request process from an application to a proposal. Click on the graphic to the right to view a video from Rev. Mike Ramsdell, executive director of CEMCG, in which he highlights Phase II of the New Faith Community Grants. For more details, be sure to visit ctcumc.org/new-faith-communities-grant