Grace-Calvary United Methodist Church
Pastor Larry D. Sellers along with a team that consisted of Aaron Burch, Charleston Lewis, Marie Burch, and Hazel Holt have already begun to lead Grace-Calvary in implementing some of the things they have learned as a result of becoming a Partner Church. For starters, the church has developed a hospitality program. The church has changed the worship service to include more arts in worship utilizing dance, story telling and props, and is now in the process of developing a discipleship team. <read the full story>
John Wesley United Methodist Church
located in Bristol, Virginia attended the St. Mark Chicago Congregation Resource Center Event. This Church event focused on “A Traditional Church with Innovative Ministries.” <read the full story>
Impressions of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century
“Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, and Transform the World” is the ultimate call for true believers in Jesus Christ to make a difference where God has placed him or her in the body of Christ. In order to “bloom where one is planted,” there is the need for personal enrichment, congregational development assessment, quality control management, time management, Christian Education incentives, and a host of other related areas in Leadership training. These options and possibilities are accessible to those who value change. <read the full story>
A rural church story - Breaking ground in Hunger, South Carolina
The St. Thomas Charge is a rural church model for Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (SBC21). The St. Thomas Charge consist of New Hope, Steward Chapel and Zion United Methodist Church. Through the training events put on by SBC21 total membership of the St. Thomas Charge has grown from 567 members to over 1,200 members in seven years. <read the full story>
When he talks about his churches, the Rev. Marvin Taylor gets fired up. Taylor, pastor of the three-point St. Thomas Charge in Huger, S.C., a rural area north of Charleston, said his congregations are growing in an area where many churches are dying. The growth started when the churches identified community needs and worked to fill them. <Read the full story in Interpreter Magazine.>
Transforming a church from a struggling congregation into a dynamic one can be as simple as focusing on a fundamental Christian practice: Bible study. The Rev. Dennis Blackwell cites Bible study as a factor in his church’s growth from 40 people to 300 in the 15 years since he became pastor. <Read the full story>
