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UM Army News

CHRISTMAS U.M. ARMY! 

What a blast!

Jacksonville FUMC was a fantastic host, and a super facility! All meals were provided by the good folks at the church, and they were DELICIOUS! We even had one of our participants prepare Indian Cuisine; curried chicken with rice. Mmmm, Mmmm, GOOD!

There were 87 participants from 12 different churches (new record). It was a mini-camp, Mon – Fri, but we completed 17 sites in three days!  We were interviewed on the radio, and had an article in the newspaper. Jacksonville is an AWESOME community!

Worship was powerful (thanks Marla!) with great music led by the Praise Band from Jacksonville FUMC.

And the weather was perfect! Only one morning were we scraping ice from the windshields.

You don’t get that during the summer!!

Great Camp! And everyone is looking forward to U.M. ARMY Christmas Camp 2012.

Leading Ideas – Lewis Center for Church Leadership

  Meeting Your New First-Time Guest
  By Don Nations

     Fifty years ago a person moved to town, looked in the newspaper or phone book for a church of their denomination, visited a couple of them (if there were more than one), and then joined the church.

   Twenty-five years ago a person moved to town, looked in the newspaper or phone book for churches in general, visited three or four of them, and then joined the church of their choice — or at least attended there on a regular basis.

Read More

 

Your Website is Your Church’s Welcome Mat
By Matthew Lyons

   Increasingly, those looking for a church begin their search online.  Therefore, a congregation’s website must function as a satellite of their church. Consider these facts:

  • Eighty to 85 percent of people searching for a church use the internet.
  • For church websites generally, 19 percent of “content views” relate to new visitor information. In other words, this is what one in five persons viewing your website is seeking.
  • On average, however, visitors spend only 90 seconds on the homepage of a church site.

 Read More

 

The Right Question

Leaders do not need answers.
Leaders must have the right questions.

     We know that leaders require high credibility to lead. The same is true for congregations. So churches should regularly ask such questions as:

- What is our reputation in the community?
- What do people say about us?
- What first comes to mind when others 
 hear our church name?

 

PAUMCS Conference

(Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretraries/Staff)

APRIL12-15, 2012 Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa at Short Pump RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

 

Workshop Topics:

Does Your Church Have a Prayer:Are You in Maintenance or Misison?

How to Recruit and Keep Volunteers

History of Methodism

UMC General Conference 2012

Hands On Mission: Stop Hunger Now

 

Make plans to attend!

Scholarships Available www.paumcs.org or call Anna M Rohde 903.758-7003

Human Relations Day

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Helps support improving the fabric of communities and the quality of life for those who live in them.  Click here for more info…

CLM Consultation Group Meeting

Attention Certified Lay Ministers and Candidates!

Rev. Dan Hoke and CLM Registrar, Anna M Rohde will conduct these key meetings to offer CLMs real help with church issues/concerns, spiritual direction, and valuable preaching resources.  Please RSVP with Anna (903-758-7003) your attendance at either location.

 

January 16

District Office, Longview Location 10:00 AM – 1511 Judson Rd., Ste A

 

January 26

District Office, Texarkana Location 10:00 AM – 4008 Moores Lane

 

Report Day 2012

January 9, 2012    9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Grace Crossing UMC, Longview

 

January 10, 2012    9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

District Office – Texarkana

 

This year we have moved to the EZRA System for data entry, which replaces DOVE.  Visit http://ezra.gcfa.org/ Your ID is your church’s GCFA number, “Company Name” is GBNO, password is txcumc1.  For those without highspeed internet, identified places in the district will be available for your data entry.  Contact either district office.  Start NOW!  Remember:  SAVE FREQUENTLY.

 

903-665-3258 Rev. Allison Byerley, Dist. Auditor

903-794-6231 Lonna Nunn      903-758-7003 Anna M Rohde

Local Church Officer Training

January 8 at 3 PM @ Gilmer First United Methodist Church

January 22 at 3 PM @ Linden First United Methodist Church

 

Workshops:

Finance – Mr. Ed Moore

Staff Pastor Parish (SPRC) – DS Rev. Bill Taylor

Trustees – Mr. Jerry Massey

Administrative Council – Mr. Carroll Greenwaldt

Missions – Rev. Richard Laster & Ms. Marty Vaughan

 

– All are welcome. Committee Guidelines available $3 –

 

Sponsored by: North District Leadership Team

More Information:  903-758-7003 & 903-794-6231

Church Transformation Survey

This is to let you know that the Church Transformation Survey is now available on line.  It is running on the same server that runs the Salary Sheet application, but there is a different logon screen to gain access.

This application is designed to handle multiple information gathering tasks for the Texas Annual Conference, so you will see a “Switchboard” screen after you logon to the system that has buttons to take you to the specific task you want to accomplish.

The church Level logon screen can be found by going to the conference web site and clicking on the “Login Area”.  Below the link to EZRA is a new choice titled:

 

Vital Signs, Church Transformation Survey,

and other local church information

 

which takes you to the actual web page address of

http://www.logicalchurchsolutions.com/Equitable/CTSLogin.aspx

That login is like EZRA, churches use their GCFA number with the generic password.  On the first logon they are asked to set their own password.  If they make it the same as EZRA, both systems will take the same logon.  The logon screen looks like

Information for Clergy Spouses

Hello to all clergy spouses!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.  May the Lord touch your heart
this Christmas and fill you up with His amazing love and joy.  May He
continue to use you to be a blessing to all those around you.

I have some exciting news.  We now have online registration.  Yeah!!!!!
Laura Morgan, our registrar, has been working on this with Heartspring.
Thanks to Laura for making this possible.  So we are going to be using it to
register for our Winter Gathering coming up February 3-4.  See attached
information about the gathering.

Here is how the online registration works…..

Below is the link for the online registration.  The link will take you to
the Heartspring Foundation site.  Register as a guest–no log in or
password.  The registration fee is nonrefundable upon registration, meals
are nonrefundable after 1/20/12, lodging is nonrefundable if Laura Morgan is
not notified by 1/31/2012 (48 hours prior to event).

Laura will be on a mission trip to Haiti January 7-14.  If you have any
questions or concerns during this time, please contact Nancy McClanahan.
Nancy’s contact info …..Cell phone # 832-583-6022 …..email,
txnancy@hotmail.com.

Here is the online registration
link…https://public.serviceu.com/RegistrationForm/5698640-211788039/?OrgKe
y=e92d5642-16a8-403b-acaf-238db237c528

I have been reading a great book,  Married to a Pastor’s Wife by H.B.London
and Neil B. Wiseman.  I want to pass along to you the first couple of
paragraphs of the first chapter.  Read it and be encouraged!!!  Male
spouses, know that this is for you also.  It does not include you since the
book is about pastors’ wives.  But it IS about you since you are the most
important person in your wife’s ministry.
Our hats are off to you!!!!

“Hats off to all women married to pastors.  These ladies of faith
deserve many 21 gun salutes, thunderous applause, and stunning bouquets.
Let’s celebrate their faithfulness – light the fireworks, strike up the
band, call out the cheerleaders, organize 10,000 parades, buy out the
confetti in every store.  Let’s cheer and whistle as these unheralded
heroines of Christianity take their well-deserved bows.
Without these women’s spunk and tenacity, many pastors would quit
before next Sunday.  Without many of them working in the secular marketplace
as breadwinners, pastors’ families could not survive financially – so they
would have to leave the ministry.  And without their Kingdom involvement,
many congregations would lose their most dynamic spark plug for getting a
lot of good done in the name of Christ.
Ladies, we celebrate the amazing vigor you bring to the work of God.
Though many ministry settings are difficult, the whole church is not in
flames.  All the wonderful work being done in local congregations does not
appear on the front pages of newspapers or in lead articles of clergy
magazines.  In a thousand and one places, women married to ministers are
making miraculous contributions to the well-being of the church and the
salvation of the world.”

Be encouraged…..keep up the great work you are doing!!!!

Margaret Fort, your clergy spouse president

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Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis News

Calling all Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis Participants for Jan. 20-21!

Have you experienced God’s amazing grace and the power of the Holy Spirit at a Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis weekend?  There is a community behind each walk or flight that serves to bring the weekend into being for pilgrims and caterpillars.  Each weekend is designed for the participants to deepen their relationship with Christ and to go out into the world to share Christ.  The N.E.T. Emmaus Community in our area has invited the South Central Emmaus and Chrysalis representatives to come and help each of us and all of us to prepare for walk/flight weekends, sponsor people, support reunion groups, and train clergy and laity in leadership.  Please come and join us as we strengthen what we do as the Body of Christ for the world!

 

Leaders:  Rev. Mike Cave, Carleen Alderman,& Pat Miller

Location: Tennison UMC, 313 N. Church St.,

Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455

Dates: Friday, Jan. 20, 5-9 p.m. Clergy Training

Lay folks are invited and welcome to join the clergy to discover how the clergy partner with the laity and the walks are designed to lead the pilgrims to a closer walk with Christ.

Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Lay Training

Laity will look at reunion groups, sponsorship, training, weekend planning, and more.

Meals will be provided.

RSVPs are essential!!! RSVP to Rev. Debbie Riggsby, email at deborah817@suddenlink.net, call 903-243-3333 (cell), or text 903-243-3333.  Please include your name and number of people attending.

 

SPECIAL NOTE:  Clergy, if you have attended a walk or flight, please email Debbie Riggsby atdeborah817@suddenlink.net with your contact info (name, address, phone, email, and walk/flight info) ASAP as we try to update our clergy directory!  Many thanks!