The primary task of the North Georgia Conference Office of Connectional Ministries is to resource and train leaders, laity and clergy for the mission of the church. |
Insight for your Church's Mission
Phil Schroeder, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Before you read any further, prayerfully ask yourself, "Do I want to know more about my community in order to:
A: attract more people to my church?" Or
B: know how to change in order to bless those who are not yet connected to Christ and the church?"
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The Mosaic data will powerfully enhance a user's understanding of the story behind The numbers. |
Tom Bandy suggests this kind of spiritual preparation before you begin any study of demographics. Mission Insite generates demographics reports for churches within minutes. It provides free information to help your church explore its parish and discover new mission opportunities.
To Begin Using MissionInsite:
1. Go to www.MissionInsite.com
2. Click on the "Local Church" tab. On the drop down menu, click on "Church Registration". Follow the instructions on the screen. Our Agency Account Number is N1311 for the North Georgia Conference. South Georgia also uses MissionInsite. After entering your Agency Account Number, select your city, select your church, and complete the registration process. Following the E-mail validation step you will be ready to login with your newly created Username and Password.
3. Continue your orientation by clicking on Resources under Mission Resources for Local Churches. On the Resource page, view the Local Church Getting Started Tutorial. After you view the Tutorial, download the Introductory Local Church User Guide and the MI Demographic Segments Guide (Quick Look). Greater detail is contained in the MI Demographic Segments Guide (Detail Look) and in the Interactive Multimedia Guide to MOSAIC. The User Guide will provide additional assistance in navigating the study areas and the MI Demographic Segments Guide provides the descriptions of the MOSAIC Segments. These will prepare you for accessing the extensive information available to you. (Macintosh users will need to use Firefox. The interactive Mosaic information is only available using Explorer.)
4. Explore the site using the simple Report Wizard and the full set of Discovery Tools found in the Demographic and Thematic Maps sections. Also view your Congregant Plot options on the Resource page is free for the first 50 churches to ask.
Contact Phil Schroeder, pschroeder@ngumc.org, for further information.
Discipleship Berlitz: Why summer camp is integral to our fulfilling the mission of the church
Russell Davis , DIRECTOR/MANAGER OF GLISSON
Have you ever taken a class to learn a foreign language? Can you remember more than a few words now? If you are like me, and most folks, you took a few foreign language classes in school. However, without a group of people with whom to practice your skills regularly, we've forgotten all but a few words of the language and have never become comfortable, much less fluent, speaking it. Most folks need an immersion experience to become fluent in a foreign language. That might mean a trip to a country where the language is primary for the people or it may mean a planned experience during which participants are surrounded by people speaking the language and are expected to speak only that language themselves.
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You can register today for summer camp at Glisson by going to www.campglisson.org. |
I believe the functional relationship between classes and immersion experiences in effectively learning a foreign language is similar to the relationship between the local church and Camping and Retreat Ministries in growing disciples. Most churches and many families do a good job of teaching about the Christian faith and offering short-term faith-building experiences for their children, youth and adults. However, busy schedules, limited time together and the constant “noise” of daily life beyond the church compete with our efforts to acquire and develop the practices of discipleship.
One week of summer camp has the same number of hours as a full year of church educational and worship experiences, but without any of the interruptions that can dilute their impact. We work for camp to be an immersion experience in discipleship where the languages of Christian love, acceptance, community, healing and growth are spoken. A week of practicing the languages of discipleship at camp can make our children and youth more fluent in living discipleship the rest of the year. When the language feels less strange and more a part of our lives, we're more willing to speak it more often. And when the camp experience is coupled with the embrace and encouragement of the local congregation, we become more effective as a church in making disciples for whom the language of Christ is a primary, rather than secondary, language.
Make sure your children and youth have every available resource to grow as disciples. It's a “BreakThrough” summer at Camp Glisson - register today at campglisson.org. Don't let money get in the way of your child's faith development! If you don't have the resources to pay for camp or are afraid an uncertain economy may make camp unaffordable by the time summer arrives, you should know that - Glisson has your back! Find out how at campglisson.org…
For more information, visit www.ngaumc.org.
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Mar 17th |
Day of Love and Justice Rescheduled @ the Georgia State Capitol |
Mar 21st |
Latino Immigration: Challenges and Opportunities for the Church @ Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur Email Pat Roper at RoperP@CTSnet.edu for registration information. |
April 16th, April 18th |
Safe Sanctuaries' Training of Trainers @ Dunwoody UMC Contact Debby Fox at debby.fox@ngumc.net for more information. |
April 23rd |
Youth Worker Movement @ Acworth UMC. Go to www.youthworkermovement.org for more info. |
April 24-25th |
2nd Annual Disaster Response Training Event. Go to www.ngdisasterresponse.org for more details. |
April 25th |
Weaving a Web of Connections Training Event @ Dunwoody UMC. Go to www.ngumc.org/ministries/weaving_a_web |
South Georgia Conference Office of Connectional Ministries |
From the Director: Yellow Jonquils and Life
By Lowery Brantley
Throughout the last few weeks, as I have driven over much of South Georgia, I have noticed the beautiful yellow jonquils all in bloom. Occasionally one will find them growing in manicured yards, and their bright colors are welcomed relief to many. Others are found growing alongside the road or in overgrown areas. These are the ones that seem to speak so clearly and loudly to me as I pass by. It is obvious that these jonquils are growing where someone had planted them years ago. The house where these persons lived in is dilapidated, often overgrown with bushes and vines. Oftentimes nothing remains of the home except these yellow jonquils.
Someone planted them – someone who lived in the home that is no longer there. These yellow jonquils bear silent but brilliant witness of the home they once lent beauty to and were admired by the persons who made their home there. Driving by these these beautiful yellow jonquils, I hear in my mind this message: “We are not the first; others have come before us.” Such is the nature of life. None of us is self-made. We bear in our DNA the genetic traits of all who have come before us. We may have pulled ourselves up by the bootstrap, but we are not self-made people. Others have come before us, and they have helped to shape and mold what we become.
As I drive by these yellow jonquils, I try to envision in my mind the people and families who once lived in these houses – houses that are no longer there. I know there were houses. I know that persons lived there. In my mind, I think of the joys they knew, each in their own time and manner. I think of the adversities and trials they faced – some they overcame, and others too great to overcome. “We are not the first: others have come before us.” We owe a great debt to those who have come before us. We bear their imprints and values and histories within our own being. That we are not the first is certainly true. But neither are we the last. Others will behold the “yellow jonquils” we now plant. They will wonder what joys we shared and what trials we endured.
For 170 years the Wesleyan Christian Advocate has been our home for news and inspiration as an annual conference. We are saddened by its current condition, and we give thanks to its contributions to this conference all these many years and for its “yellow jonquils” we will see in the future. We know that the United Methodist Reporter will become our new home for news and inspiration. We look forward to our new relationship and common purpose. Our South Georgia Conference Office of Communications will be responsible for conference-wide news, and the UM Reporter will produce the news from the larger church.
But thanks be to God for the yellow jonquils that the Wesleyan Christian Advocate has left us – the beautiful reminders of its glory days and the beauty and knowledge it has given us. The Advocate’s yellow jonquils will continue to enrich our lives for decades to come! Thanks be to God!
Web Training Event set for April 25
"Weaving a Web of Connections: Using Technology for Effective Ministry" is coming to Georgia April 25, 2009. Do you want to develop or expand a Web presence for your local church, district or conference organization? Are you interested in using Web 
and Internet technology tools and resources for effective ministry? Then join local church, district, and conference volunteers, staff, webmasters/servants, communicators, editors and pastors for this exciting training event co-sponsored by United Methodist Communications and the South and North Georgia Conference Offices of Communications. Through interactive presentations, hands-on demonstrations and comprehensive handouts participants will explore a variety of options for Weaving a Web of Connections by using internet technology for effective ministry. This event will be held at Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center in Norcross, Ga. The training fee is $75 and includes all meals, breaks, sessions and materials. Registration deadline is April 19. Visit www.sgaumc.org for more information, including a schedule and registration information.
| MID HIGH CAMPS Mid-High Mania 1: June 8-12 Mid-High Mania 2: June 15-19 Epworth By The Sea For those entering 6th-9th grades Counselors provided Cost: $225 |
ELEMENTARY CAMPS Elem. Camp 1: June 22-26 Elem. Camp 2: July 6-10 Elem. Camp 3: July 13-17 Epworth By The Sea For those entering 4th-6th grades Counselors provided Cost: $225 |
Annual Conference Session Information
Information regarding the 2009 session of the South Georgia Annual Conference, meeting June 7-10 in Columbus, has been posted to the conference website. You may access the page directly by going to www.sgaumc.org/ac2009.
Highlights of the page currently include:
Information regarding Constitutional Amendments, which will be voted on by the Annual Conference, including a complete listing of amendments and FAQ's.
•Important Deadlines
•Childcare Information
•List of Hotels
•Day of Service Information
•Pre-conference Meeting Dates
Still time to register for Older Adult Retreat
The 2009 Older Adult Retreat, "Joy for Today -- Hope for Tomorrow," is set for April 13-15, 2009, at Epworth By The Sea. This year's retreat promises to be a wonderful experience in fellowship, worship, and outreach and will explore the mystery of God's design to use us at every stage in life, including right now. The retreat speaker will be the Bishop Marion Edwards and the Bible study leader will be Dr. Evelyn Laycock. The retreat will begin on Monday, April 13, at 1:00 p.m. and will conclude Wednesday, April 15, at 1:00 p.m. An additional night's stay may be added to your retreat package for those who cannot get enough of beautiful St. Simons Island. There is still time to register so sign up today! For more information please contact Adam Ricker or Diane Giles at the Connectional Ministries Office at (888) 266-7642.
