News

Exploring the Stories of Esther and John Wesley

We recognize that God is doing new and fresh things through local churches in Missouri to reach new people, collaborate beyond denomination bounds and serve communities. One way we support that work is through grant ...

Global Ministries commissioned 67 new EarthKeepers in an online service on Nov. 19, 2024. This service affirmed the EarthKeepers in their call to the creation care ministry and blessed their work in their communities. ...

I wrote a year and a half ago about a Christmas cactus I inherited from my mother. I claimed that the bloom among the brown leaves was a sign of life still in the plant. Tying this idea to the United Methodist Church, I ...

If you’re on your local church’s board of trustees or leadership council, you’ve likely already felt the pressure. Once reliable insurers that provide churches with coverage are suddenly raising the costs of coverage, ...

This is the first of a three-part series focused on communication strategies modeled on the example of Jesus, encouraged by the Apostle Paul (see The Letter of Paul to the Philippians 1:27, 2:3-4) and encapsulated in 3 ...

The Missouri Conference Center in Columbia will soon run on the sun’s power. The Conference Trustees approved the installation of solar panels in the spring of 2024, and the installation began in December. “The Board of...

When was the last time you took time just for yourself? My hope is that during this past season of Advent you were able to take the time to reflect, reset and rest. I know that Advent can be a busy time of year for those...

Compass Finds Itself at Home in Taking Connection to a New Level

By Neva Allen, Knob Noster UMC Member How does a community mourn? It wasn’t a natural catastrophe. It wasn’t a crime spree. It was just a very tough year. Knob Noster is a community of 2,800 nestled between the ...

Nikki Lerner Shares Tips at Jump Start

The new year is a great time to hit the reset button on personal goals and set new goals, both short and long term. That’s especially true of personal finances. Your Money Line is a benefit provided by Clergy and Church...

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As we close 2024, we are grateful for the faithfulness of the people of the Missouri Annual Conference. The Conference is not just an event or the ...

Parents and NextGen ministry leaders, it’s time to plan ahead for an amazing summer! Take advantage of our limited-time holiday discounts on summer experiences for all ages. Register or buy your group’s seats before Jan....

Advent is about the coming of God. We usually think of Advent as the time leading up to Christmas, when God the Son came to live among us as one of us. This is its position in the calendar of the church year. But Advent...

By Herman McDaniel, Lay Leader, Centennial UMC When someone contacts you and says, “I need you to consider completing a task,” you should say, “Let me think about it.” Then you should think about it, pray about it and ...

Luke 1:45-55 | The Message Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! And Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at ...

By Rev. Laura Murphy Rev. Michelle Shoger was about to attend the Annual Conference Session preceding her first clergy appointment in 2023 when her husband Scott died suddenly and unexpectedly. The grief of the tragic ...

Maplewood UMC Leans into Connectionalism Through the Ages, Generates Leaders

The year-end stats portal for entry of 2024 local church statistics entry opens on Dec. 30, 2024, and closes on Jan. 31, 2025. Again this year we'll be using GCFA's (General Council on Finance and Administration) AC ...

The McKendree Chapel Memorial Association hosted its annual service at the Old McKendree Chapel on Sept. 22. Actor BJ Johnston performed a shortened version of his one-person play, “The Man from Aldersgate.” BJ played ...

Smoke was reported at the Adrian United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Oct. 9, just before dawn. When the fire crews arrived, the building was already fully engulfed. No injuries have been reported, but the building ...

Dr. Kathy Kiely, the Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism, gave Missouri Conference clergy a two-hour blitz version of her semester-long “Confronting Controls on Information” class ...

The Missouri Conference took advantage of having all the clergy assembled for Boundaries Training to offer something more, including social time in the evening and a clergy gathering in the middle of the two-day ...

Last month, I attended the Church of the Resurrection’s Leadership Institute. Their theme was “Onward.” Most of the plenary and workshop sessions dealt with moving forward into a new era of the United Methodist Church in...

The term “boundaries” is intentionally broad and covers many topics, including power dynamics, sexual ethics, social media use, relationships, conflicts, self-care and more. Since 1996, the United Methodist Church has ...

By Josh Schaller, Children's and Camping Ministry Coordinator The Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Conference in Missouri is home to 530 churches, most of which worship less than 100 on an average Sunday. We ...

Rev. Joseph Frana’s a Missouri Conference elder, but you haven’t seen him around much since his ordination other than at the Annual Conference. He’s living out his call to ministry as a United States Navy Chaplain. His ...

This story was originally published on Sept. 7, 2024, by The Kansas City Star and was written by Robert A. Cronkleton. In 2021, Amanda Burrows had an answer to a giant Confederate flag that was erected along a popular ...

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths but only what is suitable for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29   Give Grace Ephesians 4:29 is a favorite verse ...

Fall festivals, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are three months with limitless potential for warmth, connection, and belonging. They are often filled with memories, traditions and cultural significance. As I ...

In the past year, several books have been published by, and in one case about, Missouri Conference clergy or church leaders. Here is a roundup of some of the recent ones available.   Extremists for Love: A Theological ...

Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote is a professor, author, and missionary who is a big fan of both Wesley brothers. While Missouri Conference clergy was gathered in Columbia for Boundaries Training, Tuesday morning was set apart in ...

Caroline Blanton spent a summer working as a human relations intern at a manufacturing plant that employs several hundred people. She learned things but was ready for a different experience before entering her senior ...

Many believe that America was founded as a Christian nation. This belief has been popularized through books and online by “historians” who cherry-pick quotes and events to support their claims. Millions of people who ...

Dear Missouri United Methodists, As secular institutions increasingly step back from their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, we in the Missouri Conference remain steadfast in our dedication to...

Columbia, Mo. – The Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish the Big Worship, Little Disciples program. This initiative is designed ...

I can remember my daughter’s first awareness of race. In the summer of 2003, my family went on a camping trip to Owensville. One afternoon, my husband and I took Gabrielle to the playground in the commons area. Shortly ...

It certainly did involve good people; that is irrefutable. And they served good food. But they weren’t going to be making enough money to make good on the bills that were coming due. So the Good People Café’s last day ...

Rev. Donna Clark Fuller is the new Native American Liaison for the Missouri Conference. She is an elder appointed to Memphis United Methodist Church, about 10 miles from Iowa in northeast Missouri. Fuller grew up in ...

If life hands you lemons, make lemon cupcakes! Now, I know you thought I was going to say lemonade. That’s alright, too, but just maybe, there are different ways we can look at a situation. Surely this is true for how we...

On the weekend of August 17, Susan and I attended the car show at Church of the Resurrection’s Leawood Campus. Saturday's theme was “Restoration from the Old to the New.” Rev. Adam Hamilton was preaching a three-week ...

What can John Wesley tell us about politics? Well, from one angle, not much. Wesley lived in England, which was only semi-democratic. The monarch was powerful, and those who could vote for Parliament were a small ...

Occasionally, scrolling through one’s newsfeed can yield more than feelings of insecurity and envy — it can sometimes lead to new connections and resources. Such was the case for Rev. Kim Jenne, Missouri Conference ...

In 1881, at Wesley’s Chapel in London, 400 delegates from 30 Methodist bodies met for what was to become the first meeting of the World Methodist Conference. Since 1881, the Conference has met regularly, excepting two ...

Hurricane Helene has devastated parts of the southeastern U.S., bringing catastrophic flooding and destruction. As Conferences begin to assess the damage, we ask for continued prayers for first responders and all those ...

Missouri NextGen Ministries seeks to support and equip Missouri’s NextGen leaders. One way we do that is through a new program called NextGen Leaders Academy. This six-month program teaches the basics of NextGen ...

By Ryan Cohen, summer 2024 ministry intern   If you’d asked me when I started college what I thought my first job after graduation would be, I’d have probably said “journalist” or “assistant at a movie studio.” And I’d ...

Each year the Missouri Conference works together with local churches to hire and support summer interns to serve in various ministry roles. Applications are now open for both host churches and interns interested in the ...

By Rev. Mona Candea, Associate Director of NextGen Ministries In the Book of Discipline, Christian ministry is described as “the expression of the mind and mission of Christ by a community of Christians that ...