Discipleship Opportunities

The Baltimore-Washington Conference offers a number of opportunities for learning and growing in faith and discipleship. Scroll down this list of some of the offerings to put your faith into action.

Action and Advocacy 

Sign Up for the BWC Advocacy & Action Newsletter: The BWC’s Advocacy & Action Newsletter is a bi-monthly email with updates regarding the Advocacy & Action ministries, including our social action teams, legislative action, events, and announcements. This is a great way for individuals to stay updated on ways to get involved in the Advocacy & Action ministries. Sign up for the newsletter.

Mark your Calendars: 2024 Legislative Advocacy Days for federal legislation on Sept. 18; and for D.C. legislation on Oct. 23. 

Wellness and Missions

Mission u: Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences United Women in Faith and Wellness and Missions will host Mission u on July 20 at the Maritime Conference Center, Linthicum Heights, Md.

Applications for the BWC’s Quality of Life retreats for people living with HIV/AIDS, which will be held May 13 (for women only), Sept. 12, and Dec. 9, are now online. Learn more and apply.

Young People's Ministry

The BWC’s Young People’s Ministry will hold a Mental Health Symposium on May 18 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the BWC Mission Center in Fulton. The symposium, with speaker Lauren Jenkins, will provide youth and young adults, ages 13 - 35, with a space to raise awareness about mental health and suicide, have meaningful discussions on the power of resilience and faith and, through creative expressive activities, explore the importance of hope and connection. All attendees will gain tools and resources to support and invest in their mental health. The symposium will be facilitated by licensed and certified mental health professionals.

Spend your summer growing! BWC's Camp Manidokan and West River Center are hiring: gain job and communication skills, make friends, grow your faith, and have fun this summer on staff. Learn more.

Looking for mission opportunities for your youth?
Consider CAMP JOY 2024.  For more than 30 years, youth groups from the Baltimore-Washington and Pen-Del Conferences have served the Appalachian region by providing home repairs. When they’re not working, the youth tent camp at Camp Harmison in Berkley Springs, W.Va. The camp is scheduled for July 7 - 13 and 14 - 20. For more information, visit the Hancock UMC website or contact Pastor Becki Wessinger at 301-678-6440. Join the meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7749106935?omn=86576751993; Meeting ID: 774 910 6935.

CAMP HOPE is a youth ministry in which teams of youth work with adult leaders from their church for one week to serve a homeowner in Allegany County with home improvement needs. This year’s two camping sessions, based in Frostburg, will be held the first two weeks of July. For more information, contact ​ .

New Faith Expressions

Ignite Your Leadership Journey with SCD 2024: The School of Congregational Development is returning to Chicago this summer as SEE//CREATE//DISCIPLE (SCD) on Aug. 4-7 at the Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg,  IL. Learn more and register. Contact Rev. Bill Brown, Director of Innovative Evangelism if you have questions. Scholarships available.

Leadership

A.I.M. (Administrators in Ministry) is excited to announce, Walking by Faith, an in-person meeting on Thursday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All administrators in the UMC connectional structure are invited to participate. The event, which will take at the Conference Mission Center in Fulton, will include sessions on various topics in support of administrators taking their administry to the next level. The plenary speaker is Rev. Denise Norfleet-Walker, pastor of St. Paul Praise and Worship Center and Elderslie-St. Andrews UMCs in Baltimore. The cost is $35 for A.I.M. members and $60 for non-A.I.M. members. Learn more and register. 

Step Out: Discerning A Call to Ministry: Are you wondering if God has huge plans in store for your life? Are you sensing that God might have a career for you in ministry? Are you ready to Step Out and see where God is calling you? Then join us for our Step Out event on June 22 at Wesley Freedom UMC in Sykesville. You will hear from leaders in our church and have the opportunity to ask questions about all the ways you could serve God! Learn more and register.

Applications for the next class of Certified Lay Ministers of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Class of 2024-2026, are now being accepted. Learn more. Prospective CLM students must currently be a Certified Lay Servant or Certified Lay Speaker and must consult with their pastor before beginning the process. The website contains an application and information to be shared with your pastor, along with the steps and deadlines that must be taken before you can register for the first class. Registration closes July 1. The next class will start in September and is a two-year commitment. Questions can be directed to Linda Flanagan, Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries Note: Those interested in taking the CLM modules online through Beadisciple.com must also complete the application process above before registering for the online modules and meet the BWC requirements during the training.

Living Well Clergy Renewal Retreats: The Living Well Clergy Renewal Initiative is a seven-month cycle comprised of two retreats as well as monthly cohort meetings between the retreats to process learnings and support each other throughout the journey. This brand new spring-to-fall cycle will meet at West River Center on October 29-31, 2024. Successful completion of the Living Well program qualifies for 3.3 CEUs. Learn more and register now

Level Up: provides lessons in church leadership from the Rev. Jack Shitama of the Center of Vital Leadership. In these short videos, church leaders will discover some of the best and most influential principles in today’s secular writing about leadership. Learn from the experts about how to transform yourself and the world.  A new video will premiere each Monday.

A new Certificate in Congregational Leadership (CCL) program uses online learning to provide a comprehensive approach to developing leadership excellence in the local church. It is designed to accommodate the busy schedules of bi-vocational pastors, Certified Lay Ministers, and others interested in growing in their knowledge and faith. The courses, which take about 10 hours of work, can be taken for either personal enrichment or certification. Participants seeking certification must take the four required courses and at least one elective.  The courses focus on church administration, sacraments, pastoral care, Wesleyan theology, time management, and United Methodist history and doctrine. To access the core courses, you will need an account in  Assembly, the conference's electronic learning platform. If you do not have one, you can register directly on the site.

Across the Connection

#BeUMC Leader Toolkit: This grassroots effort celebrates what draws us to The United Methodist Church and what we aspire to be. The #BeUMC Leader Toolkit includes new resources to help local churches embrace the campaign by including the "#BeUMC" hashtag in social media posts. Learn more.

The 240th session of the BWC Annual Conference will be held Wednesday, May 29, through Friday, May 30, at the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore.