Abundant Health: Suicide Prevention Training 

Presenter:  Shawn Dundon, Harford County Sheriff's Department
Baltimore Region on March 7 

Sacred Rhythms: Rearranging Our Lives for Deepened Discipleship

Presenters: Rev. John Nupp
Baltimore Region on March 7

Do you long for a sustainable, deep, fundamental change in your life with God? Church leaders and pastors, give yourself the gift of putting your relationship with Jesus first. Focus on who God is and how God intends us to live in a community. Discover time-tested disciplines and develop a Rule of Life to sustain and deepen your daily walk as a transformed disciple who transforms our world.

Your workshop leader knows the temptations of ministry in the local church, of “doing something for God before spending time with God,” as Samuel Logan Brengle phrased it.  Sharing from his own professional and personal experiences, Pastor John will help you hear God’s voice speaking through the rhythm of your daily life.  Follow-up conversations with other leaders in the coming weeks will enable you to deepen your discipleship in the areas of Devotion, Worship, Compassion and Justice.”

Generosity Generators: 13 Generosity Mistakes to Avoid (and what to do instead) 

Presenter: Frank Robert
Baltimore Region on March 7

Lessons from our Churches that can help us do it better! We will discuss what mistakes to avoid and what Generosity Generators we should install in our Churches. Our goal is to begin to understand how to move the Financial Culture from “Paying the bills” to Funding Future Mission and Ministry.  We will culminate our time by drafting our future Generosity team! We will discuss at least 13 things your church could be doing to generate more Resources. It is time to THRIVE not just Survive!

Next Level Leaders: Revitalizing God’s Vision for Your Congregation  

Presenter: Rev. Dr. Malcolm Stranathan
Baltimore on March 7

It is said, “where there is no vision the people perish!”  And yet, whose vision are we called to implement? Revitalizing or discerning God’s vision for your congregation is best accomplished through a collaborative process in which ownership of God’s vision is discerned, promoted and implemented by the congregational leadership and subsequently owned by the local congregation. 

This workshop is intended to teach, equip and encourage next level leaders to bring out the greatest potential from them and their local congregation, context and community. To get the best out of this workshop, several leaders (clergy and lay) from a local congregation are encouraged to participate together so that God’s vision, an action plan, an implementation schedule and evaluation tool for existing ministries can be developed.  We will exchange ideas, share experiences and develop new relationships and leave inspired for God’s Vision and next steps for your congregation. Leaders will explore resources, learning labs and next level leader networks. 

Are you looking to breathe new life into your congregation or perhaps are you dreaming of launching a brand new church? Both begin with the same question: what is shaping your church? Is your church shaped by worship or programs, children or youth ministries or by the preferences of your current members? What if your church was shaped by the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? What if you church was shaped by the mission of reaching people who currently don’t attend any church? If these questions make your heart sing, then join New Faith Expressions Track at the Connect Leadership Summit. 

New Faith Expressions: Engaging Your Community and Making Disciples

Presenters:  Rev. Dr. Karin Walker, Senior Pastor and Annabel Lusardi, Coordinator of Discipleship Ministries, Fallston United Methodist Church
Baltimore Region on March 7 

Establish a concrete plan for your congregation to engage your community in new ways.  Design an innovative approach to “enlarging your territory” Learn from a pastor and leader who have intentionally connected the community with a pathway to discipleship.  

You will learn innovative ways to connect to the community as a process (no more “one and dones"), including:  

•         Ways to become critical to your community
•         Role of testimonies and how to do it
•         Sunday worship boosters
•         Stewardship ideas that work
•         Money ideas beyond the pews
•         The power of relationship
•         Establishing “traditions” the community didn’t know they needed
•         A discipleship model that new people can embrace
•         An appreciative approach to your location and opportunities

Time will be set aside to work on a plan for your own congregation, and participants will have the opportunity to form a cohort for future planning. 

YPM TRACK: GROWING IN LEADERSHIP THROUGH BOOSTING COMMUNICATION SKILLS—FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLERS

with Pastor Jerome Jones in the Baltimore Region (March 7) and Southern Region (March 14)

Everyone has a story to tell. An epic adventure with a hero who saves the day.  A dramatic tale of good versus evil. A romantic comedy where in the end, everyone lives happily ever after. Whatever the story, it is yours to be told. 

And let’s not forget the greatest story ever told. The story of the one who came from humble beginnings but was recognized as a leader and king. Someone who healed the sick and chose to spend time with those living on the margins instead of in a palace with all of the riches that royalty provides. The store of the one who saved the world through life and death and continues to save lives even today. The story of Jesus Christ.

 What if we could tell our story and the story of Jesus with confidence?  Without fear or shame?  What if we could tell these stories in a way that would make others want to be a part of that story?

 At Rev. Jerome Jone’s sessions, the focus will be on “Rise Up: No More Silence.”  Youth will learn how to speak up and speak out with boldness to let their voices be heard on things that really matter to them and the world.

Join us at the Youth Track of the Connect Leadership Summit to learn a new way to tell your story and the story of Christ. Youth can attend the afternoon track for FREE at any location.

RSVP by March 6 or March 13

If youth are interested in attending the full day of the Connect Leadership Summit and need a scholarship, contact Sharonda Jones at . 

Conflict Management
Presented by Rev. Stacey Nickerson

Our churches live through seasons and some seasons are more tumultuous than others. When our faith community is struggling with internal conflict, there are important steps to maintaining stability and facilitating productive resolutions. In this workshop we'll explore some of the nuances and provide some strategies for leaders to assess and address these conflicts as they arise and to help short-circuit the circumstances that bring these conflicts about.

Property: A Blessing or a Burden? (Maximizing Ministry Opportunities through Wise Stewardship) 
Presented by Rev. Sheridan Allmond and John Strawbridge, Chair of the Conference Trustees

Exploring creative ways to utilize, share, and leverage one of the church's greatest assets to expand mission and ministry

BWC Systems - A Course for Church Secretaries & Church Administrators by District Administrator

We've all had to ask these questions: 
What reports are due from the local church? 
When are they due? 
What system is used to submit them? Do's/Don'ts?

This workshop will be an overview of our yearly administrative cycle and all of the things we are asking your help in accomplishing each year. Additionally, this class will show you some hidden tricks and some useful tools that you may not have heard about.

Unified Board
Presented by Rev. Craig Mclaughlan

Effective church administration is the mighty bulwark against the chaos of every-day life in ministry. And how that administration is organized can have a profound impact on how the work of the church is carried out- good administration will magnify the effectiveness of our church and its members, poor administration can magnify, instead, all the problems our churches face. This workshop seeks to provide strategies for the implementation of a Unified Board model in your church. This model has seen success in a number of ministry environments to increase the effectiveness of leadership in managing the ever-changing necessities of the church.

To Serve in This Present Age: Leading and Serving in the Midst of Trauma and Grief
Presented by Deborah Haskins

Individuals, families and communities experience trauma and losses (often multiple), including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). They often struggle with healing the emotional and spiritual "fall out" from these traumatic events. What happens when there is complicated trauma and grief, including homicidal loss, police brutality, frequent community violence? In this session, you will learn how to journey with persons experiencing grief, loss, and trauma and offer hope as part of your mission to transform lives.

Get Your House in Order: Managing Your Financial Resources.
Presented by Rev Twanda Prioleau

The finances of our churches are one of the primary pillars which hold our ministries up. Having a well managed budget and understanding of effective strategies for organizing our church finances can make the difference in getting our mission into the mission field. Here, we will explore some of the common pitfalls of church finance and help you develop a system which will allow you to avoid many of the common causes of financial distress in our congregations.

Health Ministry Models
Presented by Rev. Irance Reddix

During this session, participants will hear about a number of Health Ministry models from individuals currently involved in health ministry across the Baltimore Washington Conference. Learn how to complete a needs assessment and begin the process of planning a Health Ministry in your local church FOR the surrounding community.

Creating a Worship Experience
Presented by Rev. Andre Briscoe

An Overview of the Principles of Worship Design and Flow