Abundant Health: Discovering a Pathway to Peace when Life Feels Off Track

Presenter: James Tate 
Southern Region on March 14

Are you feeling bogged down by your past, discouraged about your present and unclear about the future?  God cares about your emotional and spiritual well-being. God wants you to experience joy, hope and peace every single day. Christians and unbelievers alike deal with depression and other mental and emotional illnesses, but there is hope! Jesus promises and provides an abundant life – a life full of joy, peace, and purpose.  

This session utilizes the Living Compass resources.  Living Compass is based on the belief that there is a deep, life-giving connection between faith and wellness.  Our faith acts like a compass to help us check our bearings while at the same time proving ongoing direction for our lives.  It is also based on the belief that we cannot be well by ourselves; this journey toward wellness requires the care and support of others.  Learn from a pastor and leader who have intentionally connected the community with a pathway to discipleship through holistic wellness ministry.

Deepening Discipleship: Building Healthy Intentional Discipleship Pathways

Presenter: Rev. Evan Young
Southern Region on March 14

Learn the basic principles behind See All The People, a movement to help us as United Methodists understand what discipleship and evangelism mean in the 21st century. Engage in discovering whose job it is to make disciples, how to stop fixing problems, and how discipleship begins with relationship. 

Through sharing a variety of models and approaches to build and sustain healthy, intentional discipleship pathways, you will be inspired and equipped to do the same in your congregation. 

Generosity Generators: Creating a Culture of Generosity

Presenters: Rev. Dr. Daryl Williams, Senior Pastor, St Paul UMC, Oxon Hill, Md.
Southern Region on March 14

Ministry keeps becoming more expensive and funding ministry continues to become more challenging. These challenges can cause a constant low level of anxiety for ministry leaders as they seek to make their ministry visions into a reality and faithfully serve their community. This presentation will give you the tools to curb your anxiety, create a culture of generosity, and have a ministry funding plan so that you can faithfully live into the vision you have for ministry.  Join Dr. Williams for a fun and exciting time of learning and growth. 

Next Level Leaders:  Multi-Generational Leadership for the 22nd Century

Presenter:  Dr. Rodney Smothers:  Author, Coach and Director of Leadership and Congregational Development for the Baltimore-Washington Conference
Southern Region - March 14

Our future will require collaborative communities that are multi-generational, multicultural, and theologically diverse.  Our new tribes will gather in new ways and be led by Next Level Leaders who intentionally invest in learning and leading others through innovation, influence, and spiritual impact. Traditions will be incorporated into new expressions through shared cultural and contextual values. This blended leadership context will include multi-generational teams, new rules of Millennials and Generation Z., Communication in a digital world, Communities vs. Institutions, Storytelling and Vision, Coaching for Transformation, Healthy Habits, and learning from innovative organizations beyond the church.  Participants will create new ministry models for the 22nd Century Church Movement.

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: Being a Sent People instead of an Attractional Church 

Presenter: Deborah Johnson, New Faith Expressions Board Chairperson, Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church
Southern Region on March 14 

For decades, churches have operated from the mentality of “build it and they will come”. So what is “it”? Perhaps “it” is a new building or worship service, the best coffee or latest program. We have spent countless hours and resources trying to attract people to our churches and have them come to us. Instead of “come to us,” what if we embraced a new approach, “go to them”? What if we embodied Jesus’ command in 

Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples…” (CEB). It is time for us to discover new expressions of church that are able to communicate with a culture that is not currently a part of the church, so that they can become committed followers of Jesus Christ. 

We are at a crossroads as our society and culture continue to undergo massive transitions that have affected the church. These challenges provide us with a significant opportunity to reach new people. It begins by changing our focus beyond our building and the “come to us” approach and embrace the “we will go to you” attitude, embodying the Gospel where people are, rather than embodying it where we are and in ways we prefer.

In this track you will discover innovative ways to embrace the “micro-church movement” including:

•         The definition and theology of the “micro-church movement”
•         How to discover and engage people where they are
•         Models and methods for launching a “micro-church movement” in your context 
•         Much more…

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 .