Annual Conference 2024 Workshops
On Wednesday, May 29, at the Hilton Hotel, clergy and lay Annual Conference members can choose from a number of workshops designed to deepen discipleship and vitality. Sign up for the workshops during registration. The offerings include:
Gardens in the Desert: How the Adaptive Church Can Lead to a Whole New Life:
A vision for how we become God's church now for God's intended future
Picture a forest full of strong, old-growth trees with bright new saplings dotting the gaps between. This is one vision for the church we are becoming. A church ecosystem where established churches nurture new congregations, even congregations that look quite different. In this workshop, Michael Beck, will show how The United Methodist Church can be old and new, traditional, and unconventional. More importantly, he will demonstrate why this mixed ecology is necessary and biblical. Participants will begin to see their challenges in a new light. They’ll learn to shift their thinking away from disillusionment, toward innovation and hope.
Leader: Rev. Michael Beck is senior pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Ocala, FL. HHe directs Fresh Expressions Initiatives for Discipleship Ministries, speaks and teaches at seminaries, churches, and conferences, and is the author of several books from Abingdon Press
The Art of Neighboring: Reimagining Church in our Literal Neighborhoods
Cristin Cooper, a successful Fresh Expressions practitioner, guides participants through a deep-listening practice to reveal the places in our neighborhoods where neighbors could – with a little creativity and a genuine community partnership or two – encounter God’s grace and grow in deeper intimacy with God’s love.
Leader: Cristin Cooper is the owner of Coop’s Soups and a licensed local pastor, focusing on Fresh Expressions, in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Becoming Yourself: An Introduction to Positive Intelligence
Positive Intelligence incorporates insights from neuroscience and psychology to provide a "how to" for accessing your true self. Discover what many in the BWC are finding to be a life-transforming program. This workshop will provide an introduction and a way to sign up for the gifts and tools of the Foundational Program of Positive Intelligence.
Leader: Rev. Rod Miller is a Positive Intelligence Coach and a long-time pastor and coach in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
BLESS: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World
Learn five practical practices you can use to bless and reach people outside the church and outside the faith.
Leader: Rev. Bill Brown is the Director of Innovative Evangelism for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Connecting for Change: Introduction to Missional Action Planning (MAP)
The conference goal is that 100% of churches become 100% vital through missional action planning. MAP is not a program but a framework for growing relationships, organizing people, leveraging assets and liberating churches from mindsets and patterns that get in the way of cultivating discipleship of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Leader: Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. is lead pastor of Emory UMC in Washington DC and a MAP consultant for the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences.
How ‘Truth or Dare’ Can Lead to Birthing a Fresh Expression
Do you love people? Are you passionate about your community? Are you willing to use your imagination to help both? In this workshop, you’ll be exposed to different stories of Fresh Expressions. Discover how a journey of understanding your true passions, combined with the action of daring yourself to believe in the power of your imagination, can inspire you with a Fresh Expression that might be a key to discipleship.
Leaders: Raimon Jackson, creator of The Well, is a spiritual entrepreneur and innovative pioneer in the field of Fresh Expressions. Taeron Fleming, co-leader at The Well, is a creative leader in ministry and Fresh Expressions with experience in pastoring cross-cultural ministries.
Leaders Aren't Born, They're Grown
Effective leaders focus on cultivating the necessary skills to inspire others to embrace positive change. Learn key competencies that leaders embrace, as well as how you can cultivate them.
Leader: Jack Shitama is the Director of the Center for Vital Leadership for the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences.
Living Well: A Holistic Approach to a Balanced Life
Living Well is a holistic approach to living based on Christ’s command to “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind, and with all of your strength.” (Mark 12:30-31) You'll learn how the Living Compass, a free well-being assessment, can shape your discipleship, your life, and your faith community.
Leaders: The Living Well Team is a group of clergy from across the BWC/Pen-Del Affiliation.
The Power of Prayer in Congregational Transformation and Outreach
Disciple-making, in many congregations, has diminished, which was both caused by and resulted in a loss of understanding of the mission of the church and a low prioritization of reaching new people for Jesus Christ. This workshop will provide some insight into the root causes of the situation, help identify spiritual hindrances to ministry and offer strategies for the congregation to reclaim its spiritual foundation and calling.
Leader: Rev. Lillian C. Smith is the pastor of Cheverly UMC, a congregational developer, and a person who has a desire for every person to embrace and live out their God-given call.
The State of Humanitarian Immigration
Immigration is increasingly in a state of flux leaving survivors of crime in very vulnerable positions. Learn more about the state of immigration, its impact on survivors of crime and opportunities to engage with low-income immigrants.
Leader: Sarah Selim Milad is the Managing Attorney of MD & DC, Just Neighbors and a graduate of the American University, Washington College of Law. As an immigrant from Egypt, Sarah resonates with the plight of immigrants fleeing persecution and feels privileged to serve them.
Funding Ministry through Planned Giving, Endowments and Major Gifts
Learn about going beyond tithes and offerings to fund ministry. If your church currently does not have an endowment, you are missing out on a vital component of the long-term sustainability of your mission and ministry. Sixty percent of United Methodist Churches in our area haven’t received a legacy gift in the last five years. This workshop, for both clergy and laity, can help change that.
Leaders will be from the Mid-Atlantic Foundation.
Or, take a small excursion into history and faith
Rooted in Faith: A Mini-Pilgrimage Experience
Join us as we walk to Old Otterbein UMC, the Mother Church of the United Brethren in Christ, (two blocks away) and explore where our denomination began. We will use storytelling, architecture, pictures, and landscapes to tell this story.
Leader: Rev. Bonnie McCubbin serves co-vocationally as the Director of Museums and Pilgrimage/Conference Archivist for the BWC as well as Pastor of Old Otterbein.