By Rev. Rob Bruce Well planned and executed short term mission trips prove to be one of the most effective paths of disciple formation. Living into Matthew 25:34–40 (NRSV) participants put “sweat equity” into their discipleship formation. This has been the case for McEver Road UMC and our work at Red Bird Mission Conference Work Camp. Located in coal-rich southeastern Kentucky amidst some of the poorest counties in the US, mission work there takes participants out of their comfort zones and ...

UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) shares the following message to United Methodists. In light of the recent news about children in U.S. government holding facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has received numerous requests to respond. We have heard the plea for action from the church. Unfortunately, the facilities in question are managed in such a way that precludes even UMCOR’s assistance. Access to these government facilities is ...

Guests arriving to the Global Ministries Bicentennial. (Photo: Jennifer Silver, Global Ministries) Celebrating its origins that trace back to the work of a freeborn African-American among the Wyandotte Native American people in the 1800s, the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church celebrated its 200th anniversary with events focused on the future of Methodist mission during changing times.  The bicentennial celebration recognizes the 200th anniversary of the founding ...

The Louise D. Park Eye Fund of the North Georgia Conference was established for “the treatment of patients who are in definite need of financial assistance in order to secure the indicated treatment of disorders of the eye or eyes which would result in blindness if such treatment were not otherwise available.”  After many years, the Conference Board of Trustees recognizes that neither churches, clergy, or the North Georgia Conference are utilizing the fund in a significant and meaningful way. ...

VIDEO: Message from Bishop Sue in Southwest Georgia By SYBIL DAVIDSON The sounds of buzzing chainsaws and raking debris replaced the typical sounds of the season for a team of 20 volunteers from the North Georgia Conference, including Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and Atlanta-Marietta District Superintendent Rev. Terry Walton, who spent four days serving our neighbors in Southwest Georgia this week.  Despite (or perhaps because of) it being the week before Christmas, churches across the AMAR ...

Plans are underway for a team from the North Georgia Conference to visit The Philippines February 3-11, 2019, and you are invited to take part. The Conference has secured 12 Delta seats at a cost of $1556 per person. The total cost of the trip has not yet been fixed, but we estimate it will be approximately $2200-2500.  To secure a spot please send $800/ person, plus full passport name, number and expiration date, gender, and birthdate to the conference office by October 19. An early email ...

By SYBIL DAVIDSON Two young missionaries from Noth Georgia recently returned from two years of international service through the UMC's Global Missions Fellows program. Trisha Manns of Impact UMC in East Point served in South Korea and Jessica Stewart of Glennhaven UMC in Decatur served in Capetown, South Africa.  Trisha worked in the South Korean Department of Peace and Reconciliation as a liaison with English-speaking partners. The organization has been at work for 30 years to end the ...

Bishop's Panel at Georgia Pastors' School with Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and Bishop Lawson Bryan. Moderated by Rev. Matt Nelson. (Photo courtesy of the South Georgia Annual Conference) By JESSICA BRADFORD For many years, hundreds of active and retired clergy have convened near the banks of historic Frederica River at Epworth By The Sea for the annual Georgia Pastors’ School. Pastors’ School provides inspiration, education, worship, fellowship, fun and relaxation for North and South Georgia ...

Do you feel called to reach the unreached? Creating new places for new faces is one of the most effective ways we can do that. And you don't have to do it alone. That's why the North Georgia Conference developed the NExT Leadership Academy.  We've found that there are 10 essentials for successful church start-ups: Call, Vision, Launch, People, Funding, Preaching, Leadership, Family, Staffing, and Systems.  Through NExT, you'll get exposed to these essentials in action, be inspired by ...

Campus ministry, plus a Connectional Ministries grant, plus a local church partner equals 25,000 pounds of potatoes to hunger ministries in Atlanta. By Sybil Davidson Last fall the Georgia Tech Wesley Foundation hosted a “Potato Drop” at Tenth Street Underwood UMC near campus. The Wesley Foundation received 25,000 lbs pounds of gleaned potatoes from The Society of St. Andrew to distribute to hunger organizations.   Wesley Foundation staff and students connected with other student volunteers ...