Rev. Diane Housler shares how a Thursday night service that began as a worship opportunity for traveling church members has become a special time of worship and learning for tweens.
Rev. Emily Freeman Penfield shares how a partnership between Woodlawn and Mountain Chapel UMCs is developing ministries to bring hope and to build trusting relationships centered around love of God and love for people in the Woodlawn community.
Rev. Yohan Hong shares the story of J.O.Y. UMC saying, “When my wife Jenny and I decided to obey God’s calling to serve a Korean congregation in the Northeast District of the North Alabama Annual Conference, District Superintendent Dale Cohen and we came to the same conclusion that we need a new church with new paradigms making God’s church healthier, instead of maintaining another traditional church.”
Rev Jonathan Herston shares how Fairfax UMC and Hopewell UMC are listening to their community and working together toward the goal of no known hungry, homebound elderly persons in their area.
When discussing the growth of Trinity UMC’s Contact Worship over the last two years Rev. Nathan Carden says, “I think unchurched people and marginally religious people are hungry for a faith that has been tested over time” . The modern Christian worship experience that combines historic elements, sensory experiences and a casual environment has grown from 172 people each week to a weekly average of 486 at the close of 2014.
