Office of Connectional Ministries announces Partner Event Program

For many years, North Alabama Conference staff have directly planned and produced a range of programs and training events. These events — such as Contagious, Youth Leader Training, Encounter, Exit 456 and more — have played a vital role in fulfilling the Conference’s mission of discovering, developing and deploying spiritual leaders of all ages.

In recent years, however, some of the most successful events have not been those planned by the Conference, but rather by local churches and groups with passion, experience and expertise in a given ministry area. For instance, in the summer of 2020 nearly 800 students participated in the virtual VBS "Little Bugs Big Impact" and more than 100 older adults participated in "Golden TV." Both of these successful events were planned and led by teams of staff and volunteers from multiple local churches throughout the North Alabama Conference.

“Seeing the success of these events last summer has made clear that the Conference’s most effective ministry happens when we are able to support the outstanding work of our local churches and ministries,” says Associate Director of Connectional Ministries Rev. John Fleischauer.

In light of the success of these events, and with the expectation that the creativity, passion and expertise of leaders in local churches will create new opportunities to discover, develop and deploy spiritual leaders, the Office of Connectional Ministries has announced the Partner Event Program.

Under the Partner Event Program, local churches can partner with the North Alabama Conference on an event or program that furthers the Conference's mission of discovering, developing and deploying spiritual leaders. In partnering with the Conference, churches and ministries will be able to access Conference support and resources while having the flexibility to develop a program or event that will be as effective as possible based on their experience and expertise.

According to Rev. Fleischauer, churches do not need to have more than a basic idea of what the event will be to propose an event. Once the proposal is received, the church or ministry will work with Connectional Ministries staff to identify the resources needed such as registration and payment processing, communication and publicity, personnel, facilities, graphic design, as well as financial support. Then the event proposers and Conference staff will work together to develop a plan for taking the event from idea to execution.

Director of Connectional Ministries Rev. Dr. Adlene Kufarimai says, “What an exciting time to partner in the vineyard for the sake of Jesus Christ and tell God’s story together. The Connectional Ministries office is there to support your program or event. As Ecclesiastes 4:9 reminds us, ‘two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.’”

Churches and ministries interested in partnering with the North Alabama Conference on an event can visit this link for more details and to submit an event proposal.

Rev. Fleischauer adds, “We look forward to working with churches and ministries to see the creative ways they come up with to discover, develop and deploy spiritual leaders for the transformation of the world!”

For more information about the Partner Event Program, please contact Rev. John Fleischauer at john.fleischauer@umcna.org or (205) 226-7963.