Author: Nordbrock
Lay Leadership
District Lay Leader, Lori Roof, introduces ways lay people in local churches can serve at the District and Conference levels. Feeling called to serve? Fill out the District Leadership Application.
Meet the new District Superintendent
To all who are part of the Greater Southwest District, I joyfully send to you greetings and blessings this day. I am looking forward to getting to know you and celebrating the amazing ways you are responding to the love of Jesus Christ. What a journey this will be, as we travel the road of… Continue Reading Meet the new District Superintendent
Southwest Michigan Latinx Community Ministry Update
My name is Cesar Garcia-Rodriguez, I am appointed to the new Latinx Church Plant of the Greater Southwest District. Working in the mission of The United Methodist Church is the most exciting work and purpose of life; to be witness of the transformation that the grace of God brings to our community as we visited… Continue Reading Southwest Michigan Latinx Community Ministry Update
Southwest Michigan Latinx Community Ministry
Our Sunday worship is an extension of our home, the experience of the warm welcome, along with familiar music and faces we have grown to know over time and faith. But for some, worship does not represent an extension of their home or their lives. “Everyone has an innate need to connect and belong. It’s… Continue Reading Southwest Michigan Latinx Community Ministry
Fresh Expressions – what exactly is it?
~Jessica Cobb A Fresh Expression (FX) is a form of church that is designed to reach those who might not typically attend a traditional church service. It is about taking ministry to people where they are already gathering, rather than attempting to attract people to your church’s gatherings. Fresh Expressions invite Christian disciples to gather… Continue Reading Fresh Expressions – what exactly is it?
Keep on Rising from the Dead
by Rev. Dwayne Bagley Dying and rising have been on my mind a lot throughout this Lenten season. In one of our Cabinet devotion times in March, we were invited to take a deep dive into the story from John 4 about Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well. In that encounter, Jesus challenges… Continue Reading Keep on Rising from the Dead
A Jubilee that Keeps on Giving
Stevensville UMC Partners with Riverside School by Kellie Meyer In the fall of 2020, Stevensville United Methodist Church started working on a weekend food program with Riverside Hagar #6 School in Riverside, MI. Riverside is a public school with an enrollment each year of 70-75 students. One teacher works with two grades in one classroom,… Continue Reading A Jubilee that Keeps on Giving
The Living Legacy of an Idle Tale
The Living Legacy of an Idle Tale by Rev. Dwayne Bagley, Greater Southwest District Superintendent When I was young and full of grace and spirited as a rattlesnake, I was given the opportunity to become a filmmaker. As some of you already know, “opportunity” is probably the wrong word to use in this case. Since… Continue Reading The Living Legacy of an Idle Tale
Hopkins UMW Provides Re-Entry Kits
Hopkins UMC United Methodist Women initiated a project to provide “re-entry” kits to inmates being released from the Allegan County Jail. Each kit contains personal care items, a pocket calendar, a pair of socks and/or gloves, a small treat and a card from our church. Funding for the project came from private donations, loose change offerings and… Continue Reading Hopkins UMW Provides Re-Entry Kits
4 Churches 4 Jesus
By Diane Grimm (Paw Paw UMC) & Leanne Fader (St. Paul’s UMC) September 2019… It all started over a cup of coffee, a prayer and four willing UMC lay people to think a bit out of the box. The first meeting was pre-pandemic and it was lead by Bob Graham, Administrative Council Chairperson at Paw… Continue Reading 4 Churches 4 Jesus