8/14/2012
We have voted for change. When I say “we,” I mean more than two-thirds of the lay and clergy members of all three conferences: Kansas East, Kansas West and Nebraska. On January 1, 2014, we will become the Great Plains Annual Conference. I do believe that we have made the right decision, but, as one of my friends said in an email, “Now, the real work begins.” The new conference will have more than 200,000 lay people, nearly 1,000 congregations and almost 800 active elders, deacons, associate ...
Transition into Ministry Program
The Rev. Bill Gepford, pastor at Fremont First UMC in Nebraska, shares about the tools learned in Seminary and how those tools are shaped by an experienced mentor. Seminary gave me a lot of tools. But it took experience under a mentor pastor to start using the right tool at the right time. Seminary gave me a lot of tools. I spent a semester on preaching, a semester on leadership, a semester on ecological healing and holistic evangelism (yes, that was a class), and a semester on the minor ...
Transition into Ministry Program
Stefanie Hays, pastor at Ord First and Sargeant First in Nebraska responds to the following: What would you share with other entering young clergy regarding what you have learned about calling, mentoring, collegiality, and visioning? Ministry can be difficult. Yes, that would seem like a “duh” statement or an obvious idea. True, that news is not earth shattering but what I found surprising were the ways in which ministry was difficult. I had prepared myself for differing opinions, difficult...
Transition into Ministry Program
The Rev. Emily Cannon, pastor at Auburn UMC in Nebraska, reflects on her time in the TiM program by writing a letter to her younger self. Dear Emily-in-2013, Congratulations! You’ve just graduated from seminary! For the last three years, you’ve been immersing yourself in the study of theology and ministry, and you’ve been dreaming about the day when you’d begin to serve a congregation of your own. And even though you spent the first 18 years of your life in the Rocky ...
Discipling starts in the heart, a heart that rejoices in the ministries of others. This is what the Great Plains Camping ministry is all about. Camp is a place where all are welcome. To come explore, renew, and rejoice. Staff at camp rejoice in the individuality of campers, become campers biggest cheerleader, and foster growth in a community of love, acceptance, and support. Building relationships at camp with Christ, each other, and nature is a way of life at camp. This is why so many ...
The Rev. Emmanuel, associate pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Wichita, KS, shares about his journey in the TiM Program. The Transition into Ministry program has been of immense and significant contribution both to my personal growth in Christ as a disciple and in my call to the pastoral vocation—servanthood endeavor. From my standpoint as a person with international cultural nurture and perspective, my general life here in the United States has always been cross-cultural, with its attending ...
Confirmation mentors as "disciplers" The Great Plains conference hosted three confirmation rallies across Nebraska and Kansas this spring. Several of the groups that attended were comprised of nearly as many adults as students – many of these adults were serving as mentors to the confirmation students. At one of the rallies a group of senior adults walked into the church looking for the restrooms about an hour before the event was scheduled to begin. I thought they were there for another church ...
Transition into Ministry Program
Kayla Mangrich, pastor at Plainville UMC in Kansas shares her experience in the TiM Program. In March of 2016, I received a phone call from (at that time) Hays D.S. Rev. Jim Akins informing me of an appointment in Plainville, KS. Soon after, I accepted and was officially appointed to Plainville UMC becoming the first Phase 1 solo Pastor in the TiM program. Plainville UMC is my first appointment and there have been many highs and lows. Every church family has their struggles and PUMC is no ...
Transition into Ministry Program
The Rev. Brenda Kostner Johnson, pastor at Anthony UMC in Kansas shares her reflections on Calling, Mentoring, Collegiality, and Vision. Calling Isn’t Static I could never have predicted how many times I would have to tell my “call story.” At each milestone (beginning seminary, entering the candidacy process, interviewing for TiM, commissioning, church introduction), I thought maybe I would have the “final” story. However, if I have learned nothing else about a calling, it is that your calling ...
Resources
