How are we connecting

Each Conference Council is an opportunity for delegates to speak—on behalf of their churches about the items on the agenda, and especially after lunch during roundtable discussions. This year the discussion focus was on connecting. How are churches connecting with their communities? How are they connecting with the conference office?

Round table discussion at Conference Council

The topic came out of a conference staff discussion In September, as we considered what our priorities were going to be for this ministry year. As the conversation continued it converged on the idea of connection—connecting with church leaders, to have them engage in meaningful ways, with congregations so that they know we are a valuable resource, and with the next generation to support them as they look for areas to serve.

The council round table questions were developed based on this context, and delegates identified the topics they considered most important for their churches to receive resources on.

The questions were:

1.          What are some examples of the way your church is engaging your community?

2.          What are some ideas of the EMC office that could build better connections with your church leadership?

3.          What hindrances do you see getting in the way of a strong connection between your church and the EM Conference?

4.          This question was an exercise to rank 16 church resource topics according to the highest need or importance.

It was encouraging to see how our churches are engaging their communities. The list was extensive and included things like offering new Canadians English classes, having floor hockey nights, hosting community BBQs, running camps, offering daycare, setting up senior home visits, doing “pick-up and walks,” and many other truly great ways of connecting with communities. For a full list, be sure to check out the EMC website, which has a summary of the round table conversations. I hope this list inspires you.

Delegates and leaders at the round table discussions

To connect with these segments of our faith community is a lofty, maybe even aspirational goal, but we already have some concrete ways we want to do this. We hope to connect with our leaders, laypeople, and the next generation through the events we are planning. Abundant Springs is coming this May. Our first regional leadership forum is planned for this winter. Finally, we are excited as we begin to prepare for our first EMC Equip event coming this October. It will be a regional event to equip lay leaders for the work they are doing in their churches. We also want to give an opportunity at this event to run our Discover Your Ministry Potential program for those seeking to find out where God wants to use them.

As we reviewed the answers to the next two questions it was evident that Conference staff need to continue to work on building relationships. Phone calls and Zoom calls are needed because our conference covers a vast geography—but we also need to get out to churches in person. This will help people understand what the conference does and why. One comment that spoke to this was that we “need to know the value of being a part of something bigger.”

Finally, we wanted to get a sense of what was important to churches and where they could use resourcing. The list we used was not exhaustive, but the following items made the top five:

1.                            Evangelism/Missional

2.                            Small groups/Care Ministry

3.                            Cultural Trends

4.                            Men’s Ministry

5.                            Gift Assessments

It is clear that churches want to reach their communities and serve the needs of those in their congregations. The office staff will look closely at how we can help churches become more effective in these areas.

What now? What will we do with this information? As I mentioned earlier, we want to make our EMC Equip events useful for our churches, so we will take the information we have gleaned from these questions and use it to help shape the sessions.

As in all good relationships, your relationship to the conference needs to be a two-way street. Please give us a call when you have questions. Whether those are financial questions from church treasurers or organizational questions from church chairpersons. Maybe you have a desire for a church plant that we can help facilitate with your church. We are here and want to help your church be successful.

As I look at 2025, I am excited about what our small collection of nearly 60 churches can do for the kingdom of God. I hope you are also excited as you think of all that God can do as we work together to live, reach, gather, and teach.