Issuu

The Kerusso – December | 2019 Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

Changes Are Coming to Simplify End-of-Year Reporting for Credential Holders THE 2019/2020 REPORTS HAVE BEEN REVAMPED! You will still complete them online but now there are only two different forms to be completed - One unified Ministry Report Form for every credential holder to complete; and one Church Report Form for Senior Pastors in Evangelical Methodist Churches to complete. Simply go to the EMC’s website at: https://emchurch.org/ministries/credential-church-reports and click on the link for either the ministry report or the church report. Please note - these are online report forms, and you cannot save a partially completed report. Therefore, each report must be finished once you start it. If you must exit your web browser before finishing, you will need to start the report over. Once submitted, your report will automatically be emailed to the General Conference Secretary AND your Conference Superintendent. BESIDES USING ONE UNIFIED FORM, THERE ARE OTHER CHANGES … The one, redesigned ministry report works for ALL credential holders, so no matter what your current role or credential status is, this new report gathers the information we need. AND, THIS NEW REPORT REQUIRES LESS STATISTICAL DATA (e.g. jail service totals) and encourages more narrative reporting. You can include the statistics you track in the narrative section if you wish, but we don't require it. As before, no report is required for Superannuated or Supernumerary ministers, however, we would appreciate hearing from you about any ministerial service, activities or functions you would like to tell us about.

AMP20

AMPLIFIED MOTIVATIONAL PREACHING

A Preaching Institute at the EMC’s Heritage Learning Center 6838 S. Gray Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46237

A Power-packed Training Event for Pastors and Ministry Leaders

$150

Early-bird registration

$175

registration after Jan. 15th

Dr. Ron Smith

Includes all sessions & 3 meals. Lodging not included

SPACE IS LIMITED to 36 participants

To register or for more info: email kparsons@emchurch.org

Rev. Stan Key

Register NOW for a Pastor’s Training Event at EMC Headquarters! The USA Conference Superintendents have been working on the creation of a Preaching Institute for Senior Pastors and others with preaching and teaching responsibilities.

AMP2020 AMP2020 stands to be two incredible days of teaching and training with amazing expositors of the Bible: Dr. Ron Smith earned his B.A. and M.Div. from Asbury College and Seminary, respectively. He then finished a Th.M. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in The History of Christian Doctrine in 1990, and received the Masters of Philosophy degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Casperson School of Graduate Studies, Drew University in 2005. He has served as past president of the Francis Asbury Society, and in 1998 was elected as the fifth President of Wesley Biblical Seminary. Dr. Ron is Senior Pastor at Trinity UMC in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. Rev. Stan Key is the President of the Francis Asbury Society. Stan earned an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a Th.M. degree in missions from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After serving churches in Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois, Stan served as a church planter in Paris, France with OMS. From 1994–2012, Stan was the senior pastor of Loudonville Community Church in Albany, New York. Stan joined the staff of the Francis Asbury Society in 2013 and was named president a year later. Registration is limited to 36 students. Register TODAY

The Kerusso – December | 2019

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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

EMW Legacy Women’s Retreat Recap Submitted by, Tonya Ganoe, Women’s Director at Chapel of Hope, Black Lick, PA The EMW Legacy Women’s Retreat, hosted by the Chapel of Hope EMC in Black Lick, PA was held on November 1st and 2nd. Thirtynine ladies from different states and churches came together for fellowship, to worship, and to hear from God's word. Each speaker shared how to build a legacy in light of eternity versus the world’s definition of legacy. Tonya Ganoe shared a devotional on Friday night. Saturday’s speakers included Julie Davis and Ann Kerekes from Ninety9For1 Ministries and Tammy Hammond, President of the EMW. Eve Strunk from Community Church of Pine Run and Madeline Ganoe from The Chapel of Hope served as worship leaders. On Saturday, the ladies had the opportunity for some special attention. Manicures and paraffin wax treatments from a local stylist, chair massages from Salt Street Massage, essential oils information with a DoTerra Oils consultant and a consult with a Mary Kay Representative, were some of the options available. A special guided (ACTS) prayer room provided women with the opportunity to draw close to the Lord on an individual basis as they worked their way through five prayer stations. A prayer wall was available to post prayers, spoken and unspoken. Continued prayer is being lifted up for each of those requests. It was a wonderful weekend where seeds were planted, and we continue to pray for the ladies that attended. We are looking forward to next time.

Sign-Up Now for the Women’s Retreat in Texas! Registration is Open until Feb. 10th

Take advantage of the Early Bird pricing available through December 31st

Vision 2020 Women’s Retreat Hosted by Refuge Ministries @ Riverbend Retreat Center in Glen Rose, TX

Special Speaker: Mrs.Judy Edwards Early Bird Special: by December 31st - $140 Registration: $150 from Jan. 1 - Feb. 10th For more information try our Facebook page: Vision 2020 Women's Retreat

Click here to register: Vision 2020 Registration

The Kerusso – December | 2019

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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

“The Connection” Winter 2019-20 will be the last PRINTED issue …

The Connection

“The Connection” is Going Digital

SPRING 2019

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE EVANGELICAL METHODIST CHURCH

One of our major goals is to expand readership, especially among younger readers who are seldom turning to print media for their sources of information. From now on, you will find “The Connection” posted online at: https://emchurch.org/ministries/the-connection-magazine

Who We Are.

esearch Pe w R e h t o t f US g & 73% o ts Accordin % 9 6 n e e etw outle Center, b lectronic media ee be. adults us book and YouTu e c a F s a such

More than half of U.S. adults (55%) get their news from social media - up from 47% in 2018. “Consu mer habi ts are evolving rapi dly, an d this require s ESPN to evol ve as well. The only ch ange here is th at we are moving away from printing it on pa pe r… ” ES PN qu ote d in Va ri et y Magazine, April 30, 2019

major ere were 7 th , 9 9 9 1 In agazines monthly m that print form in d e h s li b u p enagers. In targeted te are none! 2019, there

Compared to print media, digital publishing is significantly less expensive, and paves the way for cost-free global distribution. It is also more environmentally friendly.

We have recently begun using an online publishing company called “ISSUU” to make the magazine available to a wider audience - much wider than the printed edition could ever hope for. ISSUU has electronically published over 45 million documents, and boasts Each Journey: - Saturday Noon perUSA overThursday 100 million5pm unique online ‘visitors’ month. Conference Every day, over 20,000 new documents or publications are digitally uploaded to ISSUU.com. Registration = $40 By digitally publishing with ISSUU, “The Connection” will be at your electronic fingertips. You can read the current issue (or past issues) by simply going to emchurch.org on your device and in the menu line, click on the words, “The Connection.” This will take you to a new page with the 3 most recent issue right there for you to read immediately, or by clicking on the link below the current issue, you will be taken to the EMC’s archive of past issues of the magazine, and even past issues of the EMC’s monthly “Kerusso” newsletter. Click on the word “Stacks” and then you can choose Gilham Community Eugene, OR which publication you’d like to read. The Winter 2019-20 issue May 14 - May 16 of “The Connection” will be the very last print edition of the magazine. We know that this comes as a shock, and even a disappointment to some of you. You may not be comfortable with electronic sources of information. We apologize if that is you. It is not our goal to exclude anyone.

Journey Meetings

2020

4 Our goals are primarily twofold: 2 - We hope to actually increase readership, especially among younger people who are less and less likely to get their Crosslink Church information from a printed source. Rutherford College, NC 1 Lakeview Chapelto digital publishing will save the EMC tens of thousands of dollars every single - Additionally, the change year. Lake Elsinore, CA

4 - June 6 publishing the “The Connection” will still contain the same high-quality information and inspiration, and byJune electronically Grace Church April 30 May 2 magazine, we will not be as limited to article length as we have been in the past due to cost issues. Overall, it is our Haltom City, TX resources and a sincere desire to reach more and more conviction that this decision reflects both good stewardship of God’s people with the vital message of Scriptural holiness. April 23 - April 25

Thank you for reading. Please begin looking for “The Connection” at the EMC Website from now on.

The Kerusso – December | 2019

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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

Northeast Fall Youth Retreat - by Kristen Street, Youth Leader - Covenant EMC, Morgantown, West Virginia What is a retreat? What is so valuable about it? Why should we send our children? These are the types of questions that we are constantly asked as youth leaders. I looked up the definition of the word retreat, and found two - - and both of them struck me as being very appropriate. The first says “the act of moving back or withdrawing”, and the second stated that a retreat when applied to military terms means to “withdraw from enemy forces.” It is incredible how appropriate those definitions are when considering attending a retreat. I have been tasked with giving a summary of the EMC 2019 Fall Retreat, so I will try to help you understand the answers to the questions above and give you my perspective on the weekend’s events. The 2019 Fall Retreat came with mixed emotions for leaders and students for many reasons. Those of us who have been part of the EMC for more than 4 years remember that we used to attend our annual Fall Retreat at Jummonville, PA. We built many wonderful memories there, and many of the youth in our group were so disappointed when we did not continue to attend retreats there. However, a new tradition of Fall Rally started, which were amazing weekends at Kingdom EMC in Westover that were packed with fun, worship, and amazing teachings. So going into this retreat, we were excited to be going back to a weekend retreat where we could get away with our groups, but also a little unsure since we were going to a campground that we had never been to before. I am always up for an adventure, so my excitement was very high, but I also needed to know how we would be able to chaperone our kids and keep everyone safe. As soon as we arrived at the campground at Pine Springs, I knew that the facilities were going to exceed my expectations. There was so much to offer just in the central area such as a dining hall, ga-ga ball pit, basketball court, and 9-square. Then when we got to explore more of the grounds the next day, we fell in love with the trails and the landscape of the area. Even though the temperatures were low, the students stayed outside for the majority of the free time playing games, hiking and interacting with each other. Even though we loved all the games and activities that we participated in, the students and leaders all said that the teaching times and worship were their favorite times of the weekend. Frank Gil is the Student Ministries Pastor at Epikos Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was the teacher for the weekend. Having heard Frank speak in the past, I knew he would bring us wonderful sermons that were challenging, vulnerable and funny - and he did not disappoint. The theme of the weekend was “The Cross” and he delivered messages that were centered around the fundamental truth of what the cross of Christ meant to us as believers. The first night he broke down the experience of the Passion, what Jesus would have been feeling and experiencing as he died for us. His other sermons challenged us to pick up our cross daily and the long process of sanctification of becoming more like Jesus as we die with Christ. He encouraged the students to be “real” with God and each other about their struggles and how having that accountability with a leader or adult who is going to lead them toward God could help them overcome the many challenges that they are facing. This opened up so many amazing discussions for the students and made us all consider the cost that Christ was willing to pay for each of us. The worship for the weekend was led by Ashley Bruner and was so powerful and Spirit-filled. She drew us in to a place of worship and focus with songs that lined up so well with the theme and teachings. The reason retreat is so important for our students is that it is a chance to do exactly what the definition says by “withdrawing from enemy forces”. There is so much that our children face in their daily lives with family pressures, school pressures, social media, phones, and different types of relationships. Retreats are a time to get away from all of these worldly concerns and get our total focus on God and building relationships with those people who will encourage us in our faith and walk with Jesus. These times are invaluable in teaching our youth how to be in a relationship with Jesus in a world where the attacks of the enemy are bombarding them at every side. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Thanks for reading! “May the Lord bless you and keep you . . .”

Numbers 6:24