The Kerusso | 2021 January by Evangelical Methodist Church

… trust those who taught you.” 2 Timothy 3:14

nlt

The Kerusso – January | 2021 Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

International General Superintendent’s Word for this year When I stepped into the role of International General Superintendent in July of 2018, I felt a clear direction from the Lord to center myself and my leadership stance on one particular key word that He elevated in my spirit, and that was the word “Collaborate.” I felt the Lord drawing me to be a patient listener, seeking the counsel of our pastors and lay people, knowing that the Holy Spirit would be spreading leadership wisdom across many shoulders as we work together toward maturity in Christ organizationally. To encourage and emphasize collaboration, the phrase we incorporated into all of our Journey meetings in 2019 was, “We go further together.” Then in 2020, the word I felt impressed to use as a guide and reminder was the word “Family.” There is a real difference in how families do relationship. Family members hold tightly to each other in tough times, and are intensely loyal. Family members go the extra mile to look out for, and protect one another. And in the context of family, concepts and strengths such as encouragement, fellowship, accountability and respect take on even higher meanings. And in a year that forced us to be more separated than we would have wanted, it was an especially important lesson that no matter what tries to come between us as brothers and sisters, we are bound together by something that cannot be broken by any outside force, and that is LOVE. For 2021, the word I have felt drawn to focus on is “Trust.” And right there in the middle of the English word “trust” sits another word, “us.” All three of these words, “collaboration,” “family,” and “trust” infer relationship. The ministry of Jesus was all about relationships. The apostles carried on this emphasis, making clear to the early church that interdependence was not optional, but essential. God did not create us to be ‘lone rangers.’ He created us to live, love, serve, and work together. One key ingredient in all healthy relationships is trust. God Himself is consummately relational. He leads us to build relationships with others and to partner together for His glory. The Apostle Paul was integrated into the early church on the ground of trust. Paul had been a vicious enemy, persecuting many believers before his surrender to Christ, so trusting him was neither easy nor natural. But God hasn’t asked us to trust only when it is easy. He asks us to trust one another through the power of the Holy Spirit who is shaping and molding each of us. Paul turned that invested trust into a great deal of fruit. One of his many protégés was Timothy. Paul explicitly challenged Timothy to trust him, and all those from whom he was learning God’s truth. (2 Timothy 3:14 nlt)

~ Max Edwards

I’ll be talking and writing a great deal about TRUST as we move through 2021.

“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught

The Kerusso - January | 2021

Page 2

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

Our Amplified Motivational Preaching Institute has been rescheduled - “AMP2021" We are very excited to announce that we have rescheduled the preaching institute that had to be postponed from March of 2020. Instead of it being AMP2020, it will obviously be AMP2021. It will be hosted by the Superintendents at the Heritage Learning Center at our headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The dates are June 9-11 of 2021. Its schedule will dovetail with the Indiana Journey (June 11-12), which will make it convenient to attend both AMP2021 and the Indiana Gathering. “AMP” stands for Amplified Motivational Preaching. The institute will be an in-person seminar designed to inspire and equip those individuals who feel called to preaching ministry. It will begin on Wednesday afternoon, June 9, and end on Friday, June 11, before lunchtime. The cost of registration (which will include two evening meals) will be $150 before April 1, and $175 after that “early-bird” deadline.

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

Because of space limitations, the event will be capped at 36 participants, so please make your decision soon! To register, or for more information, email Karen Parsons: kparsons@emchurch.org She can answer any question you may still have.

Rev. Stan Key Dr. Ron Smith

AMPLIFIED MOTIVATIONAL PREACHING

June 9-11, 2021 At the EMC’s Heritage Learning Center | Indianapolis, IN

Insights from Exodus

June 9-11, 2021 Schedule:

Early-bird registration

1:00 pm 2:00 pm 5:00 pm 6:30 pm

• Real victory over sin. • Bearing the fruit of Christian character and

ministry.

Dr. Ron Smith

after March 31

• Being spiritually at rest and abiding in the

peace of Christ.

Ron Smith will explore the Apostle Peter’s preaching and his use of the historical narrative of the Exodus in his witness of salvation.

Includes all sessions & 2 evening meals

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

Lodging not included

SPACE IS LIMITED to 36 participants

CLICK HERE

for a full-sized PDF version of the two-page brochure.

Rev. Stan Key

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

Stan Key will unpack aspects of spiritual wholeness showing that it involves:

registration

Friday, June 11: AM Sessions | 9:00 am Wrap-Up by | 11:30 am

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WHOLENESS? True spiritual wholeness is a level of Christian living that is sadly rare today. It is neither a certain level of religious performance nor a certain kind of experience.

$175

and

Peter’s Preaching from the Book of Exodus

Wednesday, June 9: Check-in Begins | PM Sessions | Dinner | Evening Service |

The Journey to Spiritual Wholeness

$150

Page 3

End-of-Year Reporting for Credential Holders HORRAY … 2021 HAS ARRIVED! AND IT’S TIME AGAIN FOR ANNUAL REPORTING. Remember that we changed our reporting requirements last year, and now there is only one form to be completed by all credential holders - the Individual Ministry Report Form. And for Senior Pastors of EMC Churches there is just one other, our Local Church Report which does not ask for as much statistical detail as our old reporting forms. They are ONLINE forms, so simply Click here to go to the reporting page on the EMC’s website, and select the link for either the ministry report or the church report. Please note - you cannot save a partially completed report; each report must be finished once you start it. If you must exit your web browser before finishing, you will need to start over. Once submitted, your report will automatically be emailed to the General Conference Secretary AND to your Conference Superintendent. The single, redesigned ministry report works for ALL credential holders, so no matter what your current role or credential status is, this new report gathers all the information we need. While it is the case that Superannuated and Supernumerary Elders are not explicitly required to report, we certainly welcome them to complete a ministry report should they desire to do so. And for those few of you who are indeed Superannuated but have stepped back into a Senior Pastor’s role, we strongly encourage you to submit an annual report. The idea of being released from a reporting requirement stems from the assumption that a Superannuated Elder has retired from active service in pulpit ministry.

The one Local Church Report is to be filled out by every Senior Pastor of an EMC church, regardless of their credential status. As always, the first parts of the local church report gather data regarding attendance, participation, conversions, and membership. The latter parts are for reporting the financial information for the previous year. Some pastors have asked about ONLINE PARTICIPATION. One change that we made to the report this year is the addition of one data field for those pastors who wish to report a number that reflects their estimated online participation. As expected, due to various locally imposed restrictions, most or all of our churches have experienced a downturn in physical attendance averages. But one upside is that almost all of our churches have now begun to stream their weekend services through one online vehicle or another. Participation in online services has soared across the denomination. Our churches which already had an online presence before the pandemic, have experienced dramatically higher numbers of participants, and many churches are seeing this kind of involvement for the first time.

The field that allows for the reporting of online participation is NOT a required field. How each pastor goes about estimating that number may be different. There are many different metrics that could be used, so we are leaving that to your best judgment, asking that you be consistent with whatever method you choose to use.

The Kerusso - January | 2021

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