Learn, Know, Grow

Office of Congregational Development

Illinois Great Rivers Conference

January 2017

Reaching New People workshops

Make plans now to bring a team to one of the spring Reaching New People workshops.

Upcoming dates and locations:

March 11, Kansas UMC - led by Mike Crawford
April 1, Elmwood UMC - led by Peggy Hisey

For more information and a link to the registration page for each workshop, go to www.igrc.org/reachingnewpeople .

T he workshops are scheduled on Saturday, 9:00 am-3:00 pm. The workshop must be attended by a team that includes the pastor and a minimum of three lay people. Churches are encouraged to bring as many people as possible, as more participants will increase the positive impact. (Once registered with at least the minimum team, the church can add other participants up to the registration deadline a week before the workshop.)

The registration is $10 per person and includes lunch and snacks.

Since January, 2015, over 150 church teams from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference with over 700 people have attended.

For more information, contact Mike Crawford.

2017 Journey

2016 was a great year of transformation. I have heard about the great energy added to many churches as they participated in The Journey of 10x10.

Over 100 churches have taken part in the Journey of 10x10 so far. There is still time for your church to join for 2017. Just click here to register. The Journey is a free resource made available through your apportionment contributions. If you have any questions please contact me at phisey@igrc.org.

If you are using the resource, but did not register please do so. We are Methodists, we like to track things.

Online Seminars

The Office of Congregational Development have scheduled two online seminars. Each has limited registration and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

MissionInsite, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2:00-3:00 pm:

Mike Crawford will offer an introduction to the free demographics resource IGRC churches have available. This seminar will demonstrate how to generate demographic reports for your community and the wealth of information and ministry ideas you can find. This seminar will be limited to 8 registrants. Click here to register.

The Journey of 10x10, Thursday Feb. 9, 10:00-11:00 am
Peggy Hisey will help you strategize and plan for your 10 month implementation of The Journey. This seminar will focus on the practical application of the resources provided on the website. This seminar will be limited to 8 registrants. Click here to register.

Flipping Church

The church has believed and followed many maxims over the past several years and decades. In launching something new, church planters are finding that the "old wisdom" is not universal truth. In Flipping Church, Michael Baughman (editor) and other church planters look at the other side of the coin regarding many traditional church growth principles.

If you want to be challenged to think in a new way, pick up this book. Whether you are starting something new or considering how your church can more effectively reach people in your community, Flipping Church will challenge you to think outside the box.

Mike Crawford

Coordinator of Congregational Development

Illinois Great Rivers Conference

Note: the United Media Resource Center has ordered two copies of this book for its collection

Illinois Great Rivers Conference - The United Methodist Church

Office of Congregational Development

P O Box 19207

Springfield, IL 62794-9207

phone: 217-529-3219 e-mail: congdev@igrc.org

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