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Check It Out!
  
  April 24, 2019
  
Time to plan for spring, summer, and fall
discipleship, leadership, and ministry opportunities!  

 The UMRC is here to help support your church in its various ministries!
Please forward this newsletter to church leaders and Sunday school teachers in your church.
There is no rental fee to borrow these items; the only cost to churches is to mail resources back to me.
 The UMRC is located in the United Methodist Center in Springfield.
If you're here for a meeting during the week, come in and look around!
        Contact me in advance and I'll have resources ready for you to pick up.
  
The UMRC has a wide variety of materials for teachers of
adult, youth, and children's classes!
Click here to visit the UMRC website.             
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments; my contact information is listed below, near my signature.
 
And Social Justice for All: Empowering Families, Churches, and Schools to Make a Difference in God's World
And Social Justice for All #819015   book
In this resource for parents and teachers, Lisa Van Engen shares basic information on fourteen global issues and provides discussion questions, Bible studies, book and activity suggestions, and 'ways to make a difference' for each topic.  Ideas are provided for the following age groups:  ages 3-6, ages 7-11, and ages 12+.  Chapters:  Clean water and sanitation - cracked cisterns;  Creation care - an open window;  Disabilities - a place for everyone;  Education - summoning the best of us;  Fair trade - giving beyond our means;  Families - those we love;  Health care - to touch the hem of His robe;  Human trafficking - modern-day abolitionists;  Hunger - gleaning the edges;  Immigrants and refugees - the gift we received;  Peace - how we see others;  Poverty - having been entrusted much;  Race - mend our fractures;  Changemakers - fierce light.   Includes lists of books and films on these topics for adults.  Also included is a simple framework for a community gathering.
 
Building Faith Brick by Brick II: An Imaginative Way to Explore the Parables with God's People     
#819054   book 
Building Faith Brick by Brick 2 Designed for use with children kindergarten through fifth grade (but also appropriate for intergenerational groups or anyone over the age of four), this book includes plans for a storytelling-based curriculum that includes letting students use Lego-type building bricks to reflect on the Bible story they have just been told.  Includes 32 lessons.
also available:
Building Faith Brick by Brick: An Imaginative Way to Explore the Bible with Children
#815117   book
Includes 30 Old Testament and 24 New Testament lessons.
 
Unwavering: Living with Defiant Joy
Unwavering #121031   DVD
In this six-session DVD study, Stasi Eldredge shares stories and Scripture that reveal how to live with a defiant, hopeful, ever-present joy no matter your circumstance.  Sessions:  1) A reason to celebrate (16 min.);  2) Godly interference (18 min.);  3) Greener grass (20 min.);  4) Expectant hope (20 min.);  5) Cultivating joy (18 min.);  6) The ultimate victory (21 min.).  Includes guide.  CLOSED CAPTIONED.
 
Mark Your Calendar
  
  Calendar
   
The United Media Resource Center will be closed the following dates:

Monday, May 27
June 3 - 7
July 4
August 2 - 18
 
Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health
Unstuck #817185   book
Chapters:  The life cycle of churches;  Launch - let's build something new!;  Momentum growth -- it's going to be a wild ride!;  Strategic growth -- plan your work and work your plan;  Sustained health -- becoming the church God designed it to be;  Maintenance -- it's time to embrace a new vision all over again;  Preservation -- the church must change to survive;  Life support -- it's time to embrace a new beginning;  Parting words.
 
Owning Faith: Reimagining the Role of Church and Family in the Faith Journey of Teenagers   
Owning Faith #818190   book
This book is for youth leaders, parents, grandparents, and all adults interested in our youth.  Chapters:  You're not supposed to do this by yourself;  To be a parent is to be a youth minister;  Disciples learn from disciples;  What is a youth minister's job, then?;  Building faith at home;  Discernment - core spiritual practices of the disciple;  Comfort with the comfort we receive from God;  Human sexuality - we have a lot to talk about;  Adoptive parenting - coming to understand the heart of God;  Life among the people of God;  Life with peers;  Friends, mentors, heroes - connecting with other generations;  Bringing in the outsider - hospitality in the way of Jesus;  Maintaining a holy identity while wholly immersed in a culture;  Dreams, visions, and real life.  Includes discussion questions.
 
Jesus Challenge: 21 Days of Loving God and Neighbor
Jesus Challenge #110058   DVD
In this three-session DVD study, Justin LaRosa helps us move from forgetfulness to remembering, from distraction to intentionality, and from self-sufficiency to God-reliance, so that we are enabled to live our lives centered on loving God and loving others as ourselves.  He also discusses the spiritual practices of centering prayer and Lectio Divina.  The book includes 21 short daily readings; the leader's guide and DVD include content for the three weekly gatherings.  A book will need to be purchased for each participant.  DVD sessions:  1) Loving God (10 min.);  2) Loving neighbor (8 min.);  3) Loving your enemy (8 min.).  CLOSED CAPTIONED.
 
I Can Only Imagine - Small Group Study
I Can Only Imagine #109059   DVD
In this four-session DVD study, Bart Millard tells the story of the redemption of his father, once an abusive man, and how the change in his father forced him to grow as a Christian, as well.  Sessions:  1) Imagine a loving father (12 min.);  2) Imagine forgiveness (12 min.);  3) Imagine redemption (9 min.);  4) Imagine going home (12 min.).  Includes leader's guide and sample participant guide/journal.  CLOSED CAPTIONED (English and Spanish).
If you have questions or wish to request resources, please contact me at 217-529-2744 or umrc@igrc.org.

 

Sincerely, 
Jill D. Stone signature  
Jill D. Stone, Director
United Media Resource Center