How is it With Your Soul?
Recovering an Old Practice in a New Season
By Rev. Heather Baker Utley
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Heather is the Co-Lead Pastor of Tapestry Church, which is a Church Planting Project of The River Conference in San Antonio, TX. She also works bi-vocationally as an online English Teacher and Social Media Manager. She pastors alongside her husband Clay and is a mom to two elementary-age boys. For more on Tapestry Church, visit tapestrysa.com. |
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Every Monday morning at 8am, my two friends are there on the other side of the computer screen, asking me, “How is it with your soul?” This practice of a “virtual soul care group” began as a work of necessity. As a pastor married to a pastor, I needed deeper connections with women outside of my congregation who understood the complexities of my life. But as a working pastor-mom, it was difficult to maintain these relationships locally.
At the time, I heard a podcast where an author discussed the long-distance friendships she maintained over a chat app. I had valued the “soul care” conversations I had with a weekly group in Seminary and wondered if it could work via a chat app. I reached out to another pastor-friend in another state and pitched her on the idea. We each invited a few other friends around the country to join us, and our “virtual group” was born in March 2018. We met together asynchronously, leaving voicemails up to 15 minutes long in a group thread on the chat app. In one thread we specifically asked, “How is it with your soul?” which led to fruitful spiritual conversations.
After about 18 months of getting to know one another, three of us transitioned to meeting weekly via Zoom. Since then, we have met consistently for one hour on Monday mornings to ask one another “How is your soul?” We listen to one another and offer any insights of what God might be revealing.
In my own journey of moving to Texas, which is over 2,000 miles away from my adult home (Washington State) and childhood home (Ohio), these weekly soul-level conversations have been a lifeline to staying rooted in faith and Christian fellowship.
“How is it with your soul?” meaning, “How is your life with God?” is the core question of the Wesleyan Class Meeting, which began in the early days of Methodism. “Class Meeting” is a misnomer in 2021. It sounds like something that is rigid and instructional, but it’s more relational and transformational. I find “soul care group” to be a better moniker today.
The methods of the early American Methodists resulted in explosive growth over the first 75 years of the United States. In 1776, the Methodists were the second-smallest denomination in the US, accounting for 2.5% of religious adherents in a country of 2.5 million people. By 1850, they accounted for 34.2% of the religious adherents in a country of 25 million people! And they were 14% larger than the next largest group! What were their essentials?
- They were faithfully preaching and teaching the word to new believers. Thousands of new people were coming to faith each week.
- Everyone who joined the community was assigned to a “Class Meeting.”*
The Wesleyan Class Meeting began first in England, when lay leaders were assigned to collect the weekly penny from church members to pay off a building debt. As the lay leaders showed up on parishioners’ doorstep, they discovered so-and-so was intoxicated or so-and-so needed encouragement. John Wesley found these insights to be so valuable that he organized the whole church community into “classes” of 12 people. In addition to collecting the weekly offering, the leaders were responsible to:
- Visit each person in their group at least once a week: Asking, “How is it with your soul?”, and Caring for, advising, or challenging the person as needed.
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Meet with the lead minister of the church weekly to inform them of any who were: sick, walking in a wayward path, or unresponsive to correction/instruction.
For practical reasons, they transitioned from visiting all the homes to hosting one weekly meeting for each group. Wesley described the value of this weekly “Class Meeting” here:
“Many now happily experienced that Christian fellowship of which they had not so much as an idea before. They began to ‘bear one another’s burdens,’ and ‘naturally’ to ‘care for each other.’ As they had daily a more intimate acquaintance with, so they had a more endeared affection for each other. And ‘speaking the truth in love, they grew up into Him in all things which is the head, even Christ.’”**
These groups are not centered on teaching a curriculum, and they weren’t operating as closed groups that were awkward for new members to join. They were led by lay ministers, centered around transformation with God and one another. There was also a clear pathway for new members to join. They were integral to vitality of the early American Methodists!
After a global pandemic, many of us are longing to see more growth and vitality among the people in our communities. The best starting point is if the leaders themselves are in a place of growth and vitality. Adding a “soul care group” to your weekly rhythm gives you a place to know and be known on a deep level. It helps us live out the Apostle Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 2: 15, to
“continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
To attempt the practice on a congregational level necessitates teaching the practice to lay leaders who can then lead groups themselves. This has the added benefit of sharing the work of shepherding among many leaders. In the 21st century, people are looking for a community that feels like home. By including a rhythm of a weekly “soul care meeting” into our congregational rhythms, we can provide a clear pathway for people to find a spiritual home.
I commend this practice to you to stay rooted in God’s love and grace yourself. It’s as simple as calling a friend today, asking them “How is it with your soul?” and inviting them to ask you the same. I also commend the practice to you to bring your congregation into deeper transforming relationships with God and one another. I pray that through it, we can see the next season be a fruitful one in which people who have been far from God find faith, hope, and love that is found in life with Christ.
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* Insights on the history of the Class Meeting taken from Kevin Watson, The Class Meeting: Recovering a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience (Wilmore, KY: Seedbed, 2014), 22-25. This book is a great how-to on transitioning your small groups to the Class Meeting format.
**John Wesley quote is from “The Nature, Design, and General Rules in the United Societies,” in The Works of John Wesley, Bicentennial Edition (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1989), 9:69-70.
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The 2021 Leadership Summit Was a Success! |
We want to thank everyone who made the trip to Denver for the Summit. We ordained three individuals as Elders and one as a Conference Deacon. There were seven Conference Ministerial Candidates that were received by TRC as well. We are Mobilizing Leaders and look forward to seeing how they impact His kingdom.
We welcomed two churches to The River Conference: Freedom Motorcycle Church and Chapel of Change Dallas.
The presentations, recordings, and documents can be found on Basecamp.
to view the pictures.
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Your neighbor is where you are. This happened at the Leadership Summit while some of our pastors were having dinner. Their waitress needed prayer and that is what she received. God is good all the time.
BE A BLESSING TO ALL
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Village Church in Angel Fire, NM read The Neighboring Challenge the first quarter of the year. As soon as our state went turquoise (our governors way of allowing gatherings of 150 people), one of our ladies started planning for a community gathering in a near-by park. This past weekend she held the event and over 30 people came for a community meal. She spent her own money and most of those involved were non-church goers. To say the least, she has taken the challenge to heart.
She is also a single mom, working full-time, that plays worship music in her place of business…the post office!! Since she was baptized last year, she has invited dozens to our little church and many have attended because of her invitation. I celebrate her obedience to the Word and her evangelist heart. She is a gift to the Body.
Don't forget to share your Neighboring stories on our Basecamp Chat.
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The River Institute Fall Cohort Begins
September 13, 2021
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The River Conference has partnered with Asbury Theological Seminary to provide a platform for The River/Free Methodist Institute. Each Institute contains five Modules, and Asbury Seminary will grant a non-degree certificate for completion.
COURSES OFFERED:
- FM History and Polity
- Wesleyan Theology
- Church Administration
- Homiletics and Hermeneutics
- Pastoral Counseling and Self-Care
Each module is 8 weeks in length. The cost is $1,000 for the 5 modules. The Institute completes the Local Ministerial Candidate "Head" requirements for an individual and sets them up for Conference Ministerial candidacy.
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Pastor Jason Chavez Has Gone Home to be With the Lord |
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We are saddened to inform you of the death of Pastor Jason Chavez. He passed at his home on July 15, 2021.
He was recently appointed as the Lead Pastor of Amazing Grace Community Church in Thornton, Colorado and was developing a vibrant ministry there. He served the River Conference on their Ministerial Education and Guidance Board, and pastored in Colorado at Tha Myx in Denver, River Church in Lakewood, and then at Amazing Grace as their Associate Pastor prior to being appointed the Lead Pastor. Jason served as the state representative of Los Cristianos Motorcycle Ministry, as well as, Minister and Pastor to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. He shared the Gospel to the outlaw motorcycle world one soul at a time, and preformed Godly individual counseling, weddings, funerals, evangelistic ministry to halfway homes and drug treatment facilities and organized motorcycle outreach events.
Pastor Jason was loved and will be missed. Please pray for his wife Rebecca, and his children: Alicia, Santana, and Daniel, and step-children: Jasmine Bargas (Adam), RaeLynn Martinez (Matthew), Zach Gonzales (Karen).
OBITUARY
Jason Dale Chavez Pastor "J" a long-life resident of Denver CO went home to be with the Lord on July 15, 2021. Jason is survived by his loving Wife Rebecca Cordova-Chavez, READ MORE
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on July 29, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Radiance Church 8301
Rosemary St. Commerce City, Co 80022. Pastor Joe Aragon will be officiating.
There will be a Memorial Run from Denver CO to Amalia NM on August 7, 2021, to lay his ashes at his final resting place. Further details on the run will provided at a later date.
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TRC COVID-19 State Resources
Below are the websites for all the states in The River Conference that have current information on COVID-19. Stay informed. These websites have the most current information for each state. Simply click on the state and it will take you to the corresponding website.
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FMCUSA has closed their PO Box. All mail to their office (or any of our World Ministries Center offices) is being received at the following address:
770 North High School Road
Indianapolis IN 46214
Please use the above address for anything you send to the denomination
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ONLINE COURSES AVAILABLE IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES |
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The NY/NJ Metro Ministry Training Center is pleased to begin a new online cohort for theological and pastoral formation that will be taught directly in Swahili (and other African languages as needed) via Zoom. The tentative course schedule and enrollment form is attached below.
Cost:
Recommended tuition for each student is $65 per credit hour. A minimum of 8 students per cohort is ideal. When this is not possible, churches and/or conferences are encouraged to give an additional Love Offering to help compensate the instructor.
Vision:
The influx of African Immigrant Kingdom leaders into the USA is a great opportunity for the FMCUSA to advance the Kingdom of Jesus. However, a robust theological and pastoral formation program that is directly taught in native African languages is largely missing. In response to this opportunity and challenge, we seek to multiply the African teaching ministry of the NY/NJ Metro Training Center into Annual Conferences across the USA. As we launch this initiative, we seek to raise $75,000 over the next three years to mentor a next generation of instructors—"reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim 2:2). We invite you to join us in carrying this vision, raising support, and identifying potential candidates whom God is calling to equip the saints through the spiritual gift of teaching.
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TRC signed up to take advantage of Amazon.com's "give back" campaign. Amazon Smile is a program where you can designate a charity to receive a percentage of any purchase made on Amazon.com.
If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity. How to get started:
www.smile.amazon.com - find The River Conference of the Free Methodist Church, Lakewood, CO on the charity list, select it. Now every time you order something from Amazon, you must enter through the smile.amazon.com website, you'll see what charity you're supporting in red letters. Then start shopping. Amazon will automatically deposit donations into our checking account.
If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity.
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TRC DISTRICT LEADERS
ARIZONA
BOISE
COLORADO/NEW MEXICO/SOUTH DAKOTA
NORTH TEXAS
SOUTH TEXAS
SPOKANE
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We have been hit by email scams both on the denominational and conference levels. Please be aware that emails sent from the denominations will end in "@fmcusa.org" and from the conference "@theriverconference.org". These hackers are clever and will make it look like the real thing.
If you have any questions about the origin of the admin@theriverconference.org.
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TRC Committee Meetings will begin in September 2021
We will not have any meetings in August
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Just a friendly reminder that NOW is the time to be communicating with your church leaders about Freedom Sunday. The start up kit will launch this month and all of our E-blasts this and next month will be highlighting the phenomenal opportunities we have to move freedom forward in Kenya, Michigan, and California. |
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The Justice Network of the Free Methodist Church seeks to extol and deepen the Free Methodist Church’s historic commitment to oppose oppression and restore God’s wholeness to those who have been disenfranchised both in society and within the church. If you are interested in attending the Justice Network Summit on September 9-11, 2021 please go to
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New Room Conference, September 22-24, 2021, is an annual gathering of Christians in the Wesleyan tradition that aims for a Holy Spirit awakening in our day and is an initiative of Seedbed. New Room has just opened up more tickets for purchase.
Free Methodists attending New Room are invited to be the guests of our Bishops at a luncheon from noon to 2 PM on Friday, September 24 at the close of the main event. Please contact Deb Somerville revdeb911@gmail.com for more information.
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Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy is made up of a group of likeminded denominations who ordain women and promote a biblically-based theology and practice of women in ministry. WHWC’s biennial conference, called E2022, is being held March 10-12, 2022 in Grapevine, Texas. Women who are elders, CMC’s, leading laypersons, students or others exploring a call to ministry or seeking to understand our position on the role of women in the church are encouraged to attend. Men are also welcome—whether husbands, colleagues, superintendents or others looking for an uplifting event featuring excellent women preachers, workshops and fellowship.
AND… “WELL2022” is a Free Methodist women-only event on the day before the conference at the same location. This all-expenses-paid event begins at 1 PM on March 9 and ends at noon on March 10. Women will spend time getting to know other Free Methodist women in ministry and celebrating what God is doing in our denomination—for instance, we now have 571 ordained women, two female superintendents, a female bishop and hundreds of women serving in denominational or conference leadership positions. At this pre-conference event, we will also have time to explore concerns that can be heard together and communicated to denominational leaders to address our acknowledged “room for improvement” reality.
For both WELL and E2022:
If you have already registered for E2022, you can still add on WELL to your registration. Don't use the links above, just email or call Callie Darling, our event services manager
phone 972 724 5184.
P.S. If you are a pastor’s husband or a man in leadership who plans to attend WHWC and would be interested in a gathering of FM men during WELL, contact Soo Ji Alvarez.
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Find out what is happening around the Free Methodist Church. Click below to view the respective newsletters |
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Sunday, July 25 is FM founder, B.T. Roberts birthday. The links to the First and Second of a three-part series are below
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