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Hello All, I am getting a number of comments about the Oasis Network. Churches are welcome to join the network if the pastor and the board vote to be part of the network, AND they have a lay team willing to attend trainings and reach out to people who may or may not ever step foot in their church. If a church was not asked it had nothing to do with the church, the pastor, and most certianlly was not a punishment of any kind. Let me know if there are questions I can address. Blessings, Rev. ...

The Iowa Annual Conference offered its first Oasis Church training via Zoom last Saturday, reaching 50 people representing three different conferences addressing grief and loss when members of disaffiliating churches seek out a new United Methodist Church.  Oasis Network churches are congregations that remain confident in their United Methodist Church identity and mission and whose desire is to welcome, care and reach out to laity who want to retain a United Methodist membership after their ...

Bishop Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai and the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church announce the following leadership staff transitions.      Rev. Bill Poland:   Rev. Bill Poland will retire on June 30, 2024, after 42 years of service to the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He will continue to serve as the Director of Connectional Ministries until his retirement next year.   Poland is a graduate of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He is currently the...

Conflict happens.    It is a reality in every church and every relationship—even when they ARE healthy! Being equipped with the skills to respond to and resolve conflict more effectively happens when you have a plan and the expectation that there is a way through it.    The Iowa Conference’s Office of Congregational Excellence offers three Introduction to Conflict Transformation, Part 1 workshops across Iowa that will help you form a plan and manage your expectations through Biblically grounded ...

The Congregational Excellence team invites you to join two webinars to continue learning about Developing Online Faith Communities. The webinars will be hosted by Cathy Townley, who has years of experience coaching churches through the digital age. Developing Online Faith Communities - two-part webinar. Get some basics on what’s involved in developing a digital campus, and why you should want to. In addition, the Congregational Excellence team and Townley are offering:   Launching New Faith ...

The Offices of Clergy and Congregational Excellence hosted Jason Moore's two-day workshop, "Worship in the Post Pandemic World." About 80-100 individuals and church groups joined during the two-day event. "I am thankful for the workshops with Jason Moore, who brought his insight, engagement, and experience as a seasoned professional with worship, hospitality, and online ministry," said Rev. Ryan Christenson, Associate Director for Congregational Excellence. "His four workshops over two days ...

Christ the King Sunday - Lanette Plambeck from Iowa Annual Conference on Vimeo.  

Christenson, Drake to be Associates for Congregational Excellence   Bishop Laurie Haller has announced that Rev. Ryan Christenson and Rev. Melissa Drake will be the two new Associate Directors for Congregational Excellence.   Describing the role, Bishop Laurie Haller said, “the Associate Directors for Congregational Excellence are of critical importance for our conference because they will be working directly with local congregations around vital ministry. These churches, in return, will be ...

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection is excited to announce registration is now open for two conferences hosted by ShareChurch Conferences on April 4 – 5, 2019. Participants may select to attend either The Art of Radical Hospitality Conference or the Empowered: A Model of Care Conference. The conferences are hosted concurrently at Church of the Resurrection’s Leawood, KS Campus and feature combined opening and closing sessions, with distinctive sessions in between. Churches are ...

by Roxanne Strike Creston is a rural town located in the South Central District of the Iowa Conference. In churches of all denominations, rural churches can have trouble with growth, but the Creston First United Methodist Church experienced the opposite. In just a year, the church has had 4 baptisms, 17 new members, created new instrumental groups, hired a new choir director and nursery director and raised money for veterans.   “It’s hard to put into words the energy and passion people have,” ...