News

In January 2023, a 16-member Volunteers In Mission (VIM) group traveled to Panama to work at the Methodist Community Center in Cienaguita. The volunteers included twelve from Iowa, two from Illinois, one from Georgia, and another from Florida.  On the Sunday they arrived, Rhett Thompson, a pastor and the VIM coordinator, invited the group to worship at his church in Panama City. After worship, they headed on a long bus ride up to the Methodist Community Center in Cienaguita, their home and work...

The Iowa United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Committee (UMVIM) introduces a new, innovative program called Building Connections. This program will connect experienced volunteers with churches in need of repairs.  For example, a small church in Southwest Iowa with an aging congregation and an average worship attendance of eighteen desperately needs renovation. The outside of the building needs to be repainted, the carpet replaced, the kitchen remodeled, the sanctuary wallpaper removed, and the...

Last week, Bishop Laurie Haller urged the Iowa Conference to support the United Methodist Committee on Relief's (UMCOR) U.S. Disaster Fund to help survivors of Hurricane Ian. Here is an update on how to also support survivors of Hurricane Fiona. Reminder: Do not self-deploy to go help. First responders and UMCOR will assess the situation and let us know when it is safe to deploy recovery groups. For more information on how you or your church can get involved, visit our Disaster Ministries page....

Submitted by: Beverly Nolte, Iowa United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Co-Coordinator Kathy Martin, of Sioux City, is the team leader of the September 24-October 2, 2022 work trip. She is joined by Boyd Crees of Goldfield and Bruce Dykstra of Ventura, who will join another work group at Lake Charles. Their focus is to work on homes damaged by two hurricanes and flooding in the Lake Charles, LA area. Working with the Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders, they will be housed in the St. ...

Two new informational forms are now available for completion from the Iowa United Methodist Volunteers in Mission committee.  The first form is the UMVIM Volunteer in Mission Volunteer Personal Data Form. This form is for individuals who have been on mission journeys and are available to continue their participation. Having the contact, experience, and skill information will help in recruiting needed persons to fill mission teams as necessary.  The second form is a Mission Report Form to be ...

Submitted by Beverly Nolte, Iowa United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Co-Coordinator If you're planning a fall trip, consider participating in one of these work experiences sponsored by Iowa United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) in an area devastated by hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes. The first work trip to disaster-stricken Lake Charles, LA, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24 to Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. Contact Kathy Martin (retired clergy, former chaplain at Morningside, and ...

Submitted by Beverly Nolte Youth and youth leaders are invited to YOUTH 2023 and missional opportunities! Every four years since the early 1990s, Discipleship Ministries, an agency of the United Methodist Church, has organized a youth event held at various locations around the country. These events provide youth and adult leaders inspirational worship, Bible study, service opportunities and fellowship time. YOUTH 2023 will take place in Daytona Beach, Florida from July 25-28, 2023, and is open ...

Submitted by Beverly Nolte Twenty persons attended the United Methodist Volunteer in Mission (UMVIM) Team Leader Training event held on Friday, July 22. Tammy Kuntz, the North Central UMVIM, was the instructor for the all-day meeting. Participants learned the how’s, why’s and what’s of team leadership to prepare for mission journeys in the United States and around the world.  All work groups, whether youth, adults or intergenerational need a trained and trusted leader who offers a successful ...

The Iowa United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Committee (UMVIM) is planning a disaster response work trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana from September 24 - October 2, 2022. Over the past few years, the Southwest Louisiana area has been hit hard by a series of natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornados, flooding, and extreme cold. Residents were only beginning to recover from one disaster when the next one struck, and hundreds of people are still in need of assistance and hope. Bill Howell, ...

If you or your church/district/circuit is planning a mission outreach venture and need trained leadership, the Iowa Conference United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Committee is offering a free team leader training event on Friday, July 22 from 9 AM – 5 PM.  Tammy Kuntz, the North Central Jurisdiction UMVIM coordinator, will be the instructor. Kuntz will guide participants in preparation BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the mission journey. A focus will be on ways to deepen the spiritual aspect of the ...

Are you planning a work trip for your youth? Thinking of taking a team on a work journey? Want to be involved as a Volunteer in Mission but need a team leader? Here’s the solution.     Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Team Leader Training is scheduled to meet your need, on Friday, July 22 (from 9 AM to 5 PM), at the Iowa Conference Center in Des Moines.  The Team Leader Training will provide you (and your church) with all the information and tools needed to participate in and lead a hands-on ...

Submitted by Beverly Nolte, UMVIM Co-Chairperson  The Iowa United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Committee (UMVIM) has been restarted to offer assistance in making your mission work journey successful!. The Iowa United Methodist Volunteer in Mission Committee has all the information you need to successfully prepare, plan and pursue any mission experience. With a vote pending, Sandy Ashley and Beverly Nolte will serve as co-chairpersons through July 1, 2023. ​Phil Rogers is a liaison with ...

The Iowa United Methodist Volunteers in Mission committee is seeking a new coordinator and members. People who have participated in disaster cleanup, traveled on a work trip, or have a desire to volunteer and want to get involved in meaningful Christian service are invited to apply. This year, the committee's goal is to schedule a team leader training, share information about U.S. and international work projects, and share about insurance coverage for team members. Meetings are three times a ...

Now is the time to begin planning your next Volunteer In Mission trip. Hopefully, things will begin to open up some this spring. Consider Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA. How about Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, IL? What about working on the upcoming disaster response project in the Cedar Rapids area? All of these and more can use the assistance of your church group of volunteers. Hi, I’m Linda Rowe, the new Iowa United Methodist Volunteer In Mission (UMVIM) Coordinator. I live in ...

The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:19 which gives the “GO” directive to humankind. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19  The Great Commission Fund was established in 1978 under the Board of Global Ministries of the Iowa Annual Conference. Monies are available for the following ministries/mission: Volunteer in Mission (in U.S. and overseas) Innovative ministry Ethnic minority ministry District, Conference and UMW mission outeach Short term missioners  The ...

By Beverly Nolte   Click here to see more images from the trip! Fourteen Iowans flew south of the border to the land of coffee, corn and tobacco—Nicaragua. From Bloomfield to Lake Park, Gray to Wilton, this United Methodist Volunteer in Mission team was laden with sewing machines, a variety of vegetable seeds, school supplies, a large replica of Noah's Ark, as well as work tools...all part of the luggage. Tucked in between Panama and Honduras, Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in ...

Volunteers in Mission (VIM)  Team Leader Training will provide you (and your church) with all the information and tools that you will need to participate in or lead hands-on mission. Team Leader Training equips individuals to lead national and international teams to approved United Methodist project sites.  It touches on what constitutes an UMVIM team, team duties, team dynamics, cultural understanding, team spiritual formation, tips for travel and fundraising, timeline for organizing a team, ...

By: Pastor Lori Shannon Gray United Methodist Church Ah, the joys of an Iowa winter!  In January while many of you dealt with the drudgery of scooping snowdrifts, chiseled ice from your windshields, or watched your breath freeze, I, along with seventeen others, traveled to Samana’ in the Dominican Republic, dined on rice and beans, swatted pesky mosquitos and slathered on sunblock. We represented the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission which annually sends a team outside the United States to...

For two weeks in September 18 people participated in a Volunteer in Mission trip to Israel/Palestine. We visited many holy sites but the most meaningful experiences included the reaffirmation of our baptismal vows at the Jordan River, sailing on the Sea of Galilee and Holy Communion at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.   In addition to visiting sites, we spent most of our time working with Palestinians. Our first four days were spent in the town of Ibillin in the Galilee region. Here we worked and ...

On the thumb of northern Dominican Republic is Samana, nestled among palm trees listing toward the sea, in a bay where 3,000 spouting humpback whales winter to have their babies. The Dominican Republic shares an island with Haiti but is more than two-thirds the size of its smaller neighbor. It is Spanish speaking being discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. It is said that this country is the most visited destination in the Caribbean and we Iowans believe it.   This was the work ...