Advent outreach resources available for local churches
- Postcards, customized with information about the local church and mailed within a radius of the church’s address (four design options or churches can upload their own).
- Door hangers with customizable space, offering a welcoming front door greeting from the local church (four design options or churches can upload their own).
- Invitation cards that provide a simple, yet heartfelt way for church members to invite friends and family members to attend a worship service or church event (four design options or churches can upload their own).
- A selfie stand to encourage fun photo opportunities for social media posts (one design option).
- An outdoor banner to welcome people driving by (one design option).
- Advent sermon starters with accompanying videos
- Social media calendar, with pre-written posts and imagery
- Bulletin and worship graphics
- Videos for worship and social media
- Website and social media graphics
- January sermon series from Discipleship Ministries with accompanying videos and promotional flyer
The denomination is also inviting churches to participate in its 16-state “True Meaning of Christmas Tour” during Advent. The tour will travel through 21 cities; at each stop, volunteers will offer invitations to a local United Methodist church, an opportunity to participate in a mission project, a chance share prayer requests and a video booth experience.
“We’ll be in high-traffic areas throughout December, spreading holiday cheer by extending warm invitations that will encourage people to connect with a local United Methodist church as they search for community and a faith home,” said Poonam Patodia, chief marketing officer at United Methodist Communications. Local churches can be a part of the tour, no matter where they are, by hosting a hot cocoa fellowship event. Tour-branded stickers will be available this fall so that churches can brand hot cocoa cups given out along with invitations to worship services and holiday events. More details and a step-by-step guide are available to support churches as they make plans.
The national advertising campaign will be present on multiple platforms during Advent, including digital and television, and will encourage viewers to visit RethinkChurch.org to learn more about the denomination as well as locate a local United Methodist church.
Churches are encouraged to update their Find-A-Church profile with current contact and worship information so that potential visitors can learn more about churches in their zip code. To get started, church leaders should visit the Find-A-Church website, search for their church, select their church’s profile, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Update Church Information.”
Resources for Vital Congregations
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Books
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Serve Your Neighbor
GBHEM Leadership Resources
Living Faithfully: Human Sexuality and the United Methodist Church
Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations
Ted Talks: The Power of Vulnerability
Ted Talks: The Price of Invulnerability
Meditations on the Ministry of All Christians
DISCIPLE FORMATION:
A Disciple’s Path; A Guide for United Methodist
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Adult Christian Studies from the Wesley Ministry Network
Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple Forming Congregations
WESLEYAN STUDIES:
Living As United Methodist Christians
Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials
Reclaiming our Wesleyan Tradition: John Wesley’s Sermons for Today
John Wesley Sermons: Anthology
REACHING PEOPLE:
Evangelism & Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit
Fresh Expressions: Dinner Church
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Reach New Disciples
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: 50 Ways to Reach People
Community: The Structure of Belonging
RESOURCES TO CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY:
GRANTS:
The Royce and Jane Reynolds Ministry Fund Grants
OTHER:
The Appalachian District Church Vitality Team has been prayerfully seeking ways to help support you and the ministries of your local congregation during this COVID-19 pandemic. Together they have diligently researched and connected with others throughout the conference and our denomination to identify resources and offer them to you. We hope they will be helpful to you and bless you greatly in leading your churches and communities through this unprecedented time. We are very grateful to the District Vitality Team and other contributors for their great work on this resource.
This faithful team has created three documents, two of which you are receiving today. They include:
- Family Home Worship – designed to help families establish a regular worship space within their homes as well as a time where they can worship together.
- Tech Strategies – to help guide you in selecting effective tools and resources within your budget to best communicate in the digital world.
We believe these resources will be of great benefit to you. Also know that the District Vitality Team is available to answer any questions you might have in regards to the documents attached. If you have questions, you may email Rev. Howard Fleming at hfleming@wnccumc.net.