Stronger Together: Young people are the ‘today’ of the church

When I was 22 years old, I was elected to be the President of the Youth and Young Adult Federation of the Methodist Church (for people 18 to 30 years old) in Chile. The Bible verse I used in most of my reports was 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (NRSVUE). The phrase that I also shared was “young people are the ‘today’ of the church.”

Simple Acts of Love shared from Christ UMC

In a world often marked by division and uncertainty, even the smallest acts of kindness can bring light and hope. During this past Lenten season, Christ United Methodist Church of Rockford set out to touch their community with simple acts of love.

Fresh Expressions ministries give hope for the future of the church

In a time of uncertainty about what the future of The United Methodist Church—and most denominations—will look like, Fresh Expressions brings some hopeful direction. You may have heard of “church” taking place in some unusual places in some unusual ways, such as dinner church and pub hymn-sings. These are examples of Fresh Expressions, an intentional, interdenominational creative movement of Christians who bring the gospel to those who would probably never come to a traditional church setting.

Kingdom Assignment provides love ripples

The ripple effect of love was felt throughout the Belvidere community and beyond when the people of First United Methodist Church in Belvidere turned $100 bills into acts of compassion. Over 20 projects were initiated with the money. Some took the opportunity to partner with other members to make the money go further, some people took the money and made an individual impact, and some members reached out to other close family friends and associates and asked them to take part in their projects.

Stronger Together: Our Laity in action

My source of hope today is in the laypeople of our conference. There are faithful laity all over our conference who keep serving, investing their gifts and talents, and going above and beyond to do God’s mission here on earth, no matter what. Our laity are faithful, perseverant, and committed to the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our laity are in action!!

Mission Links giving connects across the globe

The Northern Illinois Conference appreciates the churches that went the second mile as Mission Links churches. To become a Mission Links 100% Supporter, a church needs to pay its conference and general church apportionments in full and donate to at least one Mission Links project in each of the giving areas. In addition to their apportionment giving, Mission Links 100% Supporters gave almost $451,500 in second-mile gifts and over $89,500 in Special Sunday offerings.

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