Transformation Vol. 3 Issue 4

Transformation VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4

MINISTRY MAGAZINE

OF

THE DESERT SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE

How do we grow again?

WINTER 2011 ¦ DESERT SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE COMMUNICATIONS ¦ WWW.DESERTSOUTHWESTCONFERENCE.ORG

Publisher’s Pen

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Evangelism... an old word, but an eternal gift

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How Did Jesus Lead

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I was a stranger and you welcomed me

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Contents

Winter 2011

Special Features

Contents

Invite a Friend Transformation

Communicating the message of God among the Hispanic/Latino people 8 Comunicando el Mensaje de Dios entre el Pueblo Hispano/Latino

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Evangelize!

Who - Me?

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Visiting House to House

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Get rid of the Evangelism Committee 16 Placing your church within an arm’s reach

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Servant Evangelism and Vital Congregations

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In a television commercial titled “Prayer,” a boy attaches his prayer to God to a kite and sends it toward heaven.

The ad is one of the elements of the church’s ongoing media campaign, “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.”

2 | Transformation | Winter 2011

12 22

M INISTRY M AGAZINE

OF

Publisher’s Pen

Transformation Evangelism is simply telling Winter 2011 our story Volume 3, Issue 4 T HE D ESERT S OUTHWEST C ONFERENCE

Contributors

For general inquiries or subscription information, e-mail: communications@desertsw.org, call 602-266-6956, or mail Communications Department, 1550 E. Meadowbrook Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85014-4040.

Transformation is provided quarterly in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter by the Communications Department of The Desert Southwest Conference.

Transformation is also available online by going to www.desertsouthwestconference. org/transformation. Individual articles and photos may be used by DSC churches and organizations.

Views in Transformation come from representatives of official Conference groups or by request of Conference Staff.

Viewpoints may only be those of the writer and may not be representative of the entire Conference. Questions about the reproduction of individual articles or photos should be directed to Stephen J. Hustedt, Conference Director of Communications (602-266-6956 ext. 220 or steve@desertsw.org).

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Stephen J. Hustedt attempt to help you explore your own faith journey more deeply and inspire you to share your story.

Then, once you have finished with your copy of Transformation, you are encouraged to give your copy to someone else and encourage them to share their own story. If you want to reference a particular article in the future you can always read it online at http://desertsouthwestconference.org/ transformation. Even a simple act like sharing your copy of Transformation can serve as an act of evangelism to someone. †

Winter 2011 | Transformation | 3

By Stephen J. Hustedt, Director of Communications

Pastor Eric Brown, Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, Christina Dillabough, Rev. Bob Holliday, Stephen J. Hustedt, Dr. Don Nations, Pastor Mark Maddox, Rev. Mike Pearson, Eric Siberline-UMCOM, Glen Simpson, Pastor Dave Summers, Bishop Jaime Vázquez

he word evangelism can have a lot of baggage attached to it. People often think of television evangelists or individuals standing on a corner with heavy foot traffic condemning the unholy to hell. These collective images are unfortunate.

The model of evangelism all Christians should be looking at is Jesus.

Jesus took time to really connect with people and share the good news. He did so with love and compassion. This is the model we should all be following, and frankly it is much easier than we make it.

The fact is we live in a hungry and hurting world that is desperate to have something to believe in. What we have, as Christians, is truly a gift that we are called to share with the world. Sadly, we are all too often selfish and keep our amazing gift all to ourselves. Further, this is rarely because we do not want to share. Like most failings, the reason we often ignore our call is fear.

We are scared that people don’t want to hear our faith story and that they will judge us. We are too fearful to make a simple gesture like invite a friend to church or even give away our copy of Transformation because we don’t want to be rejected. Of course, the reality is that even if someone says no we lose very little, but what do we lose by not acting? More importantly, what do the people we are called to reach out to lose?

Indeed, sharing our story is not actually about us. It is about sharing what we have with the world and bringing hope to all the people that have no reason to be hopeful. That is a task that has to be taken with the highest level of seriousness.

This issue of Transformation will take a close look at evangelism. It will explore concepts and attempt to give readers useful tools for sharing their faith stories. Be you a long-time church leader or a first-time church visitor, this issue will

Photos by Mike Dubose, UMNS

Evangelism...

an old word, but an eternal gift

By Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño

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ou’ve heard the definitions for evangelism and perhaps even the explanations of its meaning in the ancient biblical languages. It’s all important, but most important is for us to figure out what it means now in the middle of the life we live. I think it means authentically living as Christ did and day by day getting better and better at it.

It’s as easy as sharing with another person what God has done in our lives.

Almost a century ago a man shared with my maternal grandparents that God had reached out to him with great love and given him joy and meaning and purpose in life and God was reaching out to them as well. So here I am, a recipient of that simple sharing, giving God thanks for that man who stopped by and blessed the life of my family, and continues to bless me. When I think of this man, I think of Jesus walking the streets of yesterday in the flesh and walking the streets of today in Spirit stopping for all people and telling us in big and simple ways that God loves us all.

It’s not complicated, unless we make it so. True evangelism is not about 4 | Transformation | Winter 2011

teaching doctrine or theology, and heaven forbid that it be about explaining institutional church organizational structures, rules and processes! True evangelism is befriending others with the love of Christ, as pure as the child who puts her arm around another and says, “Love you.” It’s not that doctrine and theology and figuring out ways to be the church aren’t important, it’s just that they aren’t the first thing we should be about loving others is.

Here’s a discipline I have long tried to observe: I try to be present in the moment for whoever I am with–friend, colleague, antagonist, or stranger– expressing to them respect, and care and even more, intentionally expressing love to them. Is this not what Jesus did for the Samaritan woman, Bartimeaus the blind man, for lepers on the edge of the city, for Zacheaus the rich tax collector, and even for the thief on the cross? Jesus does it a lot better than me, exponentially better. Jesus will always be the Master and I one of his disciples. But I’m trying daily trying to be more and more like Jesus my Master. My heart strives for this

goal because Jesus, and Jesus alone, has extended perfect and unconditional love to me. But of course, it is much bigger than just me.

I believe that sharing the love of God by befriending all those around us heals us of our brokenness and transforms our hurting world. Each day I am convinced more and more that we are wired to love God and love each other and when we refocus our lives and our love outwardly to God and all those whom we encounter in life, a process of healing is engaged and encouraged within us and all around us.

There’s just one more thing. It brings us full circle. Jesus is who we thank and seek guidance from as we attempt to share the love that has been wired into the very core of our being.

Jesus is both source and supreme example of the love God our Creator has placed within each one of us. So don’t forget to name him as you live your life and share your love. Go and be an evangelist in the name of Christ Jesus! †

How Did Jesus Lead?

By Glen Simpson, Young Adult Ministry Coordinator

Photo taken by Don Benton at DSC Annual Conference 2011

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he church seems to have found itself between a rock and a hard spot. When one begins to look into young people’s ministry and the church, it doesn’t take long to discover that the church is not only struggling with how to reach the younger generation, but where to start. Generations upon generations will continue to evolve at a rather steady pace and with that, so must the church. I know, I know, it seems as though these first few sentences are becoming an all too often “opener” to an all too commonly written article. You guessed it, the next sentence will ask... “How do we reach young people?”

I recently came across a blog related to leading young leaders in the church and within this blog it talked about the popularity of the “WWJD” bracelets. You know, “What would Jesus do?” Remember those? These bracelets were everywhere and many were able to connect with these bracelets. I’m not suggesting we return to the WWJD days, rather we explore a new question in which the bracelet might read WDJD, What Did Jesus Do? How did Jesus Lead? If we explore the basis for how He might have lead leaders, then we may develop a strong foundation on which to build on and reach the younger generation.

It is the mission of the United Methodist Church to ‘make disciples

for the transformation of the world.’ The disciples were the leaders in Jesus’ day and today we look to a younger generation as the new modern day disciples, or so we hope. Studies upon studies indicate why younger people are leaving the church, or in fact, not even attending the church.

Very few of these studies indicate how we are to reach young people. Well, I guess if we knew how to do that, this wouldn’t necessarily be the discussion of choice.

Reaching young people is a task that we must all take on. No one ministry or organization will be able to facilitate this in a group, rather the church as a whole will begin to make a shift in a direction that is intentional about being inviting, relational, and having the ability to truly develop.

Invitation: Sure we can send out postcards, or even build the latest and greatest in websites, but the fact of the matter is the best way to invite is through personal invitation. Jesus didn’t create an application process, he personally invited his disciples.

Relational: Beyond the invitation it is important that we take the steps to be relational with young people. I can’t stress this one enough. Rather than looking at young people as a “key component” to the “success” and leadership of the church that we all seem to desperately seek, develop a relationship that is based on a friendship. As a young person, I am eager to greet and converse with my friends throughout the week and on a Sunday morning.

Develop: Like His disciples, we all need to continue to develop and more importantly, be willing to do so. The process to reach young people will continue to be a revolving door. The moment we set step-by-step directions as to how we will reach young people, is the moment the system will fail.

Participate in the conversations, express your views and ideas, and be ready to take the necessary steps to develop as one.

I would like to end with an excerpt from a article recently posted by author Aaron Stern, in which he said “If people get the sense that you only want them around because of what they can do for you, the relationship will be shortlived. People can quickly see when they are being used. We must build people, viewing the task as a vehicle for doing that.

This means we have to be more interested in who they are as a person than in what they do. One way to help us treat people well is to refrain from referring to them as resources. When we view something as a resource we see it as something to consume and then dispose of. Money, buildings, and equipment are resources; people are image-bearers who are worth dying for.”

I know what you’re thinking, at this point it would be so much easier to ask, “What would Jesus Do?” But let’s go deeper and ask ourselves how He would do it. As we explore this latter question, let us all be prepared to take on the task before us and together we will build a church that is intentional in inviting others to part of a great story. The idea of doing this the Jesus way is exciting to me and I hope you will join! †

Photo provided by Glen Simpson from Relevance X 2011 Winter 2011 | Transformation | 5

Photo by Don Benton, 2009 Directory

By Rev. Bob Holliday, First UMC in Safford, AZ

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remember when I was growing up; my father owned a small business where he never met a stranger. He had this uncanny way of connecting with people and it didn’t really matter where he was or what was going on around him. If it was in a business setting he would pay attention to the business at hand but at some point in their business he would take the time to show an interest in the other person and begin establishing a relationship based on what he learned about them. More times than not, a tenuous situation seemed to be strengthened simply by the way he would find some common ground or common interest with that person and then their business seemed to be between two people who knew each other rather than the two strangers who met at the beginning of their contact. What was even more amazing was what happened during subsequent contacts. They were like old buddies. Each knew something about the other. They had identified what they had in common and they both felt accepted by the other, which made whatever business they had to take care of all that more pleasant and reassuring.

I saw that small business grow over the years into one of the largest family-owned businesses in the area and I’m convinced a lot of it was due to the way he connected with people. He appreciated their business. He didn’t treat the relationships as one-time deals.

Word of mouth, a warm atmosphere, and a positive attitude brought even more people into his business. I saw him interact with people out of what Stephen Covey 6 | Transformation | Winter 2011

I was a stranger and you welcomed me calls an abundance mentality in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

My dad was a good ole boy from West Virginia, and I don’t think the success of his small business had anything to do with his conscious thought of how to be a more effective person. Besides, he was in business way before the 7 habits were even thought of. But I think it did have everything to do with making people feel more comfortable doing business with someone they felt they had something in

common with and someone who took the time to show a genuine interest in them no matter who they were. But this is really not about my dad. It’s about how United Methodist churches all across the Desert Southwest Conference are being just as intentional about connecting with people so they can look forward to and anticipate experiencing the joy of God’s grace.

There have been hundreds of books written about this stuff, and we’ve all experienced going into one setting or

George Holliday, Rev. Bob Holliday’s father.

Photo courtesy of Rev. Holliday.

Chuck Rives greets Delores Orta at her Habitat for Humanity house under construction in Fort Worth, Texas. Rives told Orta he participates in building homes through Habitat at his local church in Stephenville, Texas. Rives was one of more than 600 participants at the “Living Faith, Seeking Justice” conference sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society Nov. 1-4 in Fort Worth. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo #071107 another where the hospitality, customer service, guest services, welcoming or whatever you want to call it has been real and genuine and made a difference in someone’s life. That’s what’s happening within many of our United Methodist churches. We’re touching people’s lives, making new disciples, inviting, and then engaging people in the mission and ministry of the local church in new and creative ways where no one ever leaves as a stranger. I can’t help but think that’s exactly what Jesus meant for us to do when he said “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

(Mat 25:25) He wanted His disciples to know that everyone should treat those they don’t know just as they would treat God walking in their midst. It was their Jewish tradition that pointed to the example of being strangers in Egypt (Deut. 10:19) as

a reason for such hospitality. And then again Paul reminds us, sometime after his “come to Jesus” experience on the road to Damascus, that we “should not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some people have shown hospitality to angels without even knowing it.” (Heb 13:2)

I think it’s our United Methodist heritage of “open hearts, open minds, open doors,” where we really extend and show the love of Christ to those outside our church, just as much as those inside our church in ways that when someone leaves they don’t feel like strangers anymore.

When my dad met someone he would ask where they were from and then he would find some common ground. That extra effort showed people he really cared about them. He wanted them to know

he appreciated them for more than just their business. They may have had an unpleasant experience at one of the other businesses in the area, but this one was going to be different and everyone who worked with my dad did the same thing.

Everyone, even the kid that swept the floor made the time to get to know the customers. It was everyone’s responsibility to make people feel welcomed, accepted, and appreciated no matter who they were or where they were from. Our churches are doing the same thing. From greeters to the Pastor, people feel the love of God in the local church like never before. In vital congregations newcomers no longer feel like outsiders, they feel like beloved members of the community, valued, listened to, and invited to get involved. † Winter 2011 | Transformation | 7

Communicating the message of God among the Hispanic/Latino people

By Bishop Jaime Vázquez

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ince last July, I have been in charge of the coordination of the Hispanic Ministry in the Desert Southwest Conference, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. This time has been a period of learning while trying to understand how to carry the message of salvation to our people who live in these communities.

Recently, two situations presented themselves to me that could help me describe how we minister the presence of God to the people within the Hispanic Ministries.

The first situation was with a family that actively participated in the United Methodist Church. One of our church members called my cell phone very early in the morning and informed me that her husband had been arrested by the immigration patrol, and had been deported to Mexico. She was devastated. “What are we going to do? Our four children are here in school. My job, our home, our life is here. What are we going to do?”

They were a part of our Hispanic Ministry and had the desire to serve the Lord. They were in the midst of finding themselves with God. I shared a few passages of Scripture with her, where God speaks about caring for His children in spite of the circumstances. I prayed for my brothers in Christ and their family. Then I immediately began communications with a pastor in Mexico where her husband was deported. That Pastor helped the husband get boarded onto another bus 8 | Transformation | Winter 2011

to travel to another border town where his parents and the rest of his family live.

How can we demonstrate the love of God to these and other people who find themselves in similar circumstances?

In the evening my wife and I tried to visit that family again but their house was empty. Their neighbors came out and informed us the remaining family members had moved from their home to another city or another state.

They said it is a common occurrence within the Hispanic community all over the United States.

The empty house we visited brought us shock and a sense of helplessness. A member of our church family was caught and deported. From one day to the next all traces of their life there had been sold, donated or packed up, and taken away. They had relocated to a new neighborhood where no one knew them and started building a new life after cutting all ties with their community.

The next day without prior appointment, I felt in my heart to visit another one of our church leaders and their family. The surprise I found could not have been greater.

“Pastor,” they told me, “we are returning to Mexico. For months the work has declined and what little we had saved is being consumed. As I have no legal papers, I cannot easily find any work. Jobs here were good for many years, but now it’s over.”

The wife and mother explained

how every day they left the house they prayed that they would not be detained, deported, and separated from their family. She prayed that if they did get caught it would be in a moment when they were all together with their five children. Whatever the cost, she prayed for their family to remain together.

Their decision to move back to Mexico brought them terrible anguish about an uncertain future but they insisted it was a necessary decision.

Leaving the U.S. and their life in the shadows would mean finally living in peace.

They were returning to their home state in the center of Mexico.

With the money they had saved and already sent to their extended family they were able to buy a house. They just need to find a way to earn a living.

I prayed for them, and asked God to give them direction and carry them in His hands. I was sure the seeds sown in them from the word of God would thrive and be fruitful in time.

In these circumstances we must proclaim the peace and the love of God. We must provide the people a sense of hope in the midst of this life.

Personally, I do not promote illegal immigration. I understand that laws should not be broken. But these people are already here and they only seek a worthy way of life to provide the most basic needs for their families.

This is where God has called us to proclaim the good news of His love and mercy. †

Comunicando el Mensaje de Dios entre el Pueblo Hispano/Latino

Obispo Jaime Vázquez

D

esde julio pasado estoy a cargo de la Coordinación del Ministerio Hispano en la Conferencia del Desierto del Suroeste, con sede en Phoenix, Arizona. Ha sido todo este tiempo un período de aprendizaje y el tratar de entender como llevar el mensaje de salvación a nuestra gente que vive en estas comunidades.

En estos días se me presentaron dos situaciones que me ayudan describir como deseamos hacer llegar la presencia de Dios a estas personas.

La primer situación fue una familia que me llamó muy temprano a mi celular. La esposa me indicó que la patrulla de inmigración había detenido y deportado su esposo a México. Ella estaba devastada. “¿Qué vamos a hacer? Los niños están aquí en la escuela. Yo estoy trabajando. Aquí esta nuestra casa y nuestra vida. ¿Qué vamos a hacer?”

Ellos estaban encontrándose con Dios, estaban tratando de incorporarse a un ministerio y tenían el deseo de servir al Señor.

Compartí con ellos unos pasajes de la Escritura en donde Dios habla sobre el cuidado que tiene de sus hijos aún a pesar de las circunstancias y oré por mis hermanos y su familia.

Inmediatamente me comunique con un Pastor en México en la ciudad en la que fué deportado, y allí le ayudaron

a llegar a la central de autobuses en donde él partiría a otra frontera donde viven sus padres y el resto de su familia. ¿Cómo mostrarles el amor de Dios a estas y otras personas que se encuentran en circunstancias similares?

Traté en la noche de localizarles pero su casa estaba sola. Los vecinos salieron para informarnos que tuvieron que cambiarse de casa, de ciudad, y probablemente de estado. Nos dijeron que esto pasa frecuentemente en la comunidad de Hispanos viviendo en los Estados Unidos.

La casa vacía que encontramos nos hizo sentir golpes en el alma y una sensación de impotencia.

Al día siguiente sin previa cita, sentí en mi corazón ir a visitar a uno de nuestros líderes de la Iglesia.

Fuimos a visitarles y la sorpresa no pudo ser más grande.

“Pastor,” me dijo, “nos regresamos a México. Desde hace meses el trabajo ha disminuido y lo poco que teníamos ahorrado se ha ido consumiendo.

Como no tengo papeles legales, no podría conseguir trabajo tan fácilmente. El trabajo aquí ha durado muchos años, pero ya se acabó.”

Su esposa me comentó que estaban seguros de su decisión, porque todos los días al salir de casa oraban que ese día no fueran detenidos, deportados, y separados como familia.

Por una parte tenían la angustia de no saber nada sobre el futuro, pero por otra parte vivirían con más paz, ya que no estarían en constante temor, viviendo en las sombras, con miedos.

Se regresaban a su estado en el centro del país, allí habían logrado levantar una casita con el dinero que enviaban a sus familiares y buscarían un modo de salir adelante.

Oré por ellos, y pedí a Dios que les diera dirección y los llevara de su mano. Estaba seguro que la semilla de la Palabra de Dios sembrada en ellos prosperaría y daría fruto a su tiempo.

En medio de estas circunstancias, debemos proclamar la paz y el amor de Dios, llevar a la gente una esperanza en medio de su vivir. En forma personal, no promuevo la inmigración ilegal, entiendo que no deberían romperse las leyes. Pero, a estas personas ya las tenemos aquí y solo buscan un modo de vida mas digno para suplir sus necesidades más esenciales.

Y allí Dios nos llama a Proclamar la buenas noticias de su amor y su misericordia. †

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Photos of Hispanic ministry courtesy of UMNS Winter 2011 | Transformation | 9

Evangelize!

Who - Me?

By Christina Dillabough, Communications Designer/Editor

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nchurched: Who is that?

Would an actively-involved church leader who has taken a break from attending worship for 6 months qualify as “unchurched?” Of course a person that does not attend church and has no relationship or knowledge of Jesus would be “unchurched.”

What about all of the individuals that know God, and read the Bible but haven’t found a relevant church to join? Would teens that pray before dinner but keep busy with school, volunteering, participating in sporting, family events, and helping their neighbors be labeled as “unchurched?” What about the families that feel blessed when between carpools, PTA, and Band Booster commitments, they were able to make it to worship on Christmas and Easter?

Would they be classified as “unchurched?” Furthermore, are these “unchurched” bad people?

Why should United Methodists evangelize to them?

Not everyone is comfortable speaking to a stranger or a friend about their religion. Most people won’t go walking door to door or car to car delivering religious literature.

Scripture memorization is often difficult and boring. Sermons that don’t relate to current issues are difficult to bring up in social settings. Bible studies often focus only on the history of the stories instead of the relevance to today’s lifestyles. How can the average church member be a good witness and evangelize to the “unchurched?”

By serving others, The United Methodist Church has been a true leader in evangelism.

In a historic event, The United Methodist Church was the first religious organization to partner with the United Nations Foundation at the Global Health Summit in 2006 and the Gates

Photos of IMPACT Events courtesy of UMNS 10 | Transformation | Winter 2011

Foundation in the fight against malaria. Local United Methodist churches are continuously engaged in the community by supporting programs that help the homeless, single mothers, abused children, the unemployed, and all the while reaching out to the “unchurched” through these ministries. Please note, the “unchurched” are not necessarily the people that are in need. Often the “unchurched” are the majority of those volunteering in these ministries developed by the Church along with people of other faiths. All working side by side with United Methodist pastors, lay leaders, and other church members.

ReThinkChurch.org campaigns and Impact Community events are popping up all over the country, although the purpose of Impact events is not towards gaining new members for the church. “Unchurched” or not, new members are welcome at any

United Methodist church. The purpose of the Impact events is to build community while making a change in the world. Some of the community events have focused on hunger relief, park/community clean-up/beautification, poverty awareness, community issues, and global health issues. Impact Community events have organized 20,000+ volunteers and impacted 1,000,000 lives in one year alone.

United Methodists might not go knocking door to door handing out religious literature but they will gather together from over 10,000 doors across the country to help mankind. Church members and “unchurched” people combined can make a difference in their communities and beyond. That is an amazing act of evangelism in action.

Many of the once “unchurched” people who participated in these events have become members of a United

Methodist church. The United Methodist Church provides ministry and mission opportunities that provide church members a relative reason to talk about their church to their friends and neighbors. After participating in a mission or outreach event that people are passionate about and seeing how the fruits of their labor will impact communities, people can’t wait to give a witness to what they have accomplished through The United Methodist Church. T-shirts from ReThinkChurch.org have also become a walking billboard offering multiple opportunities to talk about The United Methodist Church. Especially because of what the ReThink Church brand stands for and all of the “Get Involved” options available on their simple, and modern looking website, ReThinkChurch.org is a cool thing to be part of.

Within the Desert Southwest

Conference, billboards, TV, and Radio commercials about Impact events in Arizona will be another means to talk about The United Methodist Church.

Evangelizing isn’t easy but it is what Jesus instructed his followers to do. The United Methodist Church organization is proving to be strong and vital. However, the local church needs its congregants to evangelize in order to grow. Go online and check out ReThinkChurch.org.

Sign up your church, your group of friends, or just yourself, but get involved. Be a part of changing the world and then go out and talk about it. Share your experience with others. Join a church if you don’t have one. Churched or “unchurched,” everyone needs Jesus and everyone can learn and grow from community. †

WHAT IF CHURCH WERE A VERB, INSTEAD OF A NOUN? WOULD YOU COME?

Winter 2011 | Transformation | 11

F

ollowing the “Welcoming Ministry” training manual and planning handbook, Tempe First United Methodist Church first implemented the Invite-A-Friend program in 2009. From that first initiative, Tempe First gained new members and effectively, revitalized the congregation.

As Rev. David Summers found out, this program is not a “one hit wonder.” Tempe First UMC has implemented this program three times a year, every year since then.

12 | Transformation | Winter 2011

This evangelistic tool continues to bring the same amazing results.

Fall, winter, and spring seem to be the most welcoming times to live in Arizona. They are also the perfect times of the year for an Invite-A-Friend event at church. In the fall, families are anxiously awaiting to get the kids back in school and return to the weekly routines that come with it; sports practices, parent-teacher meetings, and the return of Sunday school.

Most churches already have a Sunday

school kick-off event. There is not a single church in existence that doesn’t plan a special Christmas worship service or program that would be perfect to share with a friend. Spring time brings the return of BBQ weather and most importantly the beautiful celebrations of Palm Sunday and Easter. Churches can make the most of their efforts by encouraging their congregation to invite a friend or family member to these events. We invite friends to all types of events, from concerts and movies to birthday parties and small group dinners, why not church?

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By Pastor Dave Summers, Tempe First UMC

Left 4 Photos courtesy of UMNS Photo on the right of Pastor Summers and congregation courtesy of Tempe First UMC

Tempe United Methodist Church hosts these three events in conjunction with Invite-A-Friend: 1. Comin’ Home Sunday is scheduled in mid-September: This is the fall launch for churchs’ ministries and faith formation classes classes.

It includes a free meal at the church, pie auction, special children’s fair with games, and a petting zoo.

2. Sunday Choir Cantata held in mid-December: This Sunday brings the best results with 50-75 visitors.

3. Palm Sunday in the spring: The worship service is usually coupled with some special choir or handbell music. The latter two events work well as an Invite-A-Friend event because the people that are invited for the Sunday morning event usually return for Christmas and Easter worship and fellowship.

To encourage people to invite a friend, Tempe First UMC begins with three Sundays of witness moments leading up to the Invite-A-Friend event in which two people speak for 3-4 minutes combined. The people that share their witness moments are a “friend” who came to a previous Invite-A-Friend and then

started attending church there regularly and/or joined along with their friend who invited them. Pastor David Summers says, “We hear wonderful words on these witness moments: people who had been away from church for years; people who had prior bad experiences with religion and found a welcoming, accepting spiritual home in our church. We have had people invite neighbors, co-workers, and family members. It gives the church a great lift to hear the positive affirmations from our newcomers as they talk about what they like about our church and how we have made them feel welcome.” On the same three Sundays, church attendees are asked to fill out prayer cards with the names of those they will be inviting. Then the prayer ministry takes over by praying over the names asking that the “friends” will be receptive to the invitation.

So much is shared between good friends; a delicious recipe, information about a department store sale, an endorsement of a new movie or good book. Friends share their problems, their hopes, and their dreams with each other because of the mutual love and respect. Sharing an invitation to participate in worship together should only be natural. We want the very best for our good friends and family. It is no wonder that at Tempe First UMC the Invite-A-Friend program is moving mountains, one witness moment at a time. † Winter 2011 | Transformation | 13

Visiting House to House Reinterpretation for the 21st Century

By Pastor Eric Brown, Journey UMC

I

n June of 2001, I stood before my Annual Conference and made a promise. The promise was that I would “visit from house to house.” Not long after I answered “yes” to this question, the Annual Conference voted me in as an Elder in Full Connection.

I was in my fourth year of fulltime church service when I was ordained, and I had been serving churches for about 7 years total at this time. I thought I understood what I was promising but today, I think a bit differently. I understood, back in the day, that the work of a pastor was three-fold: I was to visit the sick and shut-ins in their home, lead worship, and administer the church. My days were spent with Trustee, Finance, and Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) meetings, visits to the homes of the older members of the church, preparing for worship, and (for fun) leading a weekly Bible study. This was, as I understood it, my work.

On the edges of this work, I joined the Rotary Club, participated in the Chamber of Commerce, and worked with the local teen program, but this was not my work. My SPRC and my DS told me, over and over, that my work was to visit our elderly, make hospital calls, and be in my office to receive callers. When I promised to “visit house to house,” I knew 14 | Transformation | Winter 2011

what this meant: visit elderly people in their homes.

And I hated it.

Perhaps hate is too strong of a word. I was busy up to my eyeballs, but I was not having much fun. I had the church running like a well-oiled machine. I was out every night of the week and attended meeting after meeting. In the midst of the busy-ness I had the sense that I was missing something. And, truth be told, my little church was . . . well, little. We got stuck in neutral and did not grow. And I was not satisfied. I was not sure that God had called me to a ministry of visiting and maintenance.

I am convinced today that “visit house to house” means something very different than I once thought it meant.

Today I think Wesley’s question was about evangelism, not about pastoral care. With all due respect to the DS and SPRC, I am now convinced that they had it wrong.

Visiting house to house is about the people we do not yet know, not about the members of our church. “Visiting house to house” requires that pastors abandon their offices to spend their days meeting new people and networking. To faithfully fulfill Wesley’s call to “visit house to house” requires we find new people where they live, where they work and where they play.

Consider all of the places where people gather in your community, their houses, if you will. On Monday nights, bars and restaurants around your community are full of people watching Monday Night Football. Look at the park on Saturday morning, hundreds of children and their families are gathered every season for sports. Consider the coffee shops in your town. Think of the breakfast restaurants where “regulars” gather every morning. Look at the clubs that exist in your town, groups such as Rotary or Kiwanis. Look at the business networking groups sponsored by your local Chamber of Commerce. Look at the community non-profits (groups that have mission statements and hearts that match our own), places like the local food bank, the local boys and girls clubs, community sponsored agriculture and the like. I submit to you that our promise to “visit house to house” in the 21st Century requires we spend the bulk of our ministry time in these places, not serving the people of our churches.

In his blog on Wesleyan Leadership, Steven Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship for the General Board of Ordained Ministry (http://wesleyanleadership.wordpress. com/2010/10/), reminds us that the historical questions were developed for

who is planting Jacob’s Well Church in Chandler has an awesome list of “houses” that you might visit, if you need some more ideas. Contact Jay at http://churchremix.org.)

What do you say? Has the meaning of “visit house to house” shifted?

Is the 21st Century pastor called to new work? Perhaps your answer is “no!” Your context and your personality may not fit this style of ministry, and I understand that. In a postmodern era, there is no one right answer. Rather, the answers are “both-and,” meaning that ministry is both pastoral care and evangelism.

Yet my point still remains: I believe that the primary meaning of “visit house to house” is the work of evangelism.

The houses you visit in the 21st Century are not those of church people, but rather those of strangers. Will your SPRC and your DS allow you to focus your work outside of the church rather than inside the church? I invite you to continue the conversation at the Desert Southwest Conference Facebook page (http://www. facebook.com/dscumc). †

John Wesley’s Lay Helpers. The Helpers’ job was to visit the Societies (these were the weekly small accountability group meetings) to check up on how things were going. They would collect money, attendance, and generally oversee the development of the small groups. The Lay Helpers were not doing pastoral care; rather, “visiting house to house” was an administrative task. If Manskar is correct, the meaning of “visit house to house” has already made shifts in the past 250 years.

I argue that it is ready for another shift in meaning. The latest shift is from pastoral care to evangelism.

What, then, is a pastor to do all day? I hope that pastors, SPRCs and DSs are regularly asking this question. The answer, for me and mine, is that a pastor is supposed to be “visiting from house to house” all day. For me, this means that I visit each of my Sunday guests in their home, briefly, each week. This means that I do my computer-work (attendance tracking, sermon writing, website maintenance and the like) at the coffee shop, not in my office. It means that I find ways to attend those sports events at the park (if you do not have kids involved, go cheer on some kids in your church). I join boards, sit on community committees, attend Chamber of Commerce events, and do everything I can to be everywhere. (Pastor Jay Cooper,

John Welsey and Coffee House Photos courtesy of UMCOM. Photo above: Pastor Eric Brown and son, Griffin, age 7 courtesy of Pastor Eric Brown Winter 2011 | Transformation | 15

W

hat expectations are placed on the evangelism committee? What does the congregation expect from the evangelism committee? What does the pastor expect? What do they think their function is? In broad terms, there are three common (and very dierent) responses:

1.

The most common is to assign the evangelism area the role of doing evangelism on behalf of the whole church.

This usually means it is the committee’s responsibility to design and implement a strategy for:

Call on Prospective Members

New Member Recruitment

Plan or Help With New Member Orientation

Call on Inactive Members

Get rid of the

Evangelism Committee

By Rev. Mike Pearson, Superintendent of the South District

16 | Transformation | Winter 2011

This view is based on the assumption that the committee will actually do evangelism for the rest of the congregation.

It might be wise to ask whether this approach is fair, biblical, or even pragmatic.

Obviously, delegating the responsibility of evangelism to one small group does injustice to the church’s doctrine that evangelism is part of worship, education, social action, and the way each member is called to be a steward of the gospel.

From a pragmatic perspective, delegating the responsibility means fewer “hooks in the water,” and fewer ideas for evangelism coming forth.

In other words, the assumption is that evangelism, like the care of a building or youth ministry, or social action, can be delegated to a small group of members, and that this group will be able to do an effective job of evangelism for the local church.

Instead of depending on one committee, composed of a small proportion of the membership, it might be worthwhile to consider one of the following two alternative approaches.

This might include (1) identifying the recipients of evangelism through a community needs survey (e.g., recently widowed, new to the community, single parents) or through demographic information that is purchased; (2) designing a special program to meet those needs of that slice of the population; (3) deciding on either mass mailing, select mailing, print advertising, etc.; (4) recruiting people from the congregation to address envelopes, train those responsible for the special program, do follow-up visitation on those who respond. In this response, the evangelism committee has both an active “doing” role and the very important management role of planning and overseeing a comprehensive program. The fiveto-seven member committee might represent one fourth or one tenth of the people directly involved in the evangelistic effort.

3.

A third response has the evangelism committee asking questions and encouraging each activity in the church to include the evangelistic outreach in its programs.

For example, they might ask the Youth Council, “What changes could you effect in your schedule, program or style that would attract teenagers who aren’t now active in the church?” or it might ask the Women’s Fellowship, “Do you expect your members to invite unchurched friends?” or “Are there programs that we could offer to reach women not actively involved in the life of any congregation?” Obviously, the questions need not stop here, but should include the trustees, finance committee, education committee, the pastor, the worship area, the annual bazaar, the choir, the ushers, the greeters, the membership committee, the nursery, and so on.

2. In the second

response, the evangelism committee’s manifesto is to plan and manage a new member recruitment strategy.

They would design a system, recruit, train volunteers, make sure the volunteers are doing their tasks, and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness.

One approach might be through direct mail evangelism.

UMNS Photo by Gene Smith Winter 2011 | Transformation | 17

Over the course of two years, if the committee asks enough leading questions of various individuals, organizations, and committees, they may change the focus of evangelism from being led by a committee to being led by the congregation. They could help the congregation realize evangelism can’t be delegated to one group. They also might successfully get a reputation for being pests, obnoxious, or pushy.

Putting Together the Team

Another dimension of the evangelism committee is its makeup. Does the committee reflect who we are as a congregation or who we would like to reach? Most growing churches have discovered ways to remove barriers that prevent people from either visiting the first time or those that prevent them from returning and getting involved.

Typically, these congregations rely heavily on the input of the newest members, and those members of groups they are actively seeking, but who have little or no active participation in the congregation at present. For example, a church actively seeking the so called “Baby Busters” would do well to have those people well represented on the Team. Committees on Evangelism, Marketing or Church Growth should

Photo taken by Glen Simpson at 2011 Annual Conference

18 | Transformation | Winter 2011

be made up of people with a passion for the church and its ministry. They should view the committee and its work as the most vital in the life of the church.

Where are your congregation’s best leaders to be found? Pastor Parish, Education, Finance, Trustees? Leadership tends to be a limited resource in most congregations. Where we choose to spend that resource gives a fairly clear picture of what is important to the congregation.

Let the mission statement of the marketing team reflect its overall commitment to equipping the congregation for marketing (evangelism) rather than doing it for the church members. “Every member in ministry” can be understood as “Every member in marketing.” †

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Transformation online

Placing your church within an arm’s reach Mobile strategies that work!

M

obile messaging and applications are the latest innovations your church can use to reach a wider audience. In today’s busy world, this technology enables you to reach people while they’re on the go.

Many people believe mobile is just a fad … the data suggests otherwise.

Whether for teens in the United States or people in the Philippines, mobile devices are becoming the primary method to connect, communicate, and relate to one another. Mobile provides real-time connectivity, 24/7, in the palm of a hand.

Mobile usage is growing. Every region of the world is experiencing very rapid spread of mobile usage. Smartphone penetration is growing exponentially worldwide. Cisco Systems Inc. forecasts that global mobile data traffic will grow 26 times over the next five years. Mobile is here to stay, and here is the proof.

Are you ready to place your church within an arm’s reach?

In the Great Commission, Jesus calls us to reach out to all nations–even when it means trekking into unfamiliar territory. We need to reach people wherever they are. A mobile strategy can help connect people to your church.

Make your website mobile.

More than 40 percent of users access the Internet through their phones.

We need to create our websites in a format accessible by smartphones and other mobile devices. If Wordpress powers your website, try BuddyPress, WPTouch Pro,

By Eric Seiberling, United Methodist Communications or WordPress Mobile Edition. Look at Mashable’s article for other tools to create a mobile website.

There’s an app for that.

If you want to go one step beyond a mobile website, try making an app.

AppMaker provides an easy way to make an iPhone app. Appsbar can help create apps for both iOS and Android operating systems.

Reach out and text someone.

Text messaging is becoming the primary method of communication around the globe, especially for youth and young adults. You can use tools like Txt Signal, Tatango, or Church Texting Manager to send mass text messages to advertise events, send reminders, and request prayers.

Connect via QR (Quick Response) Codes

QR codes are two-dimensional matrix barcodes that can be scanned or read with your iPhone, Android, or other camera-enabled smartphone. The codes can link to digital content on the web or activate phone functions, such as email, instant messaging, and Short Message Service (SMS). You need to generate a QR code (using a QR code generator like Kaywa) and decide where to connect it.

It could link to a special-events page to promote a church outreach event or to a YouTube video. Use it to offer directions to your church, “Like” your Facebook page, or even send a text message to your church SMS account. Put a QR code on marketing materials, church signage, vacation Bible

school registration forms or wherever you want people to find more information or to act. The individual can use a QR Code reader app like i-nigma (all smartphone OS) or Qrafter (iPad) to scan it with their camera and access the “call to action” you created.

GroupMe (and others)

One helpful tool for church staffs, youth groups, and other teams is GroupMe. This online tool allows you to create a group of 25 people and then do group text messaging and conference calls. It also allows photo sharing. Four to 10 people is the best group size. Create several groups to make communication manageable. GroupMe and other online tools can help your team coordinate events or improve collaboration.

Test … learn … rinse … repeat.

Mobile marketing is not a cure-all for your church, but it can help you connect with your community. Try different approaches and see what works.

Start small by using mobile marketing techniques around a single event like your children’s Christmas program. Create a micro-site using Wordpress and then use WPTouchPro to make it mobile. Next, create an app that includes videos, songs the children will sing, and pictures from the event. Include QR codes on all posters, invitations, and signage for the event.

Take the time to test and refine your approach. This is your opportunity to bring your church within an arm’s reach of your community. † Winter 2011 | Transformation | 19

Servant Evangelism W

hat is a vital congregation?

Is it a church in which income meets expenses, the building is maintained, the apportionments are paid, the people are relatively happy, and pastors stick around for more than just a few years?

This situation certainly would be better than the reality in many congregations but is this really what we mean by a “vital congregation?”

Allow me to pose another answer to the question. It is a community of faith in which God’s grace is extended in tangible ways, people are encountering Jesus in lifechanging ways, an increasing number of people are engaging in corporate worship, everyone has the opportunity to be personally involved in mission that positively changes the future for others, risk-taking is accepted as normal, and nothing is allowed to get in the way of the congregation walking in the mission field with Jesus.

Imagine the excitement of being a part of that kind of church!

Worship would both leave you

20 | Transformation | Winter 2011

changed and help you change the world. Our primary attachment would be to Jesus, not buildings, property, history, how things have always been done, or our preferences.

Let me share with you some stories of churches that have taken significant steps towards transformation. As you read them, listen deeply for what God is saying to you about your church. What bold, daring, risky, uncomfortable thing are you being called to do in order to become a vital congregation?

Remember, the call of God is almost always to go outside of our comfort zone . . . and sometimes to abandon all.

Trinity is a church located in a rural county seat town. It has been around for a long time and, like many churches, has experienced an aging congregation and decline in worship attendance. A new pastor was appointed to the church and he helped the congregation wrestle with what they might do to reach their community. They decided to offer a

free lunch twice per week to anyone who wanted it. The people from the church prepare an amazing meal and serve it with warm hospitality. Music and a brief devotional is part of the program but people are not forced to participate. The church is growing now. Many of the new members are people who were so impressed with the feeding program that they decided to volunteer to help with it. Most of the others come from the pastor’s belief that he is responsible for reaching out to the community and bringing in two new families per month simply from his efforts. The feeding program takes a lot of time and money but it is making a difference in people’s lives so the church continues to find a way to make it happen.

First Church is a classic downtown church in a mid-size city near the US-Mexico border. The congregation was stalled in growth and unsuccessful at reaching the people who lived around the church.

A decision was made to start a new worship service in a different location

and Vital Congregations

By Dr. Don Nations

with a different leadership team.

The new service was not defined by the language used but by embracing the culture of the community. The music did not look like the services at the downtown campus, the sermons did not sound like the ones at the downtown campus and those attending did not look like the ones at the downtown campus. Over 100 new people were in worship, however, so the church considered this to be a good investment of funds. And yes, there were some people in the church who never understood why another service was needed or why the church had to invest so much money in it.

The five year old church is located in a mid-size city which already has 100 other churches.

When it was two years old there were about 30 people in worship, the pastor was part-time and the future was uncertain. The church embraced Servant Evangelism (http://www. servantevangelism.com) with great passion. Those 30 people made 10,000 personal contacts with people over

the next 12 months. The church grew from 30 to 60 in worship in one year.

The next year it grew from 60 to 120.

And the next year it grew from 120240! Was it easy? No. Did people work constantly? Yes. Did some of the funding come out of individual’s pockets? Yes. Did everyone like the changes? No. The church grew because people embraced sharing God’s love in practical ways with the community.

The church also made the difficult decision to change a staff person during this time. Small groups were added and all leaders were expected to be in one. Together, these changes allowed the church to grow and thrive.

First was a classic downtown First church in a good size community.

With seating for 1200, the building dwarfed the current congregation–just 250 at the largest service. The church was not clear about its purpose or its target audience. The congregation embraced a tool titled “Congregational DNA Formation” (a DNA Coaching resource)–a tool designed to help congregations discover their values,

beliefs, target audience, signature ministry, mission, and vision. The church invested over a year working through the resource and put some of their sharpest leaders on the team. Now they are clear about their purpose, focused in their work, invested in advertising, embracing of social media, and doing great things.

Your church can be the next success story. Perhaps it will participate in a missional merger, become part of a mission-driven cooperative parish, start a new worship service, offer to be part of a strategic re-start, sell the building, relocate, or become a satellite of a stronger congregation, make use of video venues, make Servant Evangelism a core part of your church, conduct a ministry fund campaign to raise money for staffing and new ministry, or something else.

Be creative. Be faithful. Be a missional outpost of the Kingdom of God! † Photos from DNA Hospitality Training Session 1

Winter 2011 | Transformation | 21

Transformation

By Pastor Mark Maddox, Sanctuary UMC

Y

ou hold in your hands a copy of Transformation magazine.

Think of that name for a moment, “Transformation.” Isn’t that what following Christ is all about, transformation?

Inside this issue are wonderful articles written by some very gifted people. I had the honor and pleasure of reading all of these articles before I wrote mine. I honestly stand in awe of the faith and dedication we have in our Conference by those who want to spread the Word of Christ.

I chair the Conference Board of Evangelism and one of the tasks we are given as a committee is to help churches evangelize better than they currently are doing. What a task!

So I called about 20 churches in our Conference and asked what they wanted out of our committee and overwhelmingly I was told, “Tools.”

So with this in mind your Board of Evangelism is going to sponsor workshops next fall. These workshops are going to be led by a representative from the largest United Methodist Church in the country, the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. One aspect of their mission is to give churches like ours tools to help with reaching out and making disciples.

Now, we’re not bringing them here to make all of our churches into

22 | Transformation | Winter 2011

“mega churches,” not at all. We’re bringing them here to help us learn to evangelize in a way that will transform our churches. They will be sharing tools and ideas and a philosophy that will help us all.

But why? Why are we doing this?

Why should we worry about growing our churches? Shouldn’t we be more mission focused? Isn’t that what we are all about?

Maybe it’s time we start thinking about our main focus. Here’s an example: Have you ever listened to the flight attendant on the airplane when they were talking about the oxygen mask? If you are flying with small children, what are you supposed to do first? The flight attendant tells us to put our masks on first then attend to our children’s. Why do you suppose this is?

Well, if the pressure drops too fast and you can’t get enough oxygen to your brain, you will pass out.

Now, does that mean we should let our kids pass out while we enjoy the luxury of breathing? It sounds terrible, it sounds cruel! But let’s look at the reverse scenario. You have two kids flying with you, ages 3 and 4. The masks drop, your kids are screaming, and you try to put the mask on your 3 year old who is fighting you the entire time. So, just as you are about to get the mask on him, you pass out. Now none of you have a mask.

That’s what is happening to some of our churches today. We are so busy placing masks on others, we have gotten so busy worrying only about the “issues” and so focused on missional work that maybe we have forgotten to take care of ourselves and grow the church by spreading the word and making disciples.

Yes, I want to feed every hungry person! Yes I want to help every homeless person! But what we need to realize is that we are not running a short race, this is a marathon! For the foreseeable future, there will always be hungry people, but if we keep on this trend, there may not always be Christians. Yes, there you go, I said it.

If we keep focused on the short term results and continue this trend of not taking care of the church which Christ has given us, then there won’t be Christians taking care of anyone.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about saving any denomination; I’m talking about the church Jesus started.

So if we want to keep taking care of others, if we want Christ’s work to continue forever, then we need to make sure we take care of His church by reaching out and making disciples through all forms of evangelism– including marketing.

So let’s ask ourselves, “Is marketing missional work?” At first we would

probably say, “no” but let’s look at that a little more. What is the purpose of marketing? I would say it is to bring people into the church. So why do we want to bring people into the church? If your answer is because you need volunteers to help with all your missions, if it is so there are new people to fold bulletins, if it is because you need Sunday School teachers, then please don’t market. If these are your reasons for growing your church then maybe it’s time to start praying about your purpose.

I don’t think we should ever market our churches unless the purpose is to change lives. I think many people would say the purpose of missional work is to impact lives, to share the love of Christ with others. That’s great!

So let me ask this, can having faith in Christ change your life? Does having faith impact your life? If you answered “yes” then shouldn’t our goal be to bring people to Christ?

There are many ways people experience Christ, but I think one of the best ways is through the church.

When people worship with a group of believers, when they hear a solid sermon based on the Bible and shared in a way they can apply it to their lives, when they are truly welcomed, life transformation begins. We are transforming lives by making disciples of Jesus Christ. Maybe it’s time we all “Go and Make.” † Background Photo by Kathy Barry, UMNS Winter 2011 | Transformation | 23

Order your copy of Transformation today!

I

ndividual subscriptions to Transformation Magazine are available for only $20 a year. Each subscription includes four full-color issues packed with stories of ministry from around The Desert Southwest Conference and The United Methodist Church.

Transformation is intended not only to serve as a tool to inspire current members of The Desert Southwest Conference, but also to help tell visitors the story of what it means to be United Methodist in the Desert Southwest.

Because of this the DSC Communications Commission is asking every member of The Desert Southwest Conference to prayerfully consider

not only purchasing one subscription, but two. The first subscription would be for you to read before giving it away to a church seeker in the spirit of evangelism. The second subscription would be for someone you know who may not otherwise become connected, or someone who may be looking for a means of evangelizing. What a wonderful way to be a part of telling our story!

To subscribe, simply fill out the form below or place an order online at: http://desertsouthwestconference.org/ transformation.

If you have any questions about this exciting ministry tool, please contact the Communications

If you would like to receive Transformation at your home, detach and complete this form. Send this form and payment payable to:

The Desert Southwest Conference Attn: Transformation Subscription 1550 E. Meadowbrook Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85014-4040

Department at Communications@ desertsw.org or 602-266-6956. The Desert Southwest Conference Communications Commission and Communications Department are always ready to help. Let us work together to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world.

1 year (4 Printed Issues) = $20.00 Total subscriptions:

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Please send a subscription to: NAME: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS 1: _______________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS 2: _______________________________________________________________________________________ CITY: _______________________________________ STATE: __________________ ZIP CODE: _________________ PHONE: ____________________________________ E-MAIL: ______________________________________________ Orders may also be placed online by going to http://www.desertsouthwestconference.org/transformation