Interpreter Nov/Dec 2014 Sample Edition

INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION

U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t s L i v i n g T h e i r Fa i t h N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R

‘FACEBOOK SMARTPHONES AND CHURCH’ CONNECTS RANDOM ACTS OF WITH ONLY A YOUTH MINISTRY WORSHIPPERS CHRISTMAS KINDNESS CELLPHONE ...

A MINISTRY OF United Methodist Communications

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION

Contents NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Ministry Technology AND

I carry a Bible with me more often than ever before.

Yes, I frequently carried one to church – especially if I was teaching or there were no pew Bibles. But, now, I’ve got a Bible with me nearly everywhere I go – and I’ve got it in several translations and paraphrases and several languages.

I expect many of you do, too. It’s the Bible app on my smartphone (and my tablet), and it’s one of the simplest ways technology has affected how I practice my faith.

In this issue, Interpreter focuses on technology and how it is changing the ways United Methodists engage in mission and ministry. You’ll find stories of churches using it for congregational care – and to minister to folks who may never enter the building. You’ll read how technology is a tool as we engage in mission to make an abundant life possible for all God’s children around the world.

We are not focusing on the hardware, but on the “why” and “how” of technology as a tool for caring, for reaching out, for building community, for serving. Some of you have already embraced the ideas offered here; some have gone far beyond them. For others, we hope your reading will spark conversations about what you might do and how you might use these God-given tools.

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16 Reach outside the walls: Ministry and Technology 19 Snapshot: Online Bible study gives access 20 Smartphones: A tool and a test in ministry with youth 22 Older adults engage with technology 24 Social media opens new doors to communication 29 Yes, you do need a website!

30 The Thomas Food Project: ‘Giving away fishing poles’ 30 Snapshot: God’s New Generation expands congregation 32 Technology + education + mission expanding the world of learning 34 Digital divide is real: Technology Ownership ≠ Information Access 35 Snapshot: Videoconferencing bridges distances 36 Snapshot: ‘Facebook church’ connects worshippers 37 Snapshot: Radio UMC listeners span 180 countries 37 With only a cellphone ...

38 Low-cost ‘Short Clips’ videos share stories 39 Technology information, training at your fingertips

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Contents

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8

F E AT U R E S

40 Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Daily acts emphasize generosity.

42 Worship: ‘Means of Grace’ series

Gathering for worship is time to receive, extend God’s grace.

44 SMU sophomore cherishes church connection Scholarships, loans say the church is backing students.

46 Index to Volume 58 – 2014

D E PA RT M E N T S

6 First Thoughts

The Rev. Larry Hollon tells why embracing technology is key for a church wanting to reach out to its community.

7 Reflections

Send Letters to the Editor to knoble@ umcom.org or to Interpreter Editor, P. O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320.

8 It Worked for Us

Making candy churches during Advent; helping GED test-takers use computers; Advent as a season of sacrifice; Stand Down supporters stand with veterans

12 IdeaMart

HIV/AIDS ministry; Advent vacation Bible school; United Methodist Men competition; UMC #GivingTuesday

14 ‘We asked ...,’ ‘You said ....’

We asked, “What will you do personally or as a family to keep Christ in Christmas?”

45 To Be United Methodist

Warren McGuffin leads efforts to provide education as a path out of poverty.

50 Lighten Up

Very short stories to make you smile.

United Methodist s L i v i n g T h e i r Fa ith N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R

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United Methodist Communications, Inc. November/December 2014 Vol. 58, No. 6 Interpreter (ISSN 0020-9678 Periodical #9154) is pub05.30.06 lished six times a year by United Methodist Communications, 810 12th Ave. S., P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320; 615-742-5107; www.interpretermagazine. org. Periodicals postage paid at Nashville, Tenn., and additional offices. strategic branding+design

Postmaster: Send address changes to Interpreter, P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320.

Subscription Questions: For individual subscriptions, duplicate/ missing issues, enrollment forms and subscription corrections, call 888-346-3862 or e-mail subscriptions@umcom.org.

Change of Address: Send the mailing label with your new address and name of your church to Interpreter Subscriptions, P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320; call 888346-3862, or e-mail subscriptions@umcom.org. Allow six weeks for changes. Indicate if you hold any offices.

Advertising: Contact Fox Associates, Inc., Fox-Chicago, 116 W. Kinzie St., Chicago, IL 60654; 312-644-3888, 800-4400231, 800-440-0232; (Fax) 312-644-8718 The publication of advertising in Interpreter does not constitute endorsement by Interpreter, United Methodist Communications or The United Methodist Church. Advertisers and their agencies assume liability for all content of advertisements printed or representations made therein.

Reprints: Local churches, districts, annual conferences and other United Methodist-related entities may reprint, photocopy or create Web links to any materials from Interpreter, except items bearing a copyright notice. Please include “Reprinted from Interpreter Magazine, a publication of United Methodist Communications” and add the issue date on your copies. For more information, call 615-742-5107.

Publisher | Larry Hollon Editor | Kathy Noble Associate Editor | Barbara Dunlap-Berg Multimedia Editor | Joey Butler Art Director | GUILDHOUSE Group Photographer | Mike DuBose Photo Researcher | Kathleen Barry Advertising Manager | Jane Massey Production Manager | Carlton Loney Subscription Fulfillment | 888-346-3862

COVER PHOTO: Maeghan Orton (center, in purple shirt) talks with villagers in Bumpe near Bo, Sierra Leone, about mobile phone technology.

Orton is from Medic Mobile, a technology partner of United Methodist Communications. UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE A MINISTRY OF United

‘FACEBOOK SMARTPHONES AND CHURCH ’ CONNECTS RANDOM YOUTH MINISTRY WORSHIP ACTS OF PERS CHRISTMAS KINDNESS WITH ONLY A CELLPHONE ...

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vertical usage

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The Publisher's Page

First Thoughts

S 6

21st-century Technology and the Church

everal years ago, the U.S. Census Bureau stopped trying to define the typical American family. Forty percent of children born in the United States are born to single mothers. The number of children born to mixed-race parents outnumbers those born to parents of the same race. With so many variations of family life from blended families to grandparent-headed families to single-parent families, no single version is typical.

A faith community committed to reaching out to its community must be sensitive to the way people live and adjust its outreach to meet them where they are. It must not assume that what has worked in the past will work today.

This challenge of meeting people where they are is not unique to the United States. For example, the median age in the Philippines is 23. These young people have taken to new media like ducks to water. They have made the Philippines the text-messaging capital of the world.

Filipino people are traditionally communicative and hospitable. Not surprisingly, young Filipinos utilize communications technology to complement and extend this basic cultural trait. However, it also changes the social context in which they interact and live daily.

Africa is an awakening giant.

A rising middle class is developing in many countries, and a

generation of technologically savvy young Africans is changing the continent. The average age of the African population is 18, and 40 percent of Africans are younger than age 14. That is 416 million people.

Africa has bypassed landline telephones to leapfrog into mobile phones. The continent has experienced the fastest growth in mobile-phone subscriptions of any region of the world. It is on track to reach 1 billion mobile subscribers by 2015.

A common thread runs through this tapestry of social change. The thread is new technology and the media it supports. In these early days of the 21st century, it looks as if we’re in the technology century, and the technology is disrupting whole continents, if not the world. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, says, “The Internet is becoming the town square of the global village of the future.”

These media present an exciting challenge to the church.

The instruments and the content they serve are creating new forms of intimacy, self-awareness, social status and family connections. Some of this is wonderfully good, but not all.

Some is harmful, isolating and, when filled with unrestrained language of hate, very damaging.

This is even more reason for the church to be in this environment, offering content containing values that are wholesome and humanizing, reminding people that we believe in a God of

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grace who loves us. And because of God’s love for us, we can love each other and ourselves.

If we believe these media can tell the story of God’s love, as surely as Jesus told stories in his day in oral tradition (the medium of the culture in his day), then these media can be empowering and redemptive.

They can foster new leaders and assist in building community. They can provide young, single mothers, as well as other young parents, information to help them be more nurturing parents.

In Africa, mobile banking has leapfrogged over traditional banking and spurred participation among people left out of the traditional economy. This is creating a cashless economy with mobile money.

These media connect people in rural parts of the world. They can help map unmapped places that are currently out of sight to the world outside. These are community-building outcomes.

They contain the store of the world’s knowledge. When we make that knowledge available to those who lack access, we contribute to a more literate and informed populace. Digital books are now accessible on even the most basic mobile phone.

Social messaging is advancing the work of the church in bringing accurate health information to people who live in countries with broken health systems. It is also helping

THE REV. LARRY HOLLON

young people find their voices for self-expression and civic participation. This influences elections, governance and accountability.

In short, the church must be in the environment where people live, and in the 21st century, we live in a communications environment that is shaping our relationships, behavior and interior selves.

In the final analysis, this, too, is God’s world, and we must be at work in the environment, seeking to bring awareness of God’s love for the world to all people.

The Rev. Larry Hollon is publisher of Interpreter and general secretary of United Methodist Communications. Read his FAITH MEDIA + CULTURE blog at www.larryhollon.com.

Sources: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/07/ opinion/real-mobile-revolution-africasmartphone/ http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/24/ business/davos-africa-mobile-explosion/ http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/ high-population-growth-in-africa-a-mixedblessing/30043/ http://www.census.gov.ph/content/ageand-sex-structure-philippine-populationfacts-2010-census http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/ where-tech-is-taking-us-a-conversationwith-intels-genevieve-bell/?_php=true&_ type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&h p&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&v ersion=HpBlogHeadline&module=seco nd-column-region&region=top-news&WT. nav=top-news&_r=1

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION Success Stories From Local Churches

It Worked for Us Delicious churches MDUMC COMMUNICATIONS/JOE CENTER

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Smiles and creativity abound when children make and decorate their candy churches during Advent at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Houston.

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AT A GLANCE

ittle Sarah wiped the white icing off her nose and popped a few red gumdrops in her mouth as she made her candy church. She looked around the room and was excited to see so many sweet churches made with all kinds of candy.

Sarah and 400 others were busy the Sunday after Thanksgiving making candy churches at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Houston.

“This tradition began 15 to 20 years ago,” said Donna Reid, director of children’s ministry. Because of low church attendance on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the church wanted to get families back into the church after the holiday, she said.

Young and old roll up their sleeves, put

icing on the churches and choose their favorite candy to decorate them.

Church volunteers do a lot of preparation for the activity. They set round tables in the church gym, assemble church-shaped boxes, purchase supplies and donate leftover Halloween candy for the occasion. Reid is grateful for the many volunteers who help during the busy time.

“Even some of our pastors come and help and make candy churches,” she said.

Reid likes to see the closeness of the church family working together, sharing the candy and helping one another with the churches.

“We look forward to this event every year,” she said.

Memorial Drive United Methodist Church | 12955 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079 | 713-468-8356 | mdumc@mdumc.org | www.mdumc.org | Senior Minister: Rev. Charles B. Simmons | Average Attendance: 1,881 | Texas Conference

GED program changes lives

“

T

om” had one regret: never finishing high school. With the help of a United Methodist church, he began working toward realizing his dream of earning a GED certificate, the equivalent of a high school diploma.

Burns United Methodist Church in Oxford, Miss., registered Tom to take the classes. He began to learn math, writing, science and history, but an obstacle arose when he realized he would have to take the GED test on a computer.

Barbara Worthum, GED instructor, and other tutors knew that they could help Tom and other students gain confidence by learning computer skills, but they needed more machines.

AT A GLANCE

Worthum and the Rev. Chris Diggs, Burns pastor, prayed for new computers.

God answered their prayers when Diggs met Richard “Dick” Scruggs.

Scruggs, a former attorney convicted of bribery, spent six years in prison. He is serving the last year of his sentence on home confinement. While in prison, Scruggs taught GED classes to the inmates, who were mostly high school dropouts. When he learned that Burns needed computers for GED test-takers, Scruggs donated seven Mac laptops and two desktops for the program to further his mission of helping with adult education.

Worthum, a GED teacher by vocation,

said her students’ ages range from 18 to 56.

Their backgrounds are varied. Seeing her students’ progress delights her. She recalls her joy as she saw a woman in her 50s successfully create an email address.

Many students fear failing, Worthum said. However, she believes confidence replaces fear as they work toward getting their GED certificates and bettering their lives.

Burns offers the GED program two evenings a week. Diggs said that three people enrolled in college after getting their GED certificates.

“The program gives people a second chance,” Diggs said. “We are the hands and feet of Jesus giving people hope.”

Burns United Methodist Church | 600 Molly Barr Road, Oxford, MS 38655 | 662-234-2943 | burnsumc@panola.com | www.burnsumc.org | Pastor: Rev. Christopher Diggs | Average Attendance: 75 | Mississippi Conference

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION “It Worked for Us” is written by Christine Kumar, freelance writer and administrator, Baltimore Metropolitan District, BaltimoreWashington Conference. Send story ideas to interpreter@umcom.org.

Success Stories From Local Churches

It Worked for Us Sacrificial giving at Christmastime

COURTESY PHOTO

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Children learn about sacrificial giving at Legacy United Methodist Church, Bismarck, N.D.

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AT A GLANCE

n 2009, the Rev. Kermit Culver challenged his congregation to buy fewer Christmas presents. “We all spend way too much money for Christmas,” he said.

Culver asked members of Legacy United Methodist Church in Bismarck, N.D., to set aside half of what they would spend on Christmas and give it to Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, a local community agency that feeds, clothes and houses those in need. Inspiring Culver was the week he spent with the Rev. Mike Slaughter, pastor at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio, where the “Half a Christmas” ministry began.

The congregation, which averages about 250 in worship, did not initially embrace the idea as passionately as Culver did – and the church was in the middle of a capital campaign. Still their pastor asked them to sacrifice extra clothes, gift cards and other surprises they looked forward

to during Christmas to reach an ambitious goal of $25,000.

The Christmas offering netted $27,000.

In 2010, Legacy raised the goal to $28,000. Members again surpassed it by giving $30,000. The 2013 goal was $35,000; and the congregation, visitors and a nearby United Methodist church contributed $37,000.

Legacy’s missional focus is local and global. The church has built three churches in Bolivia and Thailand. A team of 12 men and women from Legacy helps Ruth Meiers House by cooking and serving meals and assisting with other tasks.

Stevie, a shelter resident, started attending Legacy and now is a member of the church.

The goal for this year’s “Half a Christmas” is $45,000.

“We have made a choice to be generous,” Culver said “It’s a good thing.”

Legacy United Methodist Church | 4600 Durango Drive, Bismarck, ND 58503 | 701-223-4401 | office@legacyumc.org | www.legacyumc.org | Pastor: Rev. Kermit L. Culver | Average Attendance: 254 | Dakotas Conference

Veterans get a second chance

T

hroughout the years, “John” realized, his life had turned upside down. Finding work became even harder when the veteran returned to the United States after serving overseas.

John completed numerous job applications, but few resulted in interviews.

His stress level increased. However, hope replaced some of the stress when John learned about Veterans Stand Down – a job fair for veterans hosted by Trinity United Methodist Church, Youngstown, Ohio, and the United Methodist Community Center, Warren, Ohio. The two have hosted two job fairs.

More than 75 veterans arrived at a AT A GLANCE

giant tent for the 2013 fair. Gift bags and a continental breakfast welcomed them.

Volunteers escorted them into the church, where they could visit with representatives from the Veterans Administration, several local colleges and job-training centers.

The Rev. Jerry Krueger, Trinity pastor, said the men and women made connections with one another as they waited to get free haircuts. “Stories were shared,” he said. “Fellowship and camaraderie were evident as the veterans took time to rest and reconnect with other veterans.”

The veterans could fill out job applications at the Stand Down and select clothes to wear for job interviews. They enjoyed

a hot lunch and learned about assistance available from vendors such as the YWCA of Youngstown, Youngstown State University Office of Veteran Affairs, Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority and the Help Hotel Crisis Center.

Juanita Pasley, executive director of the United Methodist Community Center, said the event gave veterans a chance to be more visible in the community and return to the working world.

“The response by the veterans was very positive,” Krueger said. “Several veterans said it was good for them to know they were appreciated in the community and not forgotten.”

Trinity United Methodist Church | 30 W. Front St., Youngstown, OH 44503 | 330-744-5032 | trinityyoungstown@gmail.com | www.trinityyoungstown.org | Pastor: Rev. Jerry Krueger | Average Attendance: 70 | West Ohio Conference

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION Inspiration & Resources

Ideamart

HIV/AIDS ministry focuses on acceptance, care

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esus had no room for the judgment and distance stigma creates,” says Lorri Phile, administrator at Clifton United Methodist Church, Cincinnati. “The church and its disciples are here to bridge that gap and embody the merciful care and persistent justice-seeking of Jesus.”

While the Clifton church sometimes participates in special events on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, its efforts to provide education about HIV/AIDS and support people living with HIV/AIDS are year-round – as they have been for 30 years.

When HIV/AIDS began making headlines in the early

1980s, Phile recalls, “hyperbolic fear seized many people, organizations and policies.

(The Clifton congregation) leaned on its history of thinking differently. The priority was welcome, understanding, engagement, appropriate medical treatment, intentional prevention and deep relational care.”

Today, the congregation’s HIV/AIDS team:

NEW ADVENT STUDY ON HIV/AIDS

The General Board of Church and Society has a new four-week Advent Bible study that addresses the HIV pandemic and its relationship to other social concerns. “The Season for Change — An Advent Study on HIV/AIDS & Social Justice Advocacy” is free and downloadable from umc-gbcs.org/resources-websites/the-season-for-change. The study was written by Lindsay Sheets, who served as a social-justice intern this summer with Church and Society. She is a senior studying medicine and religion at Birmingham-Southern College.

How Imagine No Malaria can help your church

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magine No Malaria launched in 2009 as a worldwide effort of the people of The United Methodist Church to raise $75 million to end suffering and death from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. In the years since, the more than $65 million already raised has contributed to: »» Cutting the death rate in half »» Distributing more than 2.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets »» Developing 16 health boards in 13 countries »» Establishing more than 300 clinics where malaria can be diagnosed and treated.

Imagine No Malaria is making a difference in the lives of African children and pregnant women who are most vulner-

»» Leads and participates in the West Ohio Annual Conference AIDS Task Force; »» Sponsors participants and provides supplies for Healing Weekends; »» Educates about HIV/AIDS; »» Serves as a testing site through the congregation’s community outreach nurse; and »» Expands its relationship with Be Our Neighbors Min-

able to the disease. And, it is aiding local congregations who have become part of the effort.

If your church has not yet become a part of Imagine No Malaria, consider doing so this Advent. Here’s some of what you will gain as you give. »» Involved people: When people have a good idea about raising money and awareness and help to make it happen, they are empowered for leadership. Anyone can be equipped to preach and teach about Imagine No Malaria. »» Inspired children and youth: Children often understand faster than adults do. When they hear that children on the other side of the world are dying from mos-

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

quito bites and we know how to stop it, they want to help.

Finding resources is easy.

Click the “resources” tab on www.imaginenomalaria.org and filter by audience for children and youth. »» Broad appeal: Even people who rarely or never attend church like Imagine No Malaria. Many young adults want to engage in global humanitarian work. When you invite your neighborhood to imagine a world with no malaria, it unites people, and your church makes a positive impression. »» Help answering the call to ministry with the poor and the sick: Malaria affects mostly poor people and keeps them poor. This is a justice issue. Check out the Malaria 101 kit at www. imaginenomalaria.org/ resources.

istry in Liberia, benefiting women living with HIV/ AIDS. According to estimates by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, 35 million people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2013.

That same year, some 2.1 million people became newly infected, and 1.5 million died of AIDS-related causes.

World AIDS Day serves as a reminder that the need remains to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

Barbara Dunlap-Berg, associate editor, Interpreter

»» Your church connected with United Methodists all over the world: Our global church is taking on malaria. Raising money and awareness for Imagine No Malaria plugs people into the connectional system. »» Fun! You never know what God will use to raise money for Imagine No Malaria. Doing something off-the-wall will make people sit up and take notice and generate energy for your church’s work.

When you envision how you can get involved, be creative!

Get inspired at www.greaternw.org/inm/ideas.

Adapted from an article at www. greaternw.org/inm by Julia Frisbie, Imagine No Malaria field coordinator, Greater Northwest Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church.

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION Inspiration & Resources

ideamart

COURTESY GENEVA UMC

United Methodist Men compete for honors

Children in the Advent-Christmas vacation Bible school in Geneva, Neb., spent more time learning the Christmas story than rehearsing for their program.

Advent VBS brings Christmas story to life “

A

dvent is a very busy time for the church family,” says Kim Dunker, director of congregational care at Geneva (Neb.) United Methodist Church. “It was evident the kids were so involved with the Christmas program – learning lines, songs, practicing all the time, that they were not hearing the stories. After much prayer and with the blessing of the pastor, we began to think of a way to bring the journey to life.”

The solution was to build on a traditional summer favorite and offer a one-day mini Advent-Christmas vacation Bible school for children in kindergarten through fourth grade.

“We advertised the event in the church newsletter, talked it up at all meetings, passed sign-up sheets and sent letters home with the Sunday school kids,” Dunker said. “Many volunteers of all ages came and experienced the Christmas journey in a special way with songs, crafts, stories and games.”

Twenty-four children from the church attended. Dunker hopes eventually to include other congregations. Already, Geneva United Methodist does

a cooperative summer VBS with neighboring Church of Christ, Congregational and Lutheran churches.

For the Advent-Christmas VBS in 2013, leaders of the 528-member congregation used Adam Hamilton’s The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem (Abingdon Press), adapting the children’s part of the all-church study to fit their venue.

This year, Geneva Church will use Under Wraps: The Gift We Never Expected (Abingdon Press) by Jessica LaGrone, Andy Nixon, Rob Renfroe and Ed Robb.

Dunker described the mini VBS as “a wonderful way to help kids realize the many aspects of Christmas and Advent ... to help them understand all we do during Advent to celebrate Jesus, the gift who keeps on giving.

“Being with the kids always opens my eyes to new ways to experience Christ.”

Barbara Dunlap-Berg, associate editor, Interpreter.

United Methodist Interpreter

U

nited Methodist annual conferences, districts and local churches can participate in a competition that will honor significant ministries to men and youth. The General Commission on United Methodist Men will honor 30 local churches, 10 districts and 10 annual conferences.

Churches with chartered UMM units may participate.

Districts and annual conferences may enter if at least 25 percent of their churches are chartered.

The top three local churches and the top conference and district will be recognized during the March 2015 meeting of Conference Presidents of United Methodist Men. All of the honorees will be featured in the United Methodist Men magazine.

The entry deadline is March 1, 2015. Send descriptions of the ministries to rpeck@gcumm.org. Photos may also be submitted.

The Rev. Richard Peck, General Commission on United Methodist Men

UMC #GivingTuesday is Dec. 2

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n Dec. 2, United Methodists can join a growing movement to begin the Advent season with a focus on giving. Dec. 2 will be the third annual #Giving Tuesday, a day when charities, churches and other not-for-profit organizations invite people to make special donations.

United Methodist entities – local churches, annual conference-related missions, general agencies and others – are urging United Methodists to celebrate Dec. 2 as UMC #Giving Tuesday.

Several general agencies are asking support for projects and ministries on UMC #Giving Tuesday. Here are places to learn more or donate on Dec. 2.

General Board of Discipleship: E-readers for theological education for seminarians in Africa and the Philippines, https:// interland3.donorperfect. net/weblink/weblink. aspx?name=upperroom&id=14.

General Board of Discipleship: The Upper Room Chaplains’ Ministry, www.upperroom. org/CHAPLAINS. General Board of Global Ministries: Support any of more than 850 projects and 300-plus missionaries through The Advance. Search for projects and donate at www. umcmission.org/give.

United Methodist Communications: Emergency Communications Fund, www.umc.org/ebola.

United Methodist Communications: Imagine No Malaria, www.imaginenomalaria.org.

United Methodist Men: Strength for Service devotional booklets (a project of The Advance), www.umcmission. org/give.

United Methodist churches, mission organizations and other 501 (c) (3) corporations can still become a part of #GivingTuesday. Find information and resources at www. givingtuesday.org.

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION

Ministry Technology AND

Reach outside thewalls

BY POLLY HOUSE

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Are you a technophile or a technophobe?

The Rev. Ted Sauter from North Naples United Methodist Church in Naples, Fla., is a little of both.

“I’m 67 and not a technology person at all,” he says. “I can barely check my email! But I do understand that you have to change to keep up with the times. Technology and the Internet are to churches in the 21st century what the printing press was to the church in the 16th century. If you are going to get the gospel out, it has to be in the language and method people can understand.”

With this in mind, Sauter and his church staff decided two years ago to begin video streaming their worship services in real time on Sunday morning and archive them for later viewing.

North Naples is a large church with members who are, overall, tech savvy.

“Almost everyone in our church has an iPhone,” Sauter says. “They keep up with changes. A lot of our older members have embraced technology as a means of keeping up with their great-grandchildren! They use computers, tablets, all of it.”

As Sauter saw the need to upgrade how the church used technology, he realized some new staff would also be necessary.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

“We needed to get some people on staff whose first language was technology,” he said with a laugh. “I told (church leaders) that might mean hiring some young adults with piercings and tattoos, and that’s OK. We need to get the gospel out by any means at our disposal.”

While some 40 people regularly worship at Webster Springs United Methodist Church, another 30 usually join them online, nearly doubling the size of the congregation.

North Naples began its streaming ministry to reach people who did not attend church in person. Streamed

first were the worship services, one traditional and one contemporary. Sauter knew both needed to be done with excellence and professionalism to meet the expectations of his community.

“Naples is a great city and expects things to be done well,” he said.

PROSPECTIVE VISITORS, MEMBERS WATCH The church has seen a rise in the number of first-time visitors. Many have said they first experienced the worship service online.

Members tell Sauter they watch the service when they are out of town. Retirees who spend the summer in Minnesota and other northern areas “have mentioned how they can still feel like a participant in our worship when they are away,” he said. “They really like feeling connected.”

“We have between 50 and 75 live hits every Sunday morning and about 50 hits

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INTERPRETER NOV/DEC 2014 SAMPLE EDITION

during the week,” he said.

“We don’t know specifically who is watching, how many are watching or from where, but we know we are reaching people.”

Sauter has seen studies saying one hit represents 2.5 viewers, but he doesn’t like to inflate numbers.

For all the services they stream, North Naples makes certain to deal with copyright issues legally.

“We have a church full of attorneys, and they have been very good to make certain we have every license we need to legally broadcast music, movie clips, television clips, whatever it is,” Sauter said. “Not only is it the right thing to do, but the penalties for not following the law can be stiff.”

The streaming ministry now also includes programs from the church’s school with appropriate password safeguards and continuing-education conferences hosted at the church.

SMALL SIZE NO BARRIER People might say that North Naples, an affluent city church with more than 1,400 people in worship each week, can embrace technology more easily than smaller churches in rural areas.

The Rev. Brandon Moll would argue that point.

Moll has served two small churches in rural West Virginia for nine years, First United Methodist Church in Webster Springs and Barton United Methodist Church in Curtin.

Moll first experienced streaming while serving on a mission trip in Russia in 2013.

“I really wanted to share what we were doing with our church back home,” Moll said.

Using the iPhone of another team member, the group streamed to a laptop in West Virginia, and Moll led worship via the Internet. “The congregation watched us from Russia on a computer screen,” he said.

“They really appreciated getting to see what we were doing.

Zach Arco and Casey Dysert serve on the six-member team that produces and video streams live the worship services from North Naples United Methodist Church in Florida.

That sparked our interest in streaming.”

The Webster Springs church started streaming in earnest. Now about 40 people worship in the church building each week, and another 30 join them online. The church has created an interactive chat room where viewers can post praises and prayer requests that are noted from the podium during the worship service, thus making it even more inclusive.

One church member, who is in a nursing home, “watches us every Sunday,” Moll said.

“It’s a huge blessing for her to feel connected again to the congregation. Another member runs a local motel and can’t get away on Sunday morning to join us in person, but he joins us via the Internet and still feels a part.”

Moll credits the West Virginia Conference’s “Growing Your Church” workshop with helping him gain skills and confidence for this Internet-based ministry.

“They helped broaden our perspective by seeing how ministry and church can be anything if we are doing it for Christ,” he said. “Streaming is just one more way for

Watch this video from Church Tech Today for more ideas about streaming your service.

HOW TO BEGIN LIVE STREAMING YOUR SERVICE You have a staff member who is a technophile or a church member with an iPhone. Whatever your situation, you can video stream your worship service in real time.

You really can!

Here are some suggestions for starting.

First, decide what you want to stream. You will probably begin with your worship service.

Second, check out two “how to get started” articles from the monthly MyCom enewsletter published by United Methodist Communications. Read: »» “Use technology to extend worship beyond the sanctuary,” »» “How to stream worship beyond the sanctuary,” For the Rev. Ted Sauter at North Naples United Methodist Church in Florida, doing a live stream was a matter of having a tech-savvy staff person to manage the technology for the service.

“I knew I needed to have someone who understood the technology involved,” he said. “You have to keep up. It’s never going to be 1950 again!”

The Rev. Brandon Moll, First United Methodist Church, Webster Springs, W. Va., had a church member with an iPhone and a tripod. They set up the phone in the balcony and began streaming.

“It isn’t a very sophisticated setup for sure,” Moll said. “But it’s working for us. Right now, we can’t afford special equipment, but this serves the purpose.”

Polly House

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Ministry Technology AND

people to build a relationship with Christ and our church.

This tech-savvy generation does everything online, and if we aren’t willing to go where they are, they aren’t going to come to us.”

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SHARE THE GOSPEL IN EVERY WAY The Rev. Don Thrasher, a deacon from University Heights United Methodist Church in Decatur, Ga., sees streaming as just one more way technology has opened up participation in churches through the years.

“For many years, churches have used radio and television ministries to allow people to engage in worship services from outside the church walls,” he said. “Recent technology has enabled streaming as a third option to broadcast worship ministries. Using their computers, people can go to a

church’s site and find several ways to participate.”

Thrasher said he has worshipped with churches across the South Georgia Conference, the Southeastern Jurisdiction and United States through streaming.

“God has opened up a whole new avenue of ministry for this age,” he said. “I would encourage churches to explore this avenue of ministry for its blessings and benefits.”

Sauter on the Florida coast and Moll in the West Virginia hills agree.

“We can’t close down any avenue to share Jesus with a group of people who, for whatever reason, aren’t attending church anywhere,” Moll said.

“I hope people who might be considering church would watch our service, see us as people they might like and want to participate more fully.

For others, the online church will be the only church they are ever willing to attend, and we just have to accept that reality.

“Streaming is just one more way to show that as small as we are, we are a vital church.

We’re proof that you don’t have to be huge to make a huge impact on the world.”

“Too many of our churches live in the past,” Sauter said.

“You have to commit to change.

You have to deal with what is obvious. And technology is just a fact. Whether or not you like it doesn’t matter. If we are going to get the gospel to a world full of hurting and lost people, we have to do anything we can to reach out to them.”

Polly House is a freelance writer living in Nashville, Tenn.

U.S Copyright law (section 110[3]) states that churches (along with other religious organizations) do not have to get permission to perform or play music (or a non-dramatic literary work) during a religious service at a place of worship or other religious assembly.

Beyond that, you must secure licensing for: »» Performing music or playing recordings outside of a worship service »» Printing or projecting lyrics for use inside or outside of a worship service

»» Streaming worship services or other events »» Using master recordings for anything streamed online »» Synchronizing a song to a video »» Recording music on CDs (including practice recordings) »» Distributing CDs or videos »» Any use of copyrighted works (clips or full showings of movies or television programs, music, artwork, poetry, etc.).

On its website, Christian Copyright License Inc. (CCLI), www.ccli.org, offers helpful information to help your church be copyright compliant as well as licenses to cover performing, copying, projecting and recording music. A separate license that is needed if you stream your service is also available.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

Here are a few of the United Methodist churches that are streaming worship. Check out their webcasts and see the other web-based ways they allow people to participate.

Asbury United Methodist Church, Allentown, Pa., www.asburylv.org/portal2 Broadway United Methodist Church, Paducah, Ky., www.bumc-paducah.org United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, Kan.. www.cor.org United Methodist Church of the Servant, Oklahoma City, www.churchoftheservant.com First United Methodist Church, Jackson, Mich., www.firstumcjackson.org First United Methodist Church, Mansfield, Texas, www.firstmethodistmansfield.org Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church, Tipp City, Ohio, www.ginghamsburg.org

PERMISSIONS, LICENSES ARE NECESSARY Most churches hold themselves to a high standard of morality and ethics. This standard should include respecting the law about using copyrighted materials such as music and movie clips.

STREAMING CHURCHES

Churches using movies or television programs (clips or the full program) in worship or other settings need to obtain a video license available from shop.umc. org/cvli.

Grace United Methodist Church, LaCenter, Ky., www.gracechurchballardky.org North Naples United Methodist Church, Naples. Fla., www.northnaplesumc.com St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Highlands Ranch, Colo., www.st-andrew-umc.com

Dean McIntyre, director of music resources for the General Board of Discipleship, wrote “Copyright 101: Top Ten False Copyright Myths (USA Only).” The series of short articles addressing the myths about copyrighted music is at www.gbod.org/resources/ copyright-101-top-ten-false-copyright-myths-usa-only. Readers can legally download the articles.

Good intentions and ignorance of the law are not appropriate excuses for being in noncompliance. Learn what you need to do and do it.

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Smartphones: A TOOL AND A TEST IN

Ministry with Youth

BY TOM GILLEM

United Methodist youth ministry leaders are embracing the use of popular social media in their ministries, both to communicate better with young people and to teach critical social skills and safe Internet navigation.

“Social media for teenagers is very different than social media for adults,” said the Rev. Jeremy Steele, next generation pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile, Ala. “For teenagers, social media isn’t a new idea, a new way of communication. In their mind and in their world, it’s more similar to their parents’ experience of picking up a telephone. ... It’s really a primary native form of communication for them.”

More than 75 percent of teens in the United States now have a cellphone. Almost half of those are smartphones capable of Internet communication, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

Adults typically learn to be in physical proximity with people as friends first and use social media as a tool to help them stay connected, said Gavin Richardson, a former United Methodist youth minister who now provides resources for youth workers through Youth Worker Circuit (www.youthworkercircuit.com).

“For teenagers, in many ways it’s a reversal.

They become friends online first, or an online platform becomes the dominant way of communicating and being friends,” said Richardson.

One drawback is that youth who interact with friends using social media rather than face-to-face lose much of

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

COURTESY PHOTO

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Tweeting a teaser for next Sunday’s discussion group. Seeking prayer requests by text message.

Posting a prayer for a sick grandfather on a teen’s Facebook page. Asking youth to look up Scripture on their smartphones.

the instantaneous feedback that helps them develop socially, understand social cues and understand what is happening as a result of what they are communicating, Steele said.

There is a big difference between calling somebody a name or mocking them in person – where you see their face fall and you see the kind of pain you are causing – and when you say something like that online, Steele said. “It’s the same result on the receiving end, but the person making the comment doesn’t always see that,” he said.

Justin Cox poses with some of the youth from First United Methodist Church in Orlando.

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Ministry Technology “One of the problems with social media and teenagers is when we allow them to opt out of unmediated interaction – hanging out with their friends,” Steele said.

Youth pastors are learning how to deal with those issues, in addition to cellphone and social media etiquette.

“We require our youth pastors to spend between 10 and 20 percent of their time in what we call ‘turf time,’ which is being not on our campus but on the kids’ turf,” Steele said.

“We consider online part of that, just like going to football games.

“We want them to spend time engaged in social media because there are a whole lot of things that can benefit.

Not only are they engaging in a form of communications that the kids understand, but they (also) are able to actually be part of that kid’s extended social network.”

INTERVENTION SOMETIMES NECESSARY As a result, youth pastors often see online situations that need intervention.

“The conversation that I have is, ‘Look, things look like they are getting out of control online. Let’s go have coffee,’” Steele continued. “We can do some talking about why that’s not OK online. And I can do some developmental coaching with them.”

Individual youth groups and their social media preferences differ because of geographic location, socioeconomic factors and the varying cultures of high schools and middle schools. Some ap-

plications like Twitter and Facebook have widespread popularity, but teens are always looking for and finding new apps to try. Apps often are passé for youth by the time they are loaded on an adult’s smartphone.

“Youth like to sign up right away and get on the app that all of their friends are on,” said Justin Cox, youth ministry director at First United Methodist Church, Orlando, Fla., and a writer and trainer for Youth Ministry Institute (www.yminstitute.com). He encourages youth to learn more about an app before trying it.

“Just because it’s the latest and the greatest doesn’t always mean that it’s the best,” he added.

While youth sometimes tune out repeated social media warnings they hear from parents, school officials and the media, Cox said he has found a receptive audience in his youth ministry. In a recent brainstorming session, technology usage and safety was a subject his high school group wanted to discuss.

CONVERSATIONS, NOT COVENANTS In the Florida Annual Conference, the Child Youth Protection Policy now includes social media. At Orlando First, Cox adapted a social media training session for parents. He explained popular youth apps and encouraged parents to be vigilant and know how their children use their phones and other devices.

Parents sometimes are encouraged to have a social media covenant with their children regarding appropriate Inter-

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AND

The Rev. Jeremy Steele

net use. Steele said a signed covenant “generally adds to the guilt that kids feel when they violate it. They don’t want to tell. They want to hide it.”

Instead, he urges parents to have conversation to address the same topics they would in a signed covenant: What are our expectations of you online?

What do you think is OK for us to do? How should we monitor your Internet use?

“We want to keep the communication between the parent and the youth open,” Steele said.

Whether or not youth may use their phones in church settings varies among congregations and situations.

CELLPHONE-FREE RETREATS At Christ Church in Mobile, Steele said his staff generally chooses to use smartphones in their ministry. Not doing so, he says, communicates, “We have no idea what their real world is. We are totally on the outside of who they are.”

“So instead, we say, ‘All right, text in your prayer request.’ Or ‘Pull out your cellphone and look up this Scripture’ because we know they didn’t bring an actual Bible,” Steele said.

However, leaders occasionally challenge the youth to take a break from technology and focus on God, at cellphone-free retreats, for example.

“We try to couch it in spiritual terms,” Steele said. “We

say, ‘We want you to not be distracted and to not be tied to any drama back at home. Just like we have left our houses and our city in some cases, and come to be with God, we’re also leaving our cellphones and all those connections so that we can carve out a little space that is just here for us and Jesus.’”

In Orlando, Cox said each youth group leader decides the cellphone policy for Sunday evening sessions.

“One group just asks all the kids to put the phones face down on the table, so that they are there, but they are not causing a distraction,” Cox said. In another group, one of the students walks around, picks up cellphones and puts them in a basket until smallgroup time ends.

Cellphone-free mission trips have been the norm at First Church for several years, Cox said.

“Every couple of years, we’re on a trip where there’s another group that has phones and our youth are happy that we don’t have them,” he said.

“They see the lack of interactivity between the groups, the lack of focus on what is actually at hand, and they are very pleased that we have that no-cellphone policy because they see what happens when it’s not in place.”

Tom Gillem is a freelance writer and photographer based in Brentwood, Tenn.

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OLDER ADULTS ENGAGE WITH

technology

Cypress United Methodist Church in Texas began offering courses three years ago.

Joe Jones, who worked with computers extensively before he retired, leads the classes to help others in the seniors’ group that meets at his church.

Jones began with a computer basics class. Additional classes have introduced the Internet, email and Microsoft Word and Excel. A special class focused on copying and pasting. Classes meet during the day, since many older adults do not like to drive at night. All classes have been full.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Ruston, La., has offered computer classes for 15 years. Most participants have been older adults, though the

congregation advertises the classes to the community. “It has been the most fun, rewarding ministry that I’ve ever been a part of with the church,” says Donna Belcher, who has taught classes since the program began.

Her students agree, calling Belcher “the world’s most excellent teacher.” Elizabeth Green, who has taken all the classes, appreciates how Belcher “goes through it step by step and is very clear and very patient.”

This is important for teaching computer skills. Jones says many older adults have difficulty getting their children and

UMNS FILE PHOTO/MIKE DUBOSE

22

S SOME PEOPLE AGE, THEY FIND THAT THEIR LIMITED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WITH COMPUTERS HINDERS THEIR ABILITY TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THEY WANT TO DO. SEVERAL UNITED METHODIST CONGREGATIONS HAVE COME TO THEIR AID WITH COMPUTER CLASSES THAT PROVIDE OLDER ADULTS AND OTHERS WITH THE SKILLS THEY NEED TO STAY CONNECTED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND ENGAGE THE LARGER WORLD.

Brig Barrientes (left) shares a video from his Marine nephew with the Rev. Bill Patterson (center), former pastor, and Karl Simon during a men's group meeting at Leipsic (Ohio) United Methodist Church. While many baby boomers use digital technology easily, other boomers and senior adults have varying comfort and familiarity with it.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

BY ANDREW J. SCHLEICHER

grandchildren to explain things to them without skipping steps or losing patience.

Green began taking classes at Trinity more than five years ago. She now does the calendar for her book group and stitch club. “They think I’m some kind of whiz,” she says.

While Green is a member of the church, she says, “We have had a lot of people come to Trinity who probably wouldn’t have darkened the door if it [weren’t] for these computer classes.”

‘A SHORTCUT FOR MANY THINGS’ More and more older adults are already living in the digital realm.

Baby boomers have been early adopters of technology, says the Rev. William Randolph, director of the Office of Aging and Older Adult Ministries with the General Board of Discipleship. “It becomes a shortcut for so many things,” Randolph says. For others, the technology often “becomes a place to buy things, to do research.” No longer do older adults just send email and photos to one another.

Randolph points to video-calling programs like Skype as a way older adults enjoy connecting with their younger and distant family members. He also says shutins may participate in worship by watching video streams or

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downloading sermons, though this number remains small.

Many older senior adults still will not touch computers, says Randolph. Instead, they prefer to make a phone call.

Nevertheless, many older adults do go online to research, take classes or receive training.

One wealthy woman at a retirement community where Randolph was formerly a chaplain went online regularly to investigate places where she might want to donate her money.

Retired corporate executives use a site to connect with young entrepreneurs. Many retirees now read digital books.

Facebook is the social media platform of choice for users 50 years old and older.

Video technologies, including those now available on phones, are useful tools for recording the life stories

of older adults. This can be a family activity where the younger members interview the older ones. People also use videos at the time of death as a way to remember the life of a loved one. Families often find it helpful to put these videos together while the loved ones are still alive.

Older adults who use technology to engage with each other, family and friends and to further their interests often find their later years becoming more enjoyable. Congregations can support these efforts by offering classes and by encouraging older adults to use technology and recording their stories to share with younger generations.

BY THE NUMBERS: OLDER ADULTS ON THE WEB An article in the June 8, 2013, Huffington Post (“Senior technology: 5 Facts about How Post 50s Are Using the Internet,”) cited a Google study of how more than 6,000 baby boomers (ages 45 to 66) and seniors (67 and older) use the Internet.

The study by Ispos reported that 78 percent of boomers and 52 percent of seniors are online. The two groups spend an average of 19 hours on the Internet each week, more than with TV, radio and magazines/newspapers.

According to the Pew Research Center Internet report released in January 2014, 74 percent of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook remains the platform of choice.

Here is how the 50-and-older demographic uses social media.

Andrew J. Schleicher is a freelance writer living in Nashville, Tenn.

Facebook — 71 percent of online adults »»Ages 50-64: 60 percent »»Age 65 and older: 45 percent, up from 35 percent in 2012 LinkedIn — 22 percent of online adults »»Ages 50-64: 24 percent »»Ages 65 and older: 13 percent Pinterest — 21 percent of online adults »»Ages 50-64: 14 percent »»Age 65 and older: 9 percent Twitter — 19 percent of online adults »»Ages 50-64: 11 percent »»Age 65 and older: 5 percent Instagram — 17 percent of online adults »»Ages 50-64: 6 percent »»Age 65 and older: 1 percent

For the full report, go to www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/ social-networking-fact-sheet/

Barbara Dunlap-Berg

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Ministry Technology AND

Social media OPENING NEW DOORS TO COMMUNICATION

2.

1.

community, without geographic restrictions.

What if church were a social network?

IT IS OUR ECCLESIAL AND THEOLOGICAL TASK. The changing communications landscape has more to do with ministry, evangelism and discipleship than you might think. The culture is no longer one where everyone assumes that families will attend church together on Sunday morning. People are finding other ways to meet their spiritual/faith needs, including going to church on a different day. For some, church may be the weekly small group that gathers to feed the hungry every Thursday night.

Though tools have changed how we communicate the gospel, the relational aspects of ministry continue to be essential.

According to research by the Barna Group, the most common way millennials (people born roughly between 1982 and 1999) blend their faith and technology is through digital reading of Scripture.

There are as many downloads of YouVersion (the free Bible application for mobile devices) as of Instagram. Young people today experience faith in real time. They are called “digital natives” for a reason: Technology has infiltrated every area of millennial life, and the realm of faith is no exception. Barna says about 56 percent of practicing Christian millennials use online searches to scope out a church, temple or synagogue.

However, it is not only millennials who are found in these spaces.

The Rev. Consorcia A. Sanchez, a retired United

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SOPHIA AGTARAP

24

TWITTER. INSTAGRAM. PINTEREST. FACEBOOK. LINKEDIN. VINE. YOUTUBE. The list of social media tools is almost infinite.

Some of you may have accounts with these services.

Others may be wondering what this list is doing in Interpreter.

Simply put, social media is a means to have a conversation, 24/7, using web-based tools. You can join (or leave) “conversations” at your leisure, contribute knowledge and content when appropriate, and receive (and give) real-time updates about events, causes and issues that matter to you.

Social media is a newer way to discover, read and share information apart and in collaboration with traditional media.

The church is a fantastic venue for using social media.

Here are two reasons.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY. Through meaningful conversations and information exchange, members of congregations build networks that, in turn, inform their communities. Social media flattens the hierarchy. All contribute to the conversation and create content, rather than just consuming it.

Consider social media as one way to invite all to the table, to build relationships in and outside of your church

Participants used several different social media platforms to submit images for the 2013 Advent and 2014 Lent Photo-a-Day projects coordinated by Rethink Church, a ministry of United Methodist Communications.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2014

BY SOPHIA AGTARAP

Methodist elder in Oregon, uses Facebook to extend pastoral care. Before she goes to bed, she checks Facebook to see if she has any messages. Sometimes, people leave prayer requests or ask questions. “People don’t have to come to my office for us to talk,” she says. “It’s easier and faster with Facebook messaging.”

For Sanchez, Facebook is about relationships.

“I’m a person-to-person pastor,” she says. “I build relationships with people, and that is a factor in how we communicate.

We did that when I was their pastor. So when I retired, the relationship continued.”

So, where to begin? How do we navigate these social spaces?

Just start somewhere.

You likely do not have hours to spend learning these new tools, so start with just one.

Perhaps Facebook is what you will tackle this month as you learn how to build your church’s Web presence through short posts and stories. Maybe next month it will be Instagram, as you learn how to share glimpses of your church community through photos.

However you decide to begin, you’ll find a wealth of resources from United Methodist Communications, from the monthly MyCom newsletter [www. umcom.org/mycom] to the learning and online training section of the agency’s website, www.umcom.org/learn.

Sophia Agtarap is minister of online engagement with the Rethink Church team at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.

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Y

Yes, YOU DO NEED Awebsite

BY SOPHIA AGTARAP

OUR ONLINE PRESENCE IS THE NEW FRONT DOOR TO YOUR CHURCH. BEFORE SOMEONE SHOWS UP TO WORSHIP, HE OR SHE WILL LOOK FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLINE. DO YOU OFFER CHILDCARE? WHAT TIME IS WORSHIP? IS PARKING AVAILABLE? In 2012, a Grey Matter Research (www. greymatterresearch.com) study reported that more than 17 million nonchurchgoers had visited the website of a local church or place of worship in the past 12 months; yet, many sites fail to provide the information these visitors seek.

Church doesn’t look the same as it did 30 years ago.

People read Scripture on their tablets or smartphones, tweet during worship or check in on Facebook or FourSquare when they are at church. A variety of tools can help churches be a vibrant presence online in the lives of their members and those looking to belong. Social media tools offer churches opportunities to connect with audiences and congregations in a way that print has not.

Real-time updates before or after events or worship invite users of these spaces to engage on a more

personal level and to amplify that message by sharing it with their friends online.

If you think you don’t need a website or some social presence, think again.

When people are looking for information about your church, will they find a website? What will they find? Will they find last Easter’s events in December? Or contact information from your old location?

Or, perhaps, the summer worship schedule well into fall?

Here are four reasons your church needs a website: 1. It’s the modern-day phone book. In an age where people can Google anything, you had better believe people are Googling you. Do them a favor and post all your current information, photos of the congregation and an invitation to join you. Even if it is no more than one page, at least, you are searchable online. People may even call or email you!

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2. You can share content.

You are a content creator!

Every week a pastor shares a message is an opportunity to bring an encouraging word that someone may need to hear. How will they hear it if they weren’t in church on Sunday or if they don’t live in your city? Put it online as a blog post or PDF, podcast or video recording.

3. It’s affordable. Whatever content-management platform you use to create your site, you can find hosting packages for as low as $5 per month. Check out United Methodist Communications’ hosting plans for more information: www. umcchurches.org.

4. It creates visibility.

People are sharing more and more information electronically and digitally. E-newsletters link readers to resources and organizations. Companies and organizations list partners on their websites. Facebook and Twitter can share your

church’s information with a broad audience. When you have a website, you can share the vibrancy and warmth of your congregation with the world.

Are you interested in learning more about how to create a website for your church or how to improve what you already have? Check out www.umcom. org/learn/website-building for tips on building your web presence and look at what United Methodist Communications’ face-to-face and online training has to offer: www.umcom. org/learn/all-training-courses.

We’ll see you online!

Find-A-Church (www.umc.org/ find-a-church), a ministry of United Methodist Communications, gives each United Methodist congregation in the United States an online presence and allows users to locate churches by city and state or ZIP code. Each profile has information about the church and its ministries and ways to make contact. Churches are urged to add information about their schedules, ministries, events and programs and to keep it current throughout the year. Update the information in your profile by clicking on the link at the bottom. Send questions about updating to fac@umcom.org.

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Technology + education

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Wayan Vota

N A COMPUTER LAB IN HAITI, THE REV. LARRY HOLLON WITNESSED A YOUNG GIRL’S LIFE CHANGE FOREVER. Hollon, general secretary of United Methodist Communications, was visiting the opening of a learning center for the Thomas Food Project in Haiti (see page 30). Children who had never seen computers before were brought in. He noticed one young girl who seemed hesitant and unsure of what was happening. However, as the computer booted up, she grew more interested.

“This little girl leaned forward, tapped one key and saw the response on the screen, and at that moment ... she had experienced the world in a new way,” Hollon said. “This had opened up a world for her and her life would never be the same after that. It will be transformed by her ability now to access information and to reach out in new ways to get information that is valuable to her.”

Hollon shared this story in his remarks at the Game Changers Summit, a conference on information and com-

In rural villages where textbooks are scarce or outdated, mobile technology can revolutionize education — and change lives — in developing nations.

BY JOEY BUTLER

munications technology for development (ICT4D) held in Nashville, Tenn., in September.

As the denomination’s communications agency, United Methodist Communications has developed partnerships in the ICT4D world and encourages local churches to consider this involvement as another way to minister to those in need.

“We as a church often have access to people that are in rural villages. We can bring that technology to people at the end of the road and in the bush and equip them ... in new ways that are beneficial to the community,” Hollon said.

Technology is useful for a wide range of aid, including disaster relief and health care, but it is also vital as an educational tool in a developing nation. Due to the lack of consistent infrastructure for landlines, mobile phones are already commonplace in even the most remote village.

According to estimates, more than 75 percent of the world has access to mobile technology, making it an ideal medium for education.

Wayan Vota, an ICT4D specialist and panelist at the Game Changers Summit, described being in a classroom

Priscilla Muzerengwa

in rural Kenya and asking students how many continents there are on the planet. “They said five: America, Europe, Russia, Asia and Africa. Australia is an island, no one lives on Antarctica and North and South America are one. We went to the Internet and found the correct answer,” he said.

In Vota’s eyes, using new technology is necessary for education in countries with few resources where textbooks are a rarity.

“How many books do you have in your house? In Kenya, there may be a Bible or Koran and that’s it. How can you learn and instill a love of reading if there aren’t any books?

Through mobile, we can give them access to entire libraries.”

‘TICKET OUT OF THE SLUM’ Giving such access is the goal of organizations like Worldreader, which provides e-readers and a wealth of digitized content to students worldwide. Nearly 7,000 titles in Worldreader’s library are available in 41 different languages; 70 percent are African titles.

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Kristina Lee, a partnership development manager with Worldreader, recently visited one of their partner schools, a girls’ school in one of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya.

“They’ve really been able to progress in their skills and their reading,” Lee said. “People wonder if people are going to steal the e-readers because it is such a poor community, but the coordinator there said no one steals them — they know it’s their ticket out of the slum.”

During her visit, Lee befriended a young woman named Dalifah, who had graduated from the program using e-readers. She earned a scholarship to a nearby university, and, in the interim before starting college, she is teaching

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Kristina Lee

others how to use e-readers.

“Just seeing her use this, it’s so intuitive to her; it has impacted her education and what will be her life,” Lee said.

A NECESSARY TOOL Imagine a medical student trying to perform surgery for the first time when all he or

she knows about medicine was taught by textbook. In rural Africa, that is a potential reality.

Priscilla Muzerengwa, a communicator for the Zimbabwe East Conference and Game Changers panelist, said most rural schools lack labs, so students in biology or chemistry only have a textbook to explain complex life science to them.

“Now with digital content, it brings out everything in 3-D video form. You learn better in a more visual manner,” she added. “In the 21st century, information technology is not just a subject for study, but [also] a tool for education – as much as books or desks.”

James Lazarre, the project manager for the Thomas Food Project, said the ability to use

technology in the classroom has made a world of difference.

“Technology gives the opportunity to motivate the students.

We believe we are setting the path for children in Haiti for a better future by using new technology.”

Thinking back to that little girl at the computer in Haiti, Hollon is certain the church’s involvement in ICT4D is ministry.

“My theology is that God intends for every person to flourish,” he said, “and when we empower people to have access to technology and information that they can use to improve their lives, we are fulfilling the call of God to be in the world and be a transformative presence in the world.”

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kindness RANDOM ACTS OF

SPARK GENEROSITY AT ADVENT

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ONE DAY LAST DECEMBER, SHONDA BETTS WALKED INTO HER LOCAL GROCERY STORE TO BUY SOUR CREAM AND CHEESE. WHAT SHE GOT – AND GAVE, THOUGH, WAS SO MUCH MORE. A member of The Chapel, a United Methodist congregation in Brunswick, Ga., Betts participated in the church’s Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACK) series. Each day during Advent, she and her family chose to do one random act of kindness.

As she stood in the checkout line, Betts felt God calling her to pay for the groceries of the person behind her.

Even with her gregarious personality, Betts was hesitant and nervous as she turned around to speak.

“I was so scared ... it was so hard, and I said really fast, ‘Sir, our church is doing random acts of Christmas kindness and I want to pay for your groceries,’” Betts said.

The man thanked her and said that he could pay for them himself, and suggested that she make the offer to someone else.

“I was like, ‘God, you are not making me say this twice!’

My heart was beating so fast.”

A young woman with a baby stood behind her, and in

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her cart were just a few items.

It looked to Betts as though the woman was buying only what she needed. This time, when Betts offered to pay for her groceries, the woman accepted. Betts also invited her to The Chapel’s Christmas Eve services.

“I feel like it was a big step of faith for me,” Betts said, “because when you pay for someone’s coffee behind you at Starbucks, you don’t have to see them. Maybe God was telling me to be more gracious when he offers to help me and to just accept it.”

LIVING OUT FAITH DAILY The Chapel launched the RACK campaign on the first day of Advent 2013. Each person or family received a set

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of 25 RACK cards. Printed on each card – one for every day of Advent – was an idea for a random act of kindness.

Some were easy – putting a donation in a Salvation Army kettle or smiling at 10 strangers. Others, such as inviting someone to spend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with your family, were more difficult.

All 25 RACK ideas gave people opportunities to show thankfulness, generosity and love.

The RACK project developed after leaders planned the sermon series for the church’s financial campaign, which took place right before Advent.

“After going through our generosity campaign, we wanted to show people that generosity is more than just tithing

and finances. It’s also being generous with the things you do,” says Anne Bosarge, The Chapel’s director of discipleship. “It’s a state of mind and not just a financial decision.”

The Chapel’s congregation is very generous, she says, and giving creative ideas to express that generosity met a need to which they readily responded.

“We are a congregation that likes to get in there and get our hands dirty. We love projects and the community that is created by everybody doing the same thing,” she says.

Bosarge says the RACK activities helped church members live out their faith daily and experience how small, unexpected gifts of love and acts of service can have lasting results.

The hope, she says, is that “people will continue to think about the small things that they can do to be generous and to show kindness to others in our community and continue that throughout the year. Little tiny things can mean a lot and have a big impact in the life of somebody else.”

Kara Witherow is editor of the South Georgia Advocate in the South Georgia Annual Conference.

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home,” McGuffin said.

When he returned in June 2011, he brought a master gardener and funds to start a kitchen, which grew into a meal program that now provides 200 meals a day at two schools.

McGuffin’s team decided to move beyond the food program and set up an educational component to affect the children past mealtime. They wired the entire school campus to run on solar power, set up a computer lab and trained teachers in basic curriculum. Today, the Thomas Food Project has a salaried

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Warren McGuffin views damage remaining from the 2010 earthquake at the Methodist church in Petit-Goâve, Haiti. McGuffin is director of sustainability for the Thomas Food Project in Haiti.

McGuffin’s team – assigned to build a school – was quickly confronted with children so hungry they were eating mud pies.

“We gathered our funds and fed these children, but we knew the children would still be hungry when we got

water purifiers for cooking and drinking.

McGuffin, a retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur, said, “The

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arren McGuffin’s mission work has always been faith building, but at some point, he realized something was missing: meeting the people he was helping.

In numerous United Methodist Volunteer in Mission trips to reconstruct after hurricanes Ike and Katrina, McGuffin noticed that while he was rebuilding houses, the homeowners had to be back at their jobs. He missed the interaction of working beside those affected.

That all changed in 2010 on a trip to Thomas, Haiti.

Warren McGuffin

teaching and cooking staff and a project manager with a computer-science background.

The project has grown to help four schools and has three mobile, solar-powered carts that can travel throughout the community to charge laptops and mobile phones and run

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Warren McGuffin listens to a training program on the effective use of technology in rural and remote communities at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.

SAN RAMON VALLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, ALAMO, CALIF. got the skill to use a keyboard, you can get a job.”

McGuffin sees unlimited benefit in the growing information and communications technology movement.

“As businessmen and scientists,” he said, “we feel we can place technology in the community to benefit and be sustainable. There’s always going to be a need for mission there, but I equate what we’re doing with giving away fishing poles.”

Joey Butler is a multimedia producer/editor for United Methodist Communications.

ability to apply one’s God-given talents in mission is a blessing.

That’s what you know best, and if you can share with someone, all the better.”

The food program satisfies an immediate need, but using technology for development in Thomas will help community members develop skills to improve their longterm situation.

“The path out of poverty is education,” McGuffin said. “There is business in Haiti, and hightech is beginning to move in.

They have computers at hardware stores, banks. If you’ve

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