News

12/1/2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Dec. 1, 2015 /Discipleship Ministries/ – The fictional Park Grove Community Church of the Chuck Knows Church series, “The Committee,” has lost its pastor and its way. It will soon close its doors unless it reinvents itself. Can your pastor help save Park Grove? The production staff and cast of “The Committee,” a humorous and thought-provoking online series produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, is looking for a real pastor to make a cameo ...

11/24/2015

Metro Atlanta is one of the media markets chosen for Rethink Church television, billboard, and radio advertising this Advent. View the ad running in our area. “Church is more than a place to go at Christmas; church can happen anywhere, at any time.” The United Methodist Church's new national outreach and advertising campaign focuses on the true meaning of Christmas: lending a hand to a neighbor in need, encouraging joy in the lives of others, and giving the gifts of time and care. “During the ...

10/22/2015

Enhanced Find-A-Church features now available One of the most popular pages on our denomination's website, umc.org, is Find-A-Church. The search feature is used by 1,000 people each day looking for a United Methodist Church.  This service is a no-cost opportunity for your church to increase your web presence and outreach. It is well worth your time to update your congregation's Find-A-Church pages.  To make it easier to update your church's profile, United Methodist Communications is offering ...

7/23/2015

United Methodist Communications offers a number of grants to local churches. These grants provide far more than monetary assistance by focusing instead on providing congregations with individual guidance and hand-picked resources. Three North Georgia United Methodist churches have been selected as grant recipients in 2015. The Vine in Flowery Branch received the New Church Start Grant in preparation of their launch date on August 9, 2015. Since about 2009, this grant for new plants has provided...

7/22/2015

  Fun Fact About Sybil Davidson I consider myself a good editor, but have made some typos on occasion. Once, as graphic designer at the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, I typed “Headline Goes Here” over a story by a respected South Georgia pastor. Unfortunately, I never got around to writing a real headline and that’s how it went to press. Another time, I wrote about someone’s “believed wife.” Thank goodness the “beloved wife” was gracious and kind. She got a laugh out of that mistake. ...

4/27/2015

Fun Fact about Ansley Brackin I was deemed an “old soul” in high school with the purchase of my first car, a 1966 Mustang. I enjoy finding and using analogue cameras, and I’m slowly growing my vinyl collection.   What services does your position offer to local Churches?  My biggest role is to write stories on the great things going on in our churches and ministries! People across the conference come up with some highly innovative ideas to better engage with their congregations and ...

4/16/2015

Connecting with Local Schools Francella Perryman, Director of Local Outreach at Mount Pisgah UMC in Johns Creek, was invited last spring to the Fulton County Schools Faith Summit where she was a panelist discussing the importance of faith institutions supporting schools in their community. "Mount Pisgah strives to be a launching pad to service and is focused on spreading the good news to 'Love God, Love People,'" said Perryman. "To partner with our local elementary school was a natural choice."...

11/9/2014

Read Post #1: The Gnawing Stress of Hunger in Georgia  Read Post #2: Hunger Relief and The Human Touch Build Community  Read Post #3: Gas South, A Proud Partner of Action Ministries  Read Post #4: Volunteers Give of Themselves So No One Need Go Hungry  Read Post #5: Blessings and Promises of Hope Disguised as a Simple Sack Lunch  Read Post # 6: What About the Moms Who Can't? Read Post #7: Why I’ll Never Look at a Bar of Soap the Same Way Again Nov. 10-16 is Guest Blogger Week at ngumc.org. The ...

10/28/2014

John Wesley statue in Reynolds Square, Savannah. (Photo by Ansley Brackin) United Methodist communications professionals from across the denomination were welcomed to Savannah last week at a reception in Reynolds Square complete with sweet tea, pimento cheese, shrimp salad and John Wesley's statue as the centerpiece. The annual gathering of UMAC, the United Methodist Association of Communicators, was held Oct. 22 to 24 at the Riverfront Marriott in Savannah.  An array of speakers and workshop ...

10/6/2014

The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries announced that on Dec. 2, 2014, it will match up to $1 million in gifts made online to any project through The Advance as part of UMC #GivingTuesday. Marie Kuch-Stanovsky, who chairs the communication and development committee of Global Ministries’ board of directors, expressed enthusiasm about last year’s record $6.5 million raised online through The Advance on UMC #GivingTuesday. “It was a wonderful sign of commitment and extravagant ...

9/25/2014

Join Craig Kennet Miller in a six part series on iKids: Parenting in the Digital Age. Each hour session will focus on how our digital culture is influencing the live of iKids and their families. The sessions are based on iKids: Parenting in the Digital Age and Six Values for the Digital Age Group Study. These webinars are offered at no cost by Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church and will be recorded and archived for later viewing. To sign up or find more information, visit h...

9/8/2014

The North Georgia Conference and the United Methodist Children's Home had a great time on September 8. The Conference website featured UMCH news and video on the homepage, pasted the UMCH logo over the Conference logo, and handed over the reigns of our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for a day to give everyone in the North Georgia Conference a chance to learn about the amazing work of our United Methodist Children's Home.  Your church is invited to print, post, share or use any of the ...

8/12/2014

By Don Thrasher     For many years there have been two communication ministries churches have utilized to offer worship to an audience outside the walls of the building.  Radio ministry has allowed people to hear worship services and other inspirational programs. Television ministry allows people to see and hear worship.  Both are effective and used successfully by many churches. Some of the TV and radio programs and worship services are live and some are taped. Recently, technology has ...

6/17/2014

Several of the most inspirational moments of 2014 North Georgia Conference came in the form of excellent videos. Some of the most-requested videos from the Annual Conference session are available for churches to share. (Just click the links below!) "The Top 20 for Churches" hosted by Rev. Dr. Quincy Brown, and Rev. Ben Cathey's fun and honest interview with kids about new places for new people were both from the Office of Congregational Development. Action Ministries closed its report on ...

5/18/2014

By Rachel Reiff Ellis   Whether the faces in your church pews number in the hundreds or consist only of a faithful few, every member of your congregation is a potential ambassador, poised to spread word of your church’s mission. One simple way the church can help spread that message? By engaging thoughtfully and intentionally in the social media realm.   Many churches have not hopped on the social media bandwagon, in part because they don’t consider the implementation of a social media strategy ...

1/1/2014

Welcome to the new ngumc.org! The North Georgia Conference website -- the hub of Conference communication -- was redesigned and launched in late November.  The site features a fresh look and a mobile-friendly responsive design. Whether you're viewing ngumc.org on your smart phone, tablet or desktop computer, the screen size will adjust for optimal viewing.  The carousel of featured items on the homepage and the use of images for category headings give plenty of opportunity to highlight ...

12/18/2013

Subscribers to the North Georgia Advocate received their final edition of the newspaper on June 7 of this year, ending a tradition of Methodist news coverage that began in the 1800s. With only two weeks advance notice, the publisher of the Advocate, UMR Communications, ceased operations in May due to financial pressures. The Advocate staff quickly pulled together a farewell issue and was able to mail it before the May 31 closure date. Though disappointed, the North Georgia Conference staff had ...

12/11/2013

United Methodist Communications announced today that EcuFilm, which provides multimedia resources for small groups and churches, will close at the end of 2013. A ministry of United Methodist Communications, Ecufilm has been a long-time provider of video resources for use in worship,Sunday school, Bible study, retreats, small groups, and other church programs – both for United Methodist churches and other denominations. However, due to the changing marketplace, the service has experienced a ...

12/4/2013

Long lists, crowded stores and hectic plans shouldn't define Christmas. Maybe it's time to focus on bringing joy to others and be inspired by the greatest gift of all. Finding the true meaning of Christmas. This Christmas national and local advertising campaigns invite the audience to visit a United Methodist Church during Advent.  The national campaign includes TV ads similar to this one (click here to watch). Then, the week before Christmas, a radio ad will air during drive-time on stations ...

10/29/2013

Representatives from the North Georgia Conference attended the annual United Methodist Association of Communicators meeting in Chicago this past weekend. Each year communicators from across the denomination gather together for informative workshops, worship, and an awards banquet honoring excellence in communication. Tim Schraeder, co-founder of the Center for Church Communication, attended as a special keynote speaker and workshop host on social media. Other workshops focused on News ...