The people of the United Meth-odist Church from coast to coast have collectively responded to the great tragedy that left thousands of people dead in Haiti. Their deeds have been through prayer and action. The Congregation Resource Centers of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century are no different – these Centers have responded and continue to pledge their long-term commitment to rebuilding Haiti and the lives of its citizens.

This issue of On Good Ground highlights the work of a few of the CRCs from SBC21 and will provide some updates on their continuous support of the Haiti Relief efforts.

Saint Mark Wichita donated more than five thousand dollars to the UMCOR relief efforts, collected and assembled relief kits. The youth and single’s ministry have also involved themselves in packing food with Humana. The youth of Saint Mark also announced that they will host a conference wide youth rally on April 10, 2010 which will allow youth from the Wichita East District to pack

sixteen thousand meals to be sent to Haiti.

According to Jon E. McCoy, Senior Pastor of St. Mark Chicago, the con-gregation collected disaster kits and donated more than $9,000 to the ongoing relief efforts.

As for St. James UMC in Kansas City, they have collected $14,000 and have prepared 1000 care kits.

At Emory United Meth-odist Church in Washington, DC, we were able to raise $4,500.00 for UMCOR relief efforts for Haiti, said Pastor Joe Daniels. In addition, our United Methodist Women are preparing health kits for relief. We are also provid-ing spiritual and emotional support to two of our mem-bers who are Haitian and who have families in Haiti who can’t get out. Family members have been injured but reports are that there injuries are not life threatening.

This only represents a few of the CRCs and their efforts on leading the way to rebuild Haiti. Look for a full report of the CRCs and Partner Congregation in the SBC21 Annual Report.

4

G enera l Board Of D iscip lesh ipP.O . Box 340003N ashv ille , T N 37203-0003

onSPRING 2010

BISHOP’S CORNERPA GE TW O

PA GE THREE

PA GE FO UR

P. O . B o x 340003N ash v i l l e , T N 37203-0003

To l l 877 .899 .2780 E x t .1722w w w .sb c21 . org

BECOME A MORE EFFECTIVE MINISTRYCO NTACT the Nationa l SBC21 Office

today at 615.340.1722 to become

a partner church! A lso , v isit the

SBC21 web site at w w w.sbc21.org to

down load the congregationa l-com-

mun ity profile form wh ich is the first

step to becom ing a partner church .

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century is a ministry of hope, and the last thing I want to do is lend

aid and comfort to those who have already given up on the future of the Black Church.

For the reasons I have mentioned before, the theme of partnership and col-laboration is a clarion call to The United Methodist Church as to how we must carry the adventure and celebration of the future of God into our preaching, disciple-ship, evangelism, leadership development and into our very own lifestyles. There is absolutely no way we can begin incarnat-ing the future intentions of God into our everyday lives alone. Our only hope to real-ize transformation and significant change is to become a part of a Christian movement and a community of loving relationships. Only as we commit our lives to other brothers and sisters who share our sense of seriousness for the mission of God can we become different or make a difference.

God calls us to hope and to action. Our hope is based on the biblical reality that God is alive and well and is the Lord of history-that God is working to bring his new future and the new future of the Black Church into being. Our action is made pos-sible by the power of God’s Spirit working through our lives to change the world. A glimpse of this was evidenced at the SBC 21 March 5-6, 2010 National Summit where the theme Conspiracy of Black Mu stard Seed Churches was embraced and de-clared by more than 110 delegates that this conspiracy will not fail. In the life, death,

and resurrection of Jesus, the conspiracy has already conquered the world and is ushering in a new age of God and thus the transformation, growth and revitalization of existing black churches and the cultiva-tion of new places for new people.

So welcome to the Conspiracy of Black Mustard Seed Churches, a conspiracy of the insignificant, invisible and incomprehen-sible! God wants to use the “small mustard seed” contributions of the Black Church to join others in transforming God’s world today and tomorrow. If together we can recover a vision of the future of God and realize how God would use our lives and the Black Church to manifest that future; if we can incarnate the celebrative future of God in our lives and communities of faith; if we can initiate a renaissance of Christian creativity and imagine wholly new ways to compassionately respond to tomorrow’s challenges, God will make a greater differ-ence through our churches and our lives than we can imagine.

As I close let me leave you with one question to ponder: Based on your knowl-edge of the neighborhood around your church, what predictions can you make for the next five years (i.e. property values, change in racial mix, increase in the number of seniors, children, youth, young adults and single parent families)? What specific im-plications do these changes have for your church in planning future programs and ministries?

Shalom,

1

PA GE FO UR

Inside this issue

THE NEW SLETTER FOR HOPE, HEALIN G & WHOLENESS

DIRECTOR’S CORNERDr. Fred A. Allen, National Director

UMC supports Haiti relief

2010 SBC21 Calendar

The Perks of On-Line Learning

2010 SBC21 CALENDARFOCUS AREAS TRAINING DATE CONGREGATION RESOURCE CENTER

Black Methodist for Church Renewal March 24-26 Jacksonville, Florida

CRC Training Event April 16-18, 2010 St. James UMC, Kansas City, MO (Urban Location and Context)

CRC Training Event April 23-25, 2010 Bennettsville-Cheraw Bennettsville, SC

CRC Training Event September 8-10, 2010 St. Luke Cambridge/Vienna Charge Cambridge, MD

CRC Training Event September 9-11, 2010 Hope UMC Southfield, MI

Our Journey Together!

United Methodist Church supports Haiti relief

We Can Make a Difference!

BISHOP’S CORNER

Since 1996 SBC 21 has been providing dynamic training and developing resource materials for equipping of clergy and lay members of Partner

Congregations. But we do not stand along in this endeavor. With the help and partnership of annual conferences we are meeting ministry needs of many Black United Methodist congregations.

One of my greatest joys as Chair of Strengthening the Black Church for the21st Century (SBC 21) is taking an annual inventory of our shared ministry over the last fiscal year. Moreover, it is especially gratifying to share some of the results with you, our faithful friends and partners in ministry.

What do the members and friends of the United Methodist Church see when they look at SBC 21? For those of us who are responsible for communicating theSBC 21 story, we would like them to see us as an important partner of their churches in making a greater witness for Christ a partner on the frontier of mission, discipleship and evangelism, and a partner at the local level of day-to-day community outreach and service. This is the way we see you and your churches. We value every member of the denomination as an indispensable partner in ministry for serving Partner Congregations, theUnited Methodist Church, the wider Christian community, and all seekers by providing quality training, services and resources that help them to knowand to love God through Jesus Christ, and to serve God and neighbor.

We’ve said it before but never too often: There are thirty-three Coordinating Committee members, eighteen Congregation Resource Centers(CRCs), and staff who invest enthusiastically and skillfully in advancing our mission. They bring keen

intellectual insights, passionate commitment for making disciples of Jesus Christ, ingenuity, specialized skills, and the determination to help the United Methodist Church thrive.Congregation Resource Centers have trained thirty-three Partner Congregations. And our partnership with the North Alabama Annual Conference, where more than two hundred lay and clergy participated, a total of 550 lay and clergy persons have been trained by SBC 21.

At a recent gathering the pastor of a small congregation pulled Dr. Fred Allen, National Director of SBC 21 aside. She wanted him to be sure he grasped what she was saying and would tell others. “I’m not sure you folks really realize how absolutely dependent I am on you for the things I need in my church.”

She cited examples of training events she had participated in focusing on: A) vibrant and vital worship; B) leadership development; C) faith formation; D) mission and outreach; E) planning and administration that are real life practical tools for everyday ministry “on the ground.” The training and materials gave us credible ways to teach and pastor. “I want your board to know how important and useful the training events you provide are to me.”

SBC 21 is showing many signs of health and achievement.We have produced the first-ever SBC21 Annual Report/Handbook that will share highlights, successes, lessons learned and future projections as we continue to help churches, individuals and communities engage in a life-transforming love affair with God, with God’s people and with God’s Word.

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe,SBC21 Cha irTAKE A FRESH LOOK AT

2 3

There are advantages and disadvan-tages to most everything we do, but the old adage still rings true,

“good teaching is good teaching, no matter how it’s done.” Last fall, SBC21 announced its inten-tion to bring its technology and in-novation to new heights as it relates to delivering resources and learning op-portunities to its Partner Churches and Congregational Resource Centers.

This issue of the newsletter will highlight the new dimensions of the new SBC21 Learning Portal and its features. The portal can be accessed by visiting www.sbc21.org

We caught up with Dr. Fred Allen to help us understand how this new tech-nology will transform how the CRCs and PCs will learn and enhance their experi-ence beyond its training events.

1. Dr. Allen, there has been much talk and anticipation about the new SBC21 learning portal, can you tell us exactly what it is?

Answer: The SBC21 Learning Portal is a website designed to provide realtime resources to Partner Churches and CRC’s. The goal of the portal is to foster a com- munity of shared resources and learning opportunities for con- gregations that have traditionally missed the content if they did not attend a training event. The portal uses video and multi- media presentations to deliver content that is relevant and engaging to individuals and groups.

2. This tool seems to have a specific audience in mind, who is this designed for?

Answer: The portal is designed for CRC’s and PC’s. Using secure logins a user will be presented with learning options based on their designation and affiliation. For example, if a member of a CRC logs in they will be presented with additional information that is targeted specifically for CRCs. Conversely, if a PC logs in they will see information and re- sources that are geared toward PC’s and more specifically any follow-up content from a CRC event that they have attended.

3. What are the benefits for having such a tool for on- line learning?

Answer: The benefits of the tool are having effective training mate- rial that lives beyond the CRC training events. This is content that can remain on the portal and available as long as the content is relevant. This tool also allows churches who cannot attend CRC training events the opportunity to still experience the key concepts and learning objectives that were taught at the live events.

4. There is such a generation divide in technology, is this difficult to learn?

Answer: No. The portal is extremely user friendly and is a safe environ- ment for the learner to explore and learn at a pace that is most comfortable for them.

5. When will learning opportu- nities be available for the learning portal?

Answer: Training will be available start- ing in March for CRCs and will be released to PCs in April. The goal is to have 15-20 titles available in April.

6. How do I sign up, or access the learning portal?

Answer: To gain access to the portal you will need to contact the SBC21 office (Actually, we need to talk to Pam at the summit and see how she wants to handle.)

7. What are the requirements to use the technology?

Answer All you will need is high speed internet access and a web brows er. The portal is completely web based and should be easily ac- cessible from any windows or Mac computer or laptop.

The Perks of On-Line Learning

Toska Medlock Lee, SBC21 Communications

Consultant

fBecome a Fan of SBC21 on Facebook Or instantly join our mobile marketing effortsSimply text SBC21 to 313131 and join today!

Be The First To KNOW!

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century

BISHOP’S CORNER

Since 1996 SBC 21 has been providing dynamic training and developing resource materials for equipping of clergy and lay members of Partner

Congregations. But we do not stand along in this endeavor. With the help and partnership of annual conferences we are meeting ministry needs of many Black United Methodist congregations.

One of my greatest joys as Chair of Strengthening the Black Church for the21st Century (SBC 21) is taking an annual inventory of our shared ministry over the last fiscal year. Moreover, it is especially gratifying to share some of the results with you, our faithful friends and partners in ministry.

What do the members and friends of the United Methodist Church see when they look at SBC 21? For those of us who are responsible for communicating theSBC 21 story, we would like them to see us as an important partner of their churches in making a greater witness for Christ a partner on the frontier of mission, discipleship and evangelism, and a partner at the local level of day-to-day community outreach and service. This is the way we see you and your churches. We value every member of the denomination as an indispensable partner in ministry for serving Partner Congregations, theUnited Methodist Church, the wider Christian community, and all seekers by providing quality training, services and resources that help them to knowand to love God through Jesus Christ, and to serve God and neighbor.

We’ve said it before but never too often: There are thirty-three Coordinating Committee members, eighteen Congregation Resource Centers(CRCs), and staff who invest enthusiastically and skillfully in advancing our mission. They bring keen

intellectual insights, passionate commitment for making disciples of Jesus Christ, ingenuity, specialized skills, and the determination to help the United Methodist Church thrive.Congregation Resource Centers have trained thirty-three Partner Congregations. And our partnership with the North Alabama Annual Conference, where more than two hundred lay and clergy participated, a total of 550 lay and clergy persons have been trained by SBC 21.

At a recent gathering the pastor of a small congregation pulled Dr. Fred Allen, National Director of SBC 21 aside. She wanted him to be sure he grasped what she was saying and would tell others. “I’m not sure you folks really realize how absolutely dependent I am on you for the things I need in my church.”

She cited examples of training events she had participated in focusing on: A) vibrant and vital worship; B) leadership development; C) faith formation; D) mission and outreach; E) planning and administration that are real life practical tools for everyday ministry “on the ground.” The training and materials gave us credible ways to teach and pastor. “I want your board to know how important and useful the training events you provide are to me.”

SBC 21 is showing many signs of health and achievement.We have produced the first-ever SBC21 Annual Report/Handbook that will share highlights, successes, lessons learned and future projections as we continue to help churches, individuals and communities engage in a life-transforming love affair with God, with God’s people and with God’s Word.

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe,SBC21 Cha irTAKE A FRESH LOOK AT

2 3

There are advantages and disadvan-tages to most everything we do, but the old adage still rings true,

“good teaching is good teaching, no matter how it’s done.” Last fall, SBC21 announced its inten-tion to bring its technology and in-novation to new heights as it relates to delivering resources and learning op-portunities to its Partner Churches and Congregational Resource Centers.

This issue of the newsletter will highlight the new dimensions of the new SBC21 Learning Portal and its features. The portal can be accessed by visiting www.sbc21.org

We caught up with Dr. Fred Allen to help us understand how this new tech-nology will transform how the CRCs and PCs will learn and enhance their experi-ence beyond its training events.

1. Dr. Allen, there has been much talk and anticipation about the new SBC21 learning portal, can you tell us exactly what it is?

Answer: The SBC21 Learning Portal is a website designed to provide realtime resources to Partner Churches and CRC’s. The goal of the portal is to foster a com- munity of shared resources and learning opportunities for con- gregations that have traditionally missed the content if they did not attend a training event. The portal uses video and multi- media presentations to deliver content that is relevant and engaging to individuals and groups.

2. This tool seems to have a specific audience in mind, who is this designed for?

Answer: The portal is designed for CRC’s and PC’s. Using secure logins a user will be presented with learning options based on their designation and affiliation. For example, if a member of a CRC logs in they will be presented with additional information that is targeted specifically for CRCs. Conversely, if a PC logs in they will see information and re- sources that are geared toward PC’s and more specifically any follow-up content from a CRC event that they have attended.

3. What are the benefits for having such a tool for on- line learning?

Answer: The benefits of the tool are having effective training mate- rial that lives beyond the CRC training events. This is content that can remain on the portal and available as long as the content is relevant. This tool also allows churches who cannot attend CRC training events the opportunity to still experience the key concepts and learning objectives that were taught at the live events.

4. There is such a generation divide in technology, is this difficult to learn?

Answer: No. The portal is extremely user friendly and is a safe environ- ment for the learner to explore and learn at a pace that is most comfortable for them.

5. When will learning opportu- nities be available for the learning portal?

Answer: Training will be available start- ing in March for CRCs and will be released to PCs in April. The goal is to have 15-20 titles available in April.

6. How do I sign up, or access the learning portal?

Answer: To gain access to the portal you will need to contact the SBC21 office (Actually, we need to talk to Pam at the summit and see how she wants to handle.)

7. What are the requirements to use the technology?

Answer All you will need is high speed internet access and a web brows er. The portal is completely web based and should be easily ac- cessible from any windows or Mac computer or laptop.

The Perks of On-Line Learning

Toska Medlock Lee, SBC21 Communications

Consultant

fBecome a Fan of SBC21 on Facebook Or instantly join our mobile marketing effortsSimply text SBC21 to 313131 and join today!

Be The First To KNOW!

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century

The people of the United Meth-odist Church from coast to coast have collectively responded to the great tragedy that left thousands of people dead in Haiti. Their deeds have been through prayer and action. The Congregation Resource Centers of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century are no different – these Centers have responded and continue to pledge their long-term commitment to rebuilding Haiti and the lives of its citizens.

This issue of On Good Ground highlights the work of a few of the CRCs from SBC21 and will provide some updates on their continuous support of the Haiti Relief efforts.

Saint Mark Wichita donated more than five thousand dollars to the UMCOR relief efforts, collected and assembled relief kits. The youth and single’s ministry have also involved themselves in packing food with Humana. The youth of Saint Mark also announced that they will host a conference wide youth rally on April 10, 2010 which will allow youth from the Wichita East District to pack

sixteen thousand meals to be sent to Haiti.

According to Jon E. McCoy, Senior Pastor of St. Mark Chicago, the con-gregation collected disaster kits and donated more than $9,000 to the ongoing relief efforts.

As for St. James UMC in Kansas City, they have collected $14,000 and have prepared 1000 care kits.

At Emory United Meth-odist Church in Washington, DC, we were able to raise $4,500.00 for UMCOR relief efforts for Haiti, said Pastor Joe Daniels. In addition, our United Methodist Women are preparing health kits for relief. We are also provid-ing spiritual and emotional support to two of our mem-bers who are Haitian and who have families in Haiti who can’t get out. Family members have been injured but reports are that there injuries are not life threatening.

This only represents a few of the CRCs and their efforts on leading the way to rebuild Haiti. Look for a full report of the CRCs and Partner Congregation in the SBC21 Annual Report.

4

G enera l Board Of D iscip lesh ipP.O . Box 340003N ashv ille , T N 37203-0003

onSPRING 2010

BISHOP’S CORNERPA GE TW O

PA GE THREE

PA GE FO UR

P. O . B o x 340003N ash v i l l e , T N 37203-0003

To l l 877 .899 .2780 E x t .1722w w w .sb c21 . org

BECOME A MORE EFFECTIVE MINISTRYCO NTACT the Nationa l SBC21 Office

today at 615.340.1722 to become

a partner church! A lso , v isit the

SBC21 web site at w w w.sbc21.org to

down load the congregationa l-com-

mun ity profile form wh ich is the first

step to becom ing a partner church .

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century is a ministry of hope, and the last thing I want to do is lend

aid and comfort to those who have already given up on the future of the Black Church.

For the reasons I have mentioned before, the theme of partnership and col-laboration is a clarion call to The United Methodist Church as to how we must carry the adventure and celebration of the future of God into our preaching, disciple-ship, evangelism, leadership development and into our very own lifestyles. There is absolutely no way we can begin incarnat-ing the future intentions of God into our everyday lives alone. Our only hope to real-ize transformation and significant change is to become a part of a Christian movement and a community of loving relationships. Only as we commit our lives to other brothers and sisters who share our sense of seriousness for the mission of God can we become different or make a difference.

God calls us to hope and to action. Our hope is based on the biblical reality that God is alive and well and is the Lord of history-that God is working to bring his new future and the new future of the Black Church into being. Our action is made pos-sible by the power of God’s Spirit working through our lives to change the world. A glimpse of this was evidenced at the SBC 21 March 5-6, 2010 National Summit where the theme Conspiracy of Black Mu stard Seed Churches was embraced and de-clared by more than 110 delegates that this conspiracy will not fail. In the life, death,

and resurrection of Jesus, the conspiracy has already conquered the world and is ushering in a new age of God and thus the transformation, growth and revitalization of existing black churches and the cultiva-tion of new places for new people.

So welcome to the Conspiracy of Black Mustard Seed Churches, a conspiracy of the insignificant, invisible and incomprehen-sible! God wants to use the “small mustard seed” contributions of the Black Church to join others in transforming God’s world today and tomorrow. If together we can recover a vision of the future of God and realize how God would use our lives and the Black Church to manifest that future; if we can incarnate the celebrative future of God in our lives and communities of faith; if we can initiate a renaissance of Christian creativity and imagine wholly new ways to compassionately respond to tomorrow’s challenges, God will make a greater differ-ence through our churches and our lives than we can imagine.

As I close let me leave you with one question to ponder: Based on your knowl-edge of the neighborhood around your church, what predictions can you make for the next five years (i.e. property values, change in racial mix, increase in the number of seniors, children, youth, young adults and single parent families)? What specific im-plications do these changes have for your church in planning future programs and ministries?

Shalom,

1

PA GE FO UR

Inside this issue

THE NEW SLETTER FOR HOPE, HEALIN G & WHOLENESS

DIRECTOR’S CORNERDr. Fred A. Allen, National Director

UMC supports Haiti relief

2010 SBC21 Calendar

The Perks of On-Line Learning

2010 SBC21 CALENDARFOCUS AREAS TRAINING DATE CONGREGATION RESOURCE CENTER

Black Methodist for Church Renewal March 24-26 Jacksonville, Florida

CRC Training Event April 16-18, 2010 St. James UMC, Kansas City, MO (Urban Location and Context)

CRC Training Event April 23-25, 2010 Bennettsville-Cheraw Bennettsville, SC

CRC Training Event September 8-10, 2010 St. Luke Cambridge/Vienna Charge Cambridge, MD

CRC Training Event September 9-11, 2010 Hope UMC Southfield, MI

Our Journey Together!

United Methodist Church supports Haiti relief

We Can Make a Difference!