Our Vision is to bring wholeness to the world through healthy, biblical communities of holy people multiplying disciples, leaders’ groups and churches. Therefore, we will… †Recruit and develop catalytic leaders for the transformation of churches and communities †Launch and sustain new apostolic initiatives and church plants E-Connect with Superintendent Bruce Rhodes Southern Michigan Conference Free Methodist Church USA Wednesday, March 5, 2014 – Vol. 1; #7 Sunday “Hello Tour” report – Portage Another Sunday “sleigh ride” delivered us safely to the Portage Free Methodist Church last Sunday morning where we were warmly received by our brothers and sisters there. Our Portage church is being led by Pastor Adam Davidson, who will soon complete his second year under appointment as Lead Pastor. The Portage church †Network and strengthen partnerships with affiliate FM institutions †Resource and build upon our historic commitment to worldwide mission Together…transforming our world! Superintendent: brucerhodes@smcfmc.org Blog Address: Smcrhodestrip.wordpress.com Business Administrator: markdowley@smcfmc.org Administrative Assistant: bettywalrath@smcfmc.org www.smcfmc.org www.somersetbeach.org has a terrific location in a wonderful part of the city of Portage. It also has some of the nicest facilities in the conference. They currently have two worship services on Sunday morning with a Sunday school hour in between for all ages. Even though the winter has taken a toll on attendance and finances, as it has for most of our churches this year, Portage is ministering regularly to over 300 people on Sunday mornings. Tiffany Cronin is leading their children’s ministry and Scott Osborne their student ministries. Both are LMC’s working toward their conference ministerial candidacy and we are hopeful that they will achieve that mark by Annual Conference this year. Learn how to Fund Your Ministry On March 11th at 1 pm, there will be a free online seminar available to help pastors and local churches receive excellent training and resources to strengthen the stewardship of the people they minister to. The seminar is sponsored by “Giving Rocket” and led by Casey Graham. I am familiar with these excellent resources and training, having developed a relationship with this stewardship ministry just a couple of years ago while serving at the Ypsilanti Free Methodist Church. To register, go to the following link: http://therocketcompany.com/fundyourchurchnow/?utm_source=internallist&utm_medium=email&ut m_campaign=fundyourchurchnow Staff Position Opening - Full Time Director of Children’s Ministries A Free Methodist Congregation, 1200 average attendance, is seeking a full time Director to cast vision, and oversee programming and staffing for ministry to children, ages 0-6th grade. The position is to begin July 1, 2014 The candidate should be mature in the faith with a vibrant spiritual life of prayer. He or she should possess the following experience, skills and qualities: 1. A proven effective track record in children’s ministry, preferably in a large church setting. 2. A proven track record of effective evangelism, especially among children and their families. 3. Be able to articulate age-appropriate discipleship objectives for children. They must be able to demonstrate the ability to translate those objectives into programming and the development of a culture of solid Biblically-based discipleship. 4. Have a vision for assisting families in the spiritual training of their children. 5. Have a vision for special ministry to at-risk children and their families. 6. Be able to attract and develop volunteers and leaders among both children and adults. 7. Have completed a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree. A Masters of Divinity, graduate degree in ministry or in the areas of psychological counseling or child and family development would be beneficial. 8. Be a visionary self-starter and possess the gifts and graces to extend the reach of our ministry to community children and their families. For a more detailed job description go to: http://springarborfm.org/jobs Send resume, including 3 references by March 31, 2014 to: Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church - Attn: Chuck Connors 120 E. Main, Spring Arbor, MI 49283 Part-Time Administration Position at SAFMC The Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church is seeking a qualified candidate to work part-time (16 hours/week) to provide administrative support for Connect & Serve Pastors. Must be proficient in current computer programs, organized, and have graphic design experience. Resumes accepted through March 30 with a start date of April 14. If interested, contact Pastor Chuck Connors at chuck.connors@springarborfm.org. Year End Reporting for FMC-USA Pastors please note – The FMC-USA site is now accessible for 2013 data input. Information specific to your church was sent via email from our office to each of you on Friday, February 28th. The deadline for completion of your report is Friday, March 21st. If there is a reason for delay, please contact the SMC Office. Celebrating a Birth Announcement We celebrate and rejoice with Dustin and Megan Weber on the birth of their baby daughter Charis. She was born Thursday, February 20th. Active SMC Chaplain Marilyn Bahena Retired but Active Chaplain Marilyn Bahena continues to pray for FM chaplains and she volunteers in the NICU at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit where she prays for and supports doctors and nurses and holds babies. She also volunteers for Henry Ford Hospice to support and minister to Spanish-speaking families. Recently she traveled as part of the Hope Clinic International team in order to minister in Nicaragua last month. Her ministry consisted of interpreting for physicians and families who are receiving medical care in a small village clinic. Thank you Marilyn for your ongoing service around the world. Remember Freedom Sunday on March 9th. Here is the link for ideas and resources for this year’s observance. http://www.setfreemovement.org/events/freedom-sunday/ Fire-Up! March 11th. Two weeks ago, the pastors serving on the CLB who led as small group presenters of our strategic plan, were able to meet together and review all of the input we received from our February Fire-Up event. A subsequent report has been presented to the Conference Leadership Board for review. We will plan on spending a significant amount of time on this important initiative during our next Fire-up day on March 11th at the Ralph Carey Forum at Spring Arbor University. 8:45 Breakfast will be served 9:30 We will convene our meeting 9:35 Hannah Lampe will be leading us in our time of worship and praise. 9:55 Power point presentation followed by Q & A with Supt. Bruce regarding our strategic plan. 11:00 Conference Communication Time Noon dismissal Michigan Tri-Conference Event: Ignite! (Passion and Purpose) Our conference is making some very real investments into the challenges facing many of our churches that are plateaued or in decline. One of the very best resources we will offer this year comes in the form of our tri-conference Ignite Passion and Purpose conference which will be held at the Spring Arbor Church on October 3 & 4th. Our featured speaker will be Dr. Gary McIntosh. As a professor of pastoral ministry, Dr. McIntosh is keenly interested in assisting pastors to refine their skills. He is a church growth expert who has examined the issue from a variety of perspectives. Dr. McIntosh conducts seminars in local churches on the subject of church growth and pastoral leadership. Along with editing the Church Growth Network newsletter and the Journal of the American Society for Church Growth, he has published over 100 articles and reviews in Christian magazines and theological journals. He is the author of 13 books including One Size Doesn't Fit All; One Church, Four Generations; Staff Your Church for Growth; and Biblical Church Growth. The Superintendents of the three Michigan Conferences are working together to offer an encouraging and beneficial resourcing day for pastors and local church leaders. There will be many more details to share as this conference takes shape but I wanted to get this on your radar now and ask that we all “save the date”! Important Dates  March 9, Superintendent’s Visit to Ann Arbor New Beginnings.  March 9, Freedom Sunday  March 10, MEG Board meets at SAFMC 6 pm.  March 11, SMC Fire-up Day at Spring Arbor University – Ralph Carey Forum  March 21 – Superintendent’s Cabinet Meeting 6 pm at the Rhodes residence  March 23, Superintendent’s visit to Sherwood FMC.  March 26-28 – CUE Conference at Lansing Central Free Methodist Church  April 6, Superintendent’s visit to Arabic Light and Life in Ferndale and Windsor  April 8-10, FMC-USA Global Overseers meeting - World Ministries Center, Indy.  April 13, Palm Sunday – Start of Holy Week  April 13, Superintendent’s visit to Coldwater FMC  April 14, CLB Meeting at 6 pm at the Rhodes residence  April 18, Good Friday  April 20, Resurrection Sunday  April 26, WMI Spring Luncheon  April 27, Superintendent’s visit to Stone Haven FMC in Troy. Items in red indicate an addition or update from last publication of the Conference Chronicles