Learn How to See All the People

 

Members of most local churches think their community is made up of people like themselves, but the reality is that it is rarely the case. People under the age of 40 are missing in many of our churches, says the Rev. John Seth, pastor of Christ UMC in Youngwood. “We’re missing about 38 percent of the population.”
 
Seth is working with the Conference Evangelism Team to help congregations find ways to connect with their communities and build relationships with them. They will offer daylong workshops in five locations around Western Pennsylvania as part of an effort to help churches #SeeAllthePeople and launch an intentional system for making disciples.

“We cannot disciple people that we are not in relationship with. Discipleship begins with relationship. When churches create an intentional discipleship system, they move from tinkering and fixing to relationship and discipleship. We do this not to just fill our pews, but to boldly show Christ’s love to those around us.”  

--Rev. Junius B. Dotson, General Secretary (CEO) of Discipleship Ministries

Each #SeeAllthePeople session will be open to teams of at least three people from 12 churches/charges (first-come, first-served).  Sessions are being kept small to encourage conversation and self-discovery. The team does not have to include the pastor. Participants will discover insights about their communities and begin to determine how to share those insights with their congregations.
 
Presenters include:

• Rev. Amy Wagner, WPAUMC director of Congregation Development and Revitalization, who will bring Mission Insite demographics for each church or charge to help the discover who they are missing and explore what the needs of those people might be. 
• Conference Evangelist John and Christine Zimmerman, who will share stories of how they have helped congregations discover their communities and take practical steps to reach out and connect church and community.
• Rev. John Seth will introduce resources from Discipleship Ministires on #SeeAllthePeople” and Fuller Institute research on how churches are “Growing Younger.” 

The #SeeAllthePeople workshop is offered:

• April 9, Monday - Nixon UMC (334 Airport Rd, Butler 16002)
• April 11, Wednesday - Seneca UMC (196 East State Rd, Seneca 15346)
• April 17, Tuesday - Bethany UMC (700 Farren St, Portage 15946)
• April 18, Wednesday - Cochran Memorial UMC (206 Griscom St, Dawson 15428)
• April 19, Thursday – North Huntingdon: Christ UMC (2800 Coulterville Rd, McKeesport 15131)  

Sign-in and coffee is at 9 a.m., with sessions beginning at 9:30 and running until 2:30 p.m.

The cost to register is $50 per church for three or more people. Registration will include snacks/lunch, #SeeAllThePeople book, MissionInsite demographics for your church(es), plus a flash drive with multiple discipleship and outreach resources. Use the register button below to choose a location, register your church and indicate the number of people attending.

The event qualifies for .5 CEUs. 

Download a bulletin insert.