Northwest District of The North Texas Conference

UMCOR Responds to Oklahoma Tornado Relief

In order to quickly and easily support UMCOR's emergency response, please scan the QR code in this post with your smartphone.

You will then be directed to download UMCOR's mobile app where you can read the latest news, make donations, and more.

More Information on UMCOR's Disaster Relief to Oklahoma

Dan Gentry, left, chair of the trustees and building committee, and Ramon Wood, administrative council chair burned the bank note on the church's 3-year-old parsonage.

Forestburg UMC, in the Northwest district of the North Texas Conference, celebrated paying off its 3-year-old parsonage on April 21, 2013 with a note burning and Bring a Friend Sunday.

Northwest Superintendent Marvin Guier and his wife, Kathy, were on hand for the occasion. The church, now led by the Rev. Chuck Jestis, decided in spring 2009 to build a parsonage and become a single point charge (no longer sharing a pastor with other churches) under the leadership of the Rev. E. Sam Campbell.

Ramon Wood, administrative council chair, in his address to the church at the celebration, said the church "had proven that when Forestburg UMC decides to do something for the Lord, you can either get on board or get out of the way." Dan Gentry, trustees and building committee chair, thanked everyone who helped make the dream a reality.

After the service, attendees enjoyed grilled hamburgers with all the fixings.

The Friberg-Cooper UMW in Wichita Falls handmade blankets for a second straight year.

On Sunday, April 14, 2013, Friberg-Cooper UMC in Wichita Falls held a ceremony to bless 18 fleece blankets made by the church's United Methodist Women at the group's Second Annual Blanket Making Party.

Blankets throughout the year are taken to people in the hospital and nursing homes, those who are house-bound or those who just need to know their church family is praying for them.

Each blanket given out is accompanied by a card that tells the recipient that the UMW has prayed over it and quotes Philippians 4:6: "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

Emma Boswell and Sarah Garbacik

First UMC Sherman tried something new this year for the confirmation class of 2013 — a junior mentor.

This year I was asked to be a junior mentor for Sarah Garbacik, a girl I've known for years and who was in the preschool class of 4-year olds that my mother taught.

Being able to go through this confirmation journey with Sarah is extremely touching for me.

Junior mentors are youth who have been through confirmation and who help the confirmands through their spiritual journey.

Our confirmands have always had an adult mentor throughout their confirmation. But after confirmation, the adult mentors usually become adults you see only in church on Sunday mornings.

With a junior mentor, the confirmands already know the person going into the youth program and have someone close to their age to talk to about things they may not feel comfortable discussing with an adult.

The confirmation experience is also fresh for a junior mentor.

Going through the confirmation process again, I have a deeper understanding of The United Methodist Church, and I feel blessed to be a part of this experience.

Emma Boswell is also a representative of the Conference Council of Youth Ministries.

June 2 - 4, 2013

First UMC Richardson

The Apostle Paul once said that God, working through our lives, “is able to accomplish abundantly far more than we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20-21”)

Can you imagine the church God is calling us to be? Can you dream about being a part of the world God imagines? Our 2013 North Texas Annual Conference theme, Imagine, invites us to such dreams.

Let’s join together for this time of inspiration, fellowship, 

worship, learning, serving and imagination.

2013 Highlights:

A new venue: First UMC Richardson
Meals available for purchase on the site at FUMC Richardson
Toolbox Sessions led by Clergy and Laity across the NTC
Keynote Speaker Kenda Creasy Dean
Worship let by Josh Wilson and choirs from 10 NTC congregations
Powerful videos of programs imagined across the conference

Registration, Conference Workbook download and more information can be found at:

Please Note: All conference attendees will register online this year (including clergy, laity, spouses, family members and other guests).

Fall 2012 Charge/Church Conferences

(revised 09/12/12)

We have done our best to accommodate your requested dates. In some instances, it was not possible and we got as close as we could. If you did not submit a request, you were assigned a date.

If you have a major conflict with your date, call Kara immediately. However, know that it will be very difficult to change a Sunday time (because they are built around geography and the Cabinet schedule). If you wish to change a weeknight, contact a colleague and have a trade to propose before calling Kara. (Again, know that some weeknights cannot be changed due to other schedule issues.)

Please be reminded that these charge/church conferences will not be routine charge conferences as in the past. Although we think it is important to visit every charge again this fall, I do not want routine oral reports about what various groups have done in the past. In addition to a meal or refreshment time before or after where we will greet those present informally, there are to be 4 agenda items:

1. I will present a brief devotional challenging us to focus on those things God is doing to make a difference in the lives of people. (10 minutes)
2. The Lay Leader (or Pastor or another church leader if needed) will follow last fall’s general introduction of your church to us with the presentation of two specific kinds of information: (a) the “Congregant Plot” from MissionInsite for your church (every church in the NTC has free access to this online demographic service); and (b) a 10-year statistical profile of your church to include the numbers reported for average worship attendance, professions of faith, new members, membership, average Sunday School attendance, confirmation class, and % of apportionments paid each year from 2002-2011. In addition to narrative, these two kinds of information are to be presented on a screen (if possible) as well as in written handout form. (20 minutes).
3. The Pastor (or Lay Leader or another church leader if the Pastor did #2) will present a 5 minute statement in response to the question: “What is working right now in your church to change lives for Christ and how can you do more of it?”
4. Those in attendance will formally approve the required charge conference reports. (20 minutes)

The total time for the charge/church conference (including the meal or refreshment time) should be approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Please see the Forms section of the website for Charge Conference Forms.

Printable Charge Conference Schedule

Charge Conferences & Other Fall Events

Please see the attached instructions for accessing this year’s Charge Conference forms online.

Please refer back to our August 9 post for the Charge Conference agenda information.

If you need help with the MissionInsite data or the 10-year statistical profile, note the suggestions there. Please know that only the person you assign as church administrator will have access to the specific data you enter. Although the district and conference will be able to see generalizations about your church, neither we nor any outside entity can access the specific data. 

What we are seeking is to follow last year’s general introduction of your church to us with a presentation of these 2 kinds of specific information about your church. Please include both the congregant plot showing where your members live (as well as constituents and recent visitors) and demographic profile information given about who your members (and constituents and visitors) are from MissionInsite as well as the 10-year statistical profile. We hope that this information advances our discussion of your mission field and how best to reach it, along with the presentation on “What is working right now in your church to change lives for Christ and how can you do more of it?” We know some work is going to be required to prepare this, so we encourage you to start soon. We also welcome and encourage your creativity with it!

District Workshops

Please be reminded of the 2 district workshops on Wednesday, October 3, at Nocona FUMC. Each church is asked to send a team of clergy and lay leaders to a MinistrySafe workshop from 10:00 a.m. -- noon. Then, clergy and lay participants in the conference health insurance program will want to attend a Health Insurance workshop from 1:00 -- 3:00 p.m. A lunch is being provided at the church between the workshops. Please RSVP to Kara by Sept. 26 about the lunch so that we can be responsible with the food preparation.

Christmas Brunch

This year’s Clergy Families Christmas Brunch will be held on Saturday, December 1, from 10:00 a.m. -- noon at Gainesville FUMC. We will come together as a district to prepare to greet the Advent and Christmas seasons. Please mark your calendars and plan now to attend! Thank you for your ministry. We look forward to seeing you soon. 

Marvin Guier
District Superintendent

Charge Conference Forms Online Access Instructions