UM Men plan 2008 celebration
(UMMen) across the U.S. are planning a celebration during 2008 in honor of the 100th anniversary of men’s ministry in the church.
Meeting in early March, annual conference presidents of the UM Men's organization approved plans to focus on a different aspect of men’s ministry each month. The 2008 celebrations will emphasize:
Jan. - Men's ministry with various ethnic groups.
Feb. - Scouting and youthserving agencies. In 2006, there were 373,242 Boy Scouts meeting in more than 8,000 UM churches.
Mar. - Women's contributions to men's ministries.
April - UM Men's relationships with other churchwide agencies.
May - Publication and free distribution of the World War II book Strength for Service.
The commission has printed 250,000 copies, and 230,000 have been delivered free to U.S. troops.
June - John Wesley's birthday, the Holy Club and John Wesley Fellows.
July - Mission projects, including hunger-relief efforts with the Society of St. Andrew.
Aug. - Local units of UM Men.
Sept. - The Upper Room Prayer Line. The prayer line received 382,795 calls in 2006, and UM Men provides a $25,000 annual gift to the ministry, which is housed at the UM Board of Discipleship.
Oct. - Expressing appreciation to pastors and bishops.
Nov. - Evangelism and spiritual life, including mentoring through Big Brothers/Big Sisters and giving Faith-Sharing New Testaments and Philmont Bibles.
Dec. - Looking to the next 100 years with men's ministry specialists with funding through Legacy Builders, a program that challenges men to step up in their financial support of UM Men's missions and ministries.
In other business at the March 1-4 meeting, the UMMen conference presidents:
- Planned for the 10th national gathering to be held in 2009 at Belmont University in Nashville and learned of plans for four 2007 regional gatherings of UM Men in PA, MO, WA and NC.
- Learned that men in the Southeastern Jurisdiction will induct former President Jimmy Carter into the John Wesley Society.
- Noted that nine annual conferences (including North Texas) are participating in Amachi, a program linking UM Men with children of incarcerated parents.
- Received a preliminary report of a study of UM Men.
For more information on NTC UMMen, contact Todd Bristow, 972-423-9559, Ext.382, or bristow@bbbsnt.org.
