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Arise! Shine!

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord
has risen upon you.

Isaiah 60:1

At the 2005 Annual Conference, the Mississippi Conference embraced the theme "Arise! Shine!" and these priorities for ministry for the 2005-2008 quadrennium.

Health & Wellness

Cultivate clergy and church wellness

Mission

Reach out in mission locally and globally

Small Membership Churches

Equip and nurture small membership churches

Racial Reconciliation

Build and strengthen relationships across races and cultures

Congregational Development
Grow and start vital congregations

PROGRESS ON THE INITIATIVES 2005-2008

Health & Wellness

• Invited all participants in the conference health plan to participate free of charge in The Amazing Pace wellness program at the 2007 Annual Conference
• Held second annual "Circuit Ride" bike tour in May 2007 and third annual Arise! Shine! Run! 5K run/walk in June 2007
• Piloted pedomoter walking program with conference staff in early 2007
• Held second annual Arise! Shine! Run! 5K run/walk at 2006 Annual Conference
• Sponsored the first "Circuit Ride" bike ride on the Natchez Trace prior to 2006 Annual Conference
• Featured in Interpreter Magazine's January-February 2006 issue; the story "Ministries of Health: Our Tradition and Our Challenge" highlighted the self-care covenant adopted by the Cabinet, and Interpreter Online's expanded coverage included an article by Willis Britt on the "Walk to Bethlehem" Advent walking program he developed
• Established conference and district Health & Wellness task forces
• Sponsored conference's first Health & Wellness Conference Oct. 29, 2005
• Encouraged district and clergy wellness activities, such as Circuit Striders in the West Jackson District
• Held first Arise! Shine! Run! 5K run and 1-mile walk at Annual Conference

Mission

• Revised conference Mission Outreach Handbook with focus on "praying, giving, doing" January 2008
• Welcomed Jorge Navarrete (jorge@mississippi-umc.org) as staffperson dedicated to mission development in the Connectional Ministries area
• Completed Camp Hope, the first of three planned multi-purpose disaster response facilities on the coast, in early 2007
• Formally entered the Chabadza Covenant with Zimbabwe Area at 2006 Annual Conference
• Raised more than $130,000 through the 2006 Annual Conference mission offering for Zimbabwe partnership
• Announced plans to fund a communications center for the Zimbabwe Area as part of Chabadza Covenant
• Created Disaster Recovery Center and identified staff for long-term disaster recovery
• Responded to Hurricane Katrina with the help of United Methodists around the world
• Bishop Hope Morgan Ward and 15 others from the Mississippi Conference traveled to Zimbabwe, meeting with Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa and visiting Africa University seeking ways to partner in ministry
• Gave more than $175,000 through the 2005 Annual Conference mission offering to establish a Mississippi regional office of Society of St. Andrew

Small Membership Churches

• Developed "Effective Small Membership Churches," a small-membership church congregational development program through Wood Institute
• Launched small membership church forums

Racial Reconciliation

• Published Long Live the Dream, a collection of personal reflections on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy in 2008 to mark the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's death
• Produced Between the Ashes and Alleluias 2007 Lenten devotional guide containing personal reflections of the 40 years since the height of the Civil Rights Movement
• Created "Light Partners," an invitation to churches to grow in love and fellowship by engaging in study, worship, prayer, and action with churches of a different race
• Continued "Journeys Toward the Light," visits to important civil rights sites in Mississippi

Congregational Development

• Supported public launch of Anderson South, a new church start in metro Jackson, February 2008
• Supported public launch of Bellwether Church, a new church start in metro Jackson, January 2008
• Set goal at 2007 Annual Conference to plant at least three new churches per year
• Developed district A2/A29 teams to help interpret A2 assessments and resource local churches
• Introduced A2 Indicators as tool for measuring church health and vitality in August 2006; churches complete A2 assessments as part of charge conference preparation
• Began School of Congregational Development in July 2006, with Len Sweet serving as first guest leader
• Planted new church starts in Greenville and Oxford
• Announced plans to launch School of Congregational Development summer of 2006
• Worked with consultant Steve Compton on planning for redevelopment of areas hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina

RESOURCING THE INITIATIVES

Staff supporting each initiative are Rev. Embra Jackson, Health & Wellness and Congregrational Development; Rev. Fitzgerald Lovett, Racial Reconciliation; Jorge Navarrete, Mission; and Rev. Steve Casteel, Small Membership Church.