Ministries - Support
Learn all about the ministries of the Mississippi River District of the United Methodist Church.
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Please feel free to contact us with any questions!
Crockett County Ministries
The Crockett County Ministries are one one of many ministries the District helps support.
We Care
We Care is one of many ministries the District helps support.
Make a Dent!
Make A Dent! is a district focus that was adopted shortly after Dr. Cynthia Davis arrived as District Superintendent in 2019. It is conversation series that Dr . Davis hosts for clergy and laity. The series concentrates on how each church can and should try to 'make a dent' in things like poverty, education, and health.
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Matthew 25:31-46 NIV - The Sheep and the Goats - “When the - Bible Gateway
Women's Ministry
The District supported and participated in the ministry “Steal Away” led by the Rev. Dr. Paula Smith pastor of Gordon UMC in Nashville. This ministry can be accessed through Minister’s Helper at www.MinistersHelper.com
Pastoral Support
All our local pastors are in a coaching co-hort through Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s Clergy Coaching Network and all of our elders are encouraged to have a spiritual director and or coach. The Mississippi River District is poised to undergirding these ministries so each person serving a local congregation can be their best best self in their call. This past year has placed more stress The names and contact information for our coaches and spiritual directors are available through our office. Our spiritual directors help those serving listen to God on their behalf. They help explore possibilities and relationships. It’s robust and life giving.
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Please call the district office should you need pastoral support resources” or email us at msriverds19@gmail.com or msriveradmassistant@gmail.com
Reelfoot Rural Ministries
Quarter and a Prayer Ministry
Can one person make a difference? How about hundreds of people? If your answer is, "of course they can" then you can appreciate the power of being a connectional church. We are working to harness the power of our connection with a district initiative to make a dent in poverty in West Tennessee. It is easy to look around at the difference so many individual churches are making, so imagine the difference we can make working together. This is the power of being connectional. Exciting, right? But how can we fund this amazing endeavor? How about relying on the power of connection once again?
"A Quarter and a Prayer" is a program that can not only help fund our initiative, but also help to give it a strong spiritual base as well. The idea is for every church in our district to ask everyone who attends each Sunday to not only donate a quarter, but to also say a prayer for our mission. This allows us to involve literally our entire district in this endeavor both financially and spiritually. But what difference does a quarter make? When put within the power of connection, a lot! Just look at the math:
Churches in our district 113
Average attendance (let's say 40) x40
number in worship each Sunday 1130
.25 per person $ 282.50
times 52 weeks a year $ 14690
What could we do with $14690 a year? This does not even take into account that many will give more than a quarter a week. And how about over 1100 people praying for this each week? Powerful, right? So how about it? Is your church ready to help power our connection so that we can make a dent in poverty? It doesn't matter the size of the church, big or small, for this to be successful we need you all.
Here are just some of the ways the MS River District offers support to the Clergy and Laity of our District and some of the Ministries of our District and Local Churches.
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District Theme - 'MAKE A DENT': The 'Make A Dent' initiative encourages all churches in the district to have some intentional focus on areas such as Growing and Sharing Faith, Improving Health, Education, Poverty, Partnerships, Addiction Issues, and more.
Conversations on Poverty: Mr. Justin Crice, District Lay Leader, and Rev. Brian Griffith, pastor of the Alamo-Eaton Charge led this Make A Dent related initiative. This is an ongoing initiative of clergy and laity.
Quarter and A Prayer: This idea came from the conversations on poverty and each congregation in the District is encouraged to participate with members giving a quarter each week but more importantly offering prayer for those in need. At year end, these funds will be distributed to meet needs across the District.
District Feeding Grants: When possible, the district offers grants to congregations who request funds in regard to feeding ministries such as blessing boxes, community meal programs, meal assistance for VBS and other special programs related to feeding ministries.
Lay Servant Ministries: Training is offered in the MS River District for both Basic and Advanced Lay Servants as well as Youth Lay Servants. This training equips laity to better serve in their local church setting as well as equipping them to conduct or assist in conducting services of worship, teach the scriptures, doctrine, organization and ministries of the United Methodist Church. See the 'calendar' page for scheduled training.
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Certified Lay Minister Training: A 'CLM' may serve as part of a ministry team with supervision and support of a clergyperson. The District offers training for those who feel called to go beyond the certification of lay servant to become a Certified Lay Minister.
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Monthly Sessions for Certified Lay Ministers, Certified Lay Servants, and Supply Pastors who are serving congregations: These sessions are led by District Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Cynthia Davis and are on topics relevant to their role and work as lay pastors.
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UTM Wesley Foundation: Our District and local congregations offer support to students on the UT Martin Campus through the UTM Wesley Foundation. Many congregations volunteer to provide meals which is greatly appreciated by the students! Rev. Sam Chambers is the Director of the Wesley Foundation and may be reached at utm.wesley@gmail.com or by phone at 615-707-0594.
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Bi-Weekly Electronic Newsletter for Clergy and Laity: Fill out the information box below to subscribe!
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Reelfoot Rural Ministries
Reelfoot Rural Ministries is a mission agency founded by the people of the Memphis Conference of the United Methodist Church. RRM is located in rural Obion County, serving Northwest Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky.
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RRM is located within the area of the MS River District and many of our congregations offer support to them both financially and by faithfully volunteering especially during their Back to School drive for school supplies and the RRM Toy Store.
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To learn how you might volunteer, contact RRM at 731-538-9970.
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Ministry Partners
The MS River District encourages our local churches to 'Partner' with organizations in their area and beyond to further mission and ministry. Some of those local agencies include: We Care in Weakley County, Milan Mustard Seed in Gibson County, Bags of Hope in Lauderdale County, Haywood County Backpack Program, The Crockett Christmas Store, Transitions of Dyer County, and Reelfoot Rural Ministries. To honor our clergy families at Christmas, the district donates to each of these agencies.
United Methodist Committee on Relief
The congregations of the MS River District are quick to respond when an appeal is issued from UMCOR! Pictured here are ladies from Lighthouse UMC with a collection of Cleaning Buckets when we worked to 'fill the trailer' for UMCOR!
Make a Dent!
An Ongoing initiative of congregations of the MS River District.
Exceptional Worship
(This Ministry is currently suspended due to COVID 19. However, we hope to resume these once a month Sunday services (2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.) in the near future.
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What is Exceptional Worship? Worship for All of Us: Active engagement in Song and Story with the Love of God designed for Special Needs People, their families, and all God's children as we come together.
Pastoral Support
All our local pastors are in a coaching co-hort through Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s Clergy Coaching Network and all of our elders are encouraged to have a spiritual director and or coach. The Mississippi River District is poised to undergirding these ministries so each person serving a local congregation can be their best self in their call. This past year has placed more stress on us all. The names and contact information for our coaches and spiritual directors are available through our office. Our spiritual directors help those serving listen to God on their behalf. They help explore possibilities and relationships. It’s robust and life giving.
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Please call the district office should you need pastoral support resources” or email us at msriverds19@gmail.com or msriveradmassistant@gmail.com
Quarter and a Prayer Ministry
Can one person make a difference? How about hundreds of people? If your answer is, "of course they can" then you can appreciate the power of being a connectional church. We are working to harness the power of our connection with a district initiative to make a dent in poverty in West Tennessee. It is easy to look around at the difference so many individual churches are making, so imagine the difference we can make working together. This is the power of being connectional. Exciting, right? But how can we fund this amazing endeavor? How about relying on the power of connection once again?
"A Quarter and a Prayer" is a program that can not only help fund our initiative, but also help to give it a strong spiritual base as well. The idea is for every church in our district to ask everyone who attends each Sunday to not only donate a quarter, but to also say a prayer for our mission. This allows us to involve literally our entire district in this endeavor both financially and spiritually.
