"So many resources, yet never enough of the perfect ones for us." If you've ever felt overwhelmed choosing from so many Cokesbury study guides, yet missing that "Dakotas context", things are about to change for the better. Amplify Dakotas is coming in September!

At the 2025 session of the Dakotas Annual Conference, Beata Ferris, Certified Lay Minister at Pierre First UMC, led a Lunch-N-Learn titled "Amplify Dakotas." The workshop was centered around the digital media platform of the United Methodist Publishing House, Amplify Media by Cokesbury.

Back in 2020, the Dakotas Conference applied for and received a grant from the Lilly Foundation. The grant is formally titled the Thriving Congregations Grant, in which we proposed the Dakotas Connection Initiative. The grant has also been referred to as the Rural Ministry Grant, as the primary goal was to resource and connect smaller, often rural churches for ministry.

Three main project areas had been put forward for the Rural Ministry Grant.

The first was to make creative team ministry connections, which focused on creating new combinations of leadership to connect churches and provide structures and resources for ministry. We can see an example of creative team ministry connections with the Abundance Parish. The United Methodist Churches in Gregory, Burke, and Herrick, South Dakota, all share in ministry as well as a created administration structure, which was funded by the Rural Ministry Grant.

The second project area is hub city connections. Although no official hub city connections have been solidified, some are in the process. Ferris described, “The idea here was that we would have some churches that were maybe a little bit larger in size, but in centralized locations, that would connect and resource nearby, slightly smaller rural contexts.”

The final, and most prominent, project area was technology connections. “We wanted to provide technology because we know that we have a vast geography, and we know that technology can break down those barriers. So, the idea was to provide technology to connect congregations and provide resources for worship and ministry,” shared Ferris.

Due to all of the events that have occurred both in the world and in the church, the Dakotas Conference was not able to use all of the grant money that had been awarded. “All of those things took energy and resources, and human power and time away from actual ministry,” said Ferris.

Thankfully, after discussing the challenges and circumstances with the Lilly Foundation, the Conference was given an extension to use the grant money until the end of 2026. The following steps are to secure funding to continue the work that the Rural Ministry Grant has provided and will provide. The Dakotas Conference will be applying for a Sustainability Grant to help extend the Rural Ministry Grant for the next five years. The Lilly Foundation has also said that it will match any funding that the Dakotas Conference raises.

Throughout the last five years, the Rural Ministry Grant team has learned a lot about what is and isn’t useful, especially in the context of the Dakotas. One of the main things is that digital and remote worship are here to stay. Ferris said, “Digital and remote ministry and worship fill gaps in rural areas that keep folks connected to their congregation.”

They also learned that not all digital worship experiences are the same. “We know that there are a ton of highly produced online resources that don’t look and feel very much like the Dakotas,” explained Ferris. “They look like a big worship band in a big church in a big city, or they look like a gospel choir down south. They are amazing, but they don’t look or feel like us. And it doesn’t actually enhance our worship or ministry experience.”

Together with a team, Ferris is dreaming up a digital catalog of quality ministry and worship resources. It would be user-friendly so that any local church, church leader, or member of the congregation could access them on any device. And it would feature gifted preachers, leaders, and musicians of the Dakotas to make it feel more authentic.

Back in 2019, the United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) launched a platform called Amplify Media by Cokesbury. According to UMPH, Amplify Media is “a multi-media platform to deliver high-quality searchable content with an emphasis on Wesleyan perspectives for church-wide, group, or individual use on any device at any time.”

Although those resources are great, Ferris and the team were still dreaming about Dakotas-created materials that they could handpick themselves, which was where Amplify Dakotas was born.

Rev. Brian Milford, president and publisher of the United Methodist Church’s Publishing and Distribution Agency, shared the news of a new partnership: “A multi-media platform to deliver high-quality searchable content with an emphasis on Wesleyan perspectives for church-wide, group, or individual use on any device at any time,” shared Rev. Milford.

Beata Ferris sharing about Amplify Media by Cokesbury. (photos by JLynn studios)

“What makes this initiative truly special is the creation of a custom Dakotas channel, a unique space on Amplify Media curated with content developed and selected by Dakotas United Methodists,” said Rev. Milford. “Very soon, every church, regardless of size or location, and all of its members will have full access to this custom collection, alongside Amplify Media’s extensive library.”

Now, not only will all Dakotas Conference churches, clergy, and lay people have access to the complete Amplify Media library, they will also gain access to a special Dakotas Channel where they will be able to view and use materials created by Dakotas United Methodists, for Dakotas United Methodists.

Amplify Dakotas will have a vast array of resources, including recordings of Bishop Lanette Plambeck’s sermons, resources from Annual Conference, Lent studies, A Very Dakotas Christmas, sermon series, training videos, and more. Eventually, the goal is also to add music from Dakotas musicians, but currently the team is working with UMPH and licensing agencies to ensure that the correct licenses are held legally.

Any current Amplify Media users will be receiving an email from Ferris regarding transferring their accounts to the Amplify Dakotas Channel. This process will be completed before the official launch of the new channel. Anyone who is not already using Amplify Media will have the opportunity to register for free access to Amplify Dakotas in early September. Be sure to watch conference communications and emails for registration information.

Finally, the team is excited to announce that the Amplify Dakotas Channel will officially launch and be ready for access to resources on September 22, 2025!

For more information, contact Beata Ferris.