THIS WEEK!

Coming THIS THURSDAY to Amplify Dakotas: Great is Thy Faithfulness sermon series
    We are creating a series of sermons based on the four “Greats” - The Great Commandment, The Great Commission, The Great Requirement, and The Great Proclamation. We will be providing sermons from Revs. Teresa Person, Bob Ruedebusch, Julie Gregg, and Kermit Culver as well as additional resources for worship and discipleship. These resources will be available on our Amplify platform as well as through our website on December 18, to be used for a January series…or any time of year! If you haven’t signed up for a free Amplify account, you can’t do so here.

Office closed December 22-26
    The Dakotas Conference office will be closed December 22-26 to allow our staff time to celebrate Christmas.

LUKE-ACTS 2025 - Reflections & Resources

Luke-Acts Reading 
     We sometimes say, “God doesn’t call the equipped.” It’s true that God isn’t dependent on our human abilities or credentials. But Paul’s final journey showed God using Paul’s training as a Pharisee, his Roman citizenship by birth, and his passionate Christian witness—a strikingly unique set of attributes that Peter, John or James would not have had. What qualities do you bring to your service for God that may allow you to serve in ways others might not be able to? Additional resource: Acts 26

RESOURCE

Global Mission Fellows - Apply Now!
    Become a Global Mission Fellow (GMF) and join the movement of young adults who cross boundaries to better understand and respond to injustice. The Global Mission Fellows program of The United Methodist Church places young adults, ages 20-30, in social justice ministries for two years of service. The program is excited to announce the launch of the application for the next cohort of fellows.Fellows work to address deep-rooted systems of injustice in regions such as Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America with a focus on food insecurity, migration/immigration, education, poverty, peace, health and more. They gain a fresh perspective on systems preventing social change as they engage with current world issues and the role of our faith. The application deadline for the international track is Jan. 14, 2026.The application for the international track can be found here.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

Winter Connection | January 30-31
    Winter Connection is an annual event for middle school and high school youth sponsored by the Dakotas Conference Council on Youth Ministry (CCYM.) This year's theme is Functioning Parts. The scripture focus is Romans 12:4-8. What is your calling? How can you serve? How can you use your hands, feet, gifts, and talents to share the Good News. There are three sites that will be hosting Winter Connection this year! Sioux Falls First UMC, Bismarck McCabe UMC, and Rapid City First UMC. Learn more and register here. 

Access 2025 SOP Alternative Giving Campaign Resources
        Nearly six in ten Americans say they would rather have a donation made on their behalf to their favorite charity than receive a gift for themselves. You’re probably part of that 60 percent. Please consider Solar Oven Partners, a mission of the Dakotas Conference, for alternative gift giving. Tell friends or family you’d like a donation to Solar Oven Partners for YOUR Christmas gift. Click here to access promotional materials and resources for the 2025 SOP Alternative Giving Campaign. You’re welcome to download and share these materials within your local church or online.

Radical Methodism study with Bri Heida
    Dakotas Connector for Renewal, Bri Heida, will be offering a way to reconnect to our Methodist roots and a space to dream up ways to be a movement of love in a world that desperately needs one. Over the course of five weeks beginning in January, Bri will lead a discussion group over Zoom to engage in "Radicle Methodism", a study by Dr. Ashley Boggan (found on Amplify Media) that explores the beginnings of Methodism and how it took root in America. The group will explore the ways the movement took hold and grew, and ask what such a movement could look like in this time, here in this place. It will be an opportunity to imagine what can happen if we say yes to having our own hearts set afire, and how that could spread across the Dakotas and beyond.

The group will meet over five Wednesdays, roughly over the lunch hour, 11:30-12:30 MT/12:30-1:30 CT, beginning January 7. To register, click here and enter your information. Details and materials will be sent out as we approach the first date in January.

If you're unable to join us, you can still do the study independently or with others in your church. All materials are accessible through Amplify Media. (If you haven't already signed up for your account through Amplify Dakotas, click here for instructions.)

Support Dakotas UMC Alternative Christmas Market 
    The long lines, the busy traffic, the waiting for your online order to arrive or the hassle of having to return it—sometimes the rush of Christmas can make us forget the heart of the season: Love made real through the gift of God incarnate. Many of us know someone who has everything they need, someone who says, “Please, don’t buy me more stuff.” What if this Christmas, your gift didn’t fill a shelf—but filled a heart, answered a prayer, or left a lasting legacy? The Dakotas Conference invites you to celebrate through the Dakotas Alternative Christmas Market—a way to give the love of Christmas in tangible ways. Instead of another sweater or gadget, honor someone you love with a gift that changes lives through one of our Dakotas camps or mission ministries. Learn more about how to give here. 

JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS | View all Ads

Jobs Available
    We're hiring! The following positions are open across the Dakotas Conference.
    Find more information on our Conference website.
    Director of Children's Ministries | Asbury UMC, Sioux Falls, SD
    Part-time Campus Ministry Director | First UMC, Brookings, SD