THIS WEEK!

Very Dakotas Christmas coming this Thursday!
    Watch your email this Thursday for A Very Dakotas Christmas resources! A full service including music from churches across the conference, Advent Candle readings, prayers, liturgy, and a message from conference superintendent, Brandon Vetter, will be provided. This resources is offered as a gift to help clergy and worship leaders have a time of rest during this season, Churches are invited to use parts or all of the service online or in-person. 

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. 

Stewardship and Generosity webinar | Thurs. Dec. 11 @ 6:30 p.m. CT
    Join us for the final part in the four-part series: "Let's Talk Money". From electronic giving to endowments and legacy gifts, discover creative and practical tools to inspire generosity and build sustainable support. Discover why stewardship and generosity are more than financial practices—they are spiritual practices. Through reflection and conversation, uncover your church’s why, clarify mission and vision, and take first steps toward a strategic plan. Participating churches may also be eligible for grants.

North Dakota Clergy Cohort | January 8
    The next Clergy Connection gathering will be held at Legacy UMC in Bismarck, January 8th, 10am-3pm. This is a space that utilizes the depth of experience and knowledge of our clergy colleagues and gives the opportunity for clergy to dig deeper into common questions and areas of development. All clergy are welcome. Please take a moment to complete the survey for input on topics. Register now! 

LUKE-ACTS 2025 - Reflections & Resources

Luke-Acts Reading 
     As we near the end of Paul's journeys, we see him continue to defend the faith with fervor, anchored in his belief in the risen Christ, never losing site of the mission. There are many things that try to distract us from our mission as a church - including our own self-interests. How can we stay focused on the call to make discipleship of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? Additional resource: Visions from God

RESOURCES

Rachel Gilmore: Reaching Followers Under 40 | January 20
    Rachel has become a recognized voice in the area of ministry with “younger” adults in the United Methodist Church. In this webinar, Rachel with respond to the questions: Where have our young adults gone? and “How can we get them back?” Rachel most recently served as the Director of Recruiting, Training, and Assessing for lay and clergy church planters in the United Methodist Church.  In 2009, Rachel planted a church in Virginia Beach and started two missional preschools.  In 2017, she cultivated fresh expressions in the local jail and in a feeding ministry, which provided food to over 40,000 people in 2020. Everyone seems to be wondering what we can do to be in ministry with younger families and individual. Join Rachel Gilmore on January 20 and plan to leave with pages of notes. Rachel is co-author of the book from Market Square titled Followers Under 40. Register here. 

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

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. 

A Child is Born worship resources
    Clergy from across the Dakotas have developed Worship resources (liturgies, children’s messages, graphics, etc) to accompany the 2025 Advent Study, "A Child is Born." They can be found on the Digital Resources page of our website.

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.
    Administrative Assistant | Dakotas & Minnesota United Methodist Foundations
    Director of Children's Ministries | Asbury UMC, Sioux Falls, SD
    Part-time Campus Ministry Director | First UMC, Brookings, SD