Digital Campus Initiative | Luanch your digital campus in 2021!
     COVID-19 has made digital church a desirable option for many people. The desire to attend online worship will not go away in the future. This is an opportune time to engage young leaders in ministry. The Dakotas and Minnesota Conferences are creating a pathway for qualified leaders to start a digital campus in 2021. In the post-pandemic reality of “both and” church models—church online and in-person is expected. The post-pandemic church calls all of us to activate young adults in ministry.

Discover your ministry gifts this January | Basic Lay Servant Ministry Course
    Rev. Andy Bartel will lead a virtual Ministry Discernment Workshop this January. This workshop is the basic course and entry point for Lay Servant Ministry. Attending this online wokshop, happening January 9 and 16, 2021, at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., mountain time,  11 a.m. to 3 p.m. central time, will help participants focus their time in areas they are best suited to serve God.

REACH AGAIN | January 7, 2021 
  REACH AGAIN: Seeing opportunities larger than obstacles, webinar will be led by Rev. D. Ron Bell Jr., pastor at Camphor Memorial UMC in St. Paul, Minnesota. This session will focus on the challenges of this cultural moment and the need for the church to reclaim its place in the arch of hope. We still proclaim the good news, that Jesus Christ lives. Bell will offer examples and tools to help us strategically reclaim our place and remember our first love. Join us at 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. mountain time, 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. mountain time. Register here

Clergy Financial Well-Being Group | Jan. 12-March 2, Tuesdays, 12:30-2 p.m., online
     Financial well-being is an integral part of our total well-being. We cannot separate the two. Our financial well-being greatly depends upon our relationship with money. A new opportunity designed for clergy from both the Dakotas and Minnesota Annual Conferences. Clergy are invited to this eight-week small group meeting to improve your financial health. Explore wills and legacy planning, financial goals, money in relationships, reducing financial stress, and more. Register here to join the Financial Well-being group just for clergy of both the Dakotas and Minnesota Annual Conferences.

Both/And with Jason Moore |  Jan. 14
    As we look to a future when we can worship in-person again, we will need to prepare to maximize hybrid worship experiences for both online and in-person audiences.Jason Moore, with Midnight Oil Productions, will present a 90-minute webinar with time for Q & A on January 14 at 8-10 a.m., mountain time,  9-11 a.m.,  central time. The Dakotas-Minnesota Area is making this opportunity available at no cost to you. Register here

Advanced Lay Speaking online preaching course | Coming 2021
     Rev. Andy Bartel, who is a Dakotas Conference elder and the lead pastor at St. John's UMC in Anchorage, Alaska is offering a preaching workshop. The virtual workshop is the official Lay Servant Ministry Advanced class through the General Board of Discipleship. There are five modules, each two hours in length. The online course will take place Sundays from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., central time during the month of January or February 2021.

Breaking through Gridlock | 2021 Conflict resolution workshop
    Whether you want to change the world in big ways, or just be able to have deeper relationships with people who don’t think like you, conversation is the key. And yet, especially these days, conversations quickly get stuck—entrenched into our own small worldviews, assured we are right in our thinking. Breaking Through Gridlock: The Power of Conversation in a Polarized World, is a four-session workshop, led by Mary Kay Duchene from LeaderWise. All Dakotas Conference clergy are strongly encouraged to attend virtually n 2021 on January 14, February 11, March 11 and April 8, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.—1:30 p.m., central time, 10:00 a.m. —12:30 p.m. mountain time. Register here

Soul Fill-up | Join us again on January 6, 2021
     Soul Fill-up is a mid-week time for church leaders to slow down. Let us pour into your soul and refill your cup during guided scripture reading, prayer, and meditation led by the spiritual directors of the Higher Ground program. There is nothing to do or prepare - just set this 30-40 minutes aside for yourself and join us! Click here to join, Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. CT, 8:00 a.m. MT. Click here to join.