Holston Leaders Quarterly Volume 2 Number 1 Jan 2026
One of my favorite times to be in Sam’s Club is on one of those days when they are passing out free samples. I’d guess I have tried hundreds of samples over the years. There is just something special about getting something for free. Free is the focus of this edition of the Holston Leader’s Quarterly. Aware of the various financial issues being faced buy the conference and local churches, I thought it might be good to show that there are plenty of resources out there that can assist in making ministry at the local church and in conference leadership groups easier...at least on the checkbook. I invite you to explore the numerous links that are found within this edition. Moreover, feel free to share it with pastors and local church leaders that might be looking for some guidance. I can’t guarantee everything is covered, but there are a significant areas of church/conference life covered in these pages. As you might note, this edition is small in size, but it is packed with enough linkable resources to keep you searching and examining for hours. I hope that you will find one or more of these links helpful.
Rev. Terry Goodman
This publication is produced on behalf of the Conference Nominations Team (CNT) to help the Conference Leadership Groups of the Holston Conference think about their respective ministries. Ideas for articles and articles are welcomed.
Moving into 2026 Important Deadlines As we move into 2026 I just want to remind everyone of a very important couple of deadlines. First, is the deadline for the Book of Reports. It is, like it has always been, March 15, 2026. Each Conference Leadership Group is expected to include a report. It can be brief or it can be more complex. Each report should share some aspect of what the Conference Leadership Group seeks to accomplish in 2026. In order to do this, it means that your Conference Leadership Groups needs to have met and begun thinking about the year ahead. As mentioned in the previous edition of the Holston Leaders Quarterly, every group should have met at some point in the fall and should have planned a second meeting in January or early February. So, if you chair one of the Conference Leadership Groups, then please call your group together and talk about the year ahead. Then submit a report to my office via this link. Secondly, if a Conference Leadership Group has a budget request for 2027, the deadline for that request to get to CFA for consideration is the end of January. Leadership Groups should consult their staff representatives for the proper way to make that request.
Conference Nominations Team (CNT) Goals for 2026 Bishop Wallace-Padgett continues to roll out her four point process for the CNT as we move into 2026. 1.) Identify 2.) Recruit
3.) Train/Equip 4.) Support For the last couple of years, we have worked on Identifying and Recruiting persons to serve on Annual Conference Leadership Groups. Those persons are now in that role for this quadrennium. It is time for us to begin to focus on the third item: Train/ Equip. A sub-team of the CNT has been created to assist in developing a process that will provide training/equipping opportunities at various places and in various ways during 2026. You should keep your eyes and ears open to learn of those opportunities and to then make sure that you engage with the material that is presented either in person, via ZOOM, or via online learning platforms. Our goal is to help each Conference Leadership Group understand their role and how they fit in with the broader mission and vision of the Holston Conference.
Free Tools Every United Methodist Ministry Leader Should Know About Running the day-to-day administration of a local church or ministry often stretches both time and budget. Thankfully, there are several high-quality free ministry (or nonprofit-discounted) tools available to help ministry leaders with design, accounting, presentations, communication, and overall administration. Below is a roundup of some of the most useful tools that can help your ministry run more smoothly.
Start with Group Ruling Many of these nonprofit discounts require a federal tax exemption letter, also known as a 501(c)(3) or group exemption letter. This letter confirms that your organization is exempt from federal income taxes. For United Methodist ministries, there’s no need to apply individually with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 501(c)(3) status. Instead, the IRS recognizes the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church (GCFA) as the central organization for the group ruling. United Methodist ministries can receive a letter from GCFA that provides the same verification as a letter from the IRS. To obtain a group ruling letter, visit: www.umgroupruling.org/einstart. In addition to the group ruling letter you may need a sales tax exemption letter. However, only states can issue a sales tax exemption letter, generally through the Secretary of State’s office.
Design & Presentation Tools Canva Free version: Drag-and-drop design tool with ready-made templates for bulletins, announcements, slides, and social media graphics.
Canva for Nonprofits: Nonprofit organizations qualify for free access to Canva Pro, which includes brand kits, stock photography, social media scheduling, and 1TB storage. Canva for Nonprofits. BONUS: Check out this article ChurchSpring: Canva Tips.
Adobe Express (Free plan) Simplified Adobe platform for quick flyers, social posts, and graphics. VistaCreate (formerly Crello) Canva alternative with templates for churches and nonprofits.
Prezi (Free basic plan) Dynamic, nonlinear presentations that make trainings and events more engaging. Beautiful.ai (Free plan) AI-powered tool to design polished presentations quickly.
Stock Photos & Media Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay – free, high-quality photos and videos for sermons, slides, and event promotion.
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Video & Motion
Kapwing – Online editor for clips and captions. Lightworks – Professional-grade video editing (free version).
OBS Studio (Free) - Professional-level live streaming and recording, perfect for worship services or events.
Free Accounting & Finance Tools Wave Cloud-based accounting software with invoicing, expense tracking, and receipt scanning. Ideal for small to midsized churches. ZipBooks Simple bookkeeping, expense tracking, and reports with an intuitive interface. MoneyMinder Designed for nonprofits: tracks funds, donations, and budgets. Zoho Books (Free tier)
Invoicing, expense tracking, and bank reconciliation. Works well with other Zoho tools.
Office Administration & Productivity Tools •
Communication & Collaboration
Slack – Free team chat for staff and volunteers. Microsoft Teams Free – Video calls, chat, and file collaboration. Zoom – Free 40-minute group meetings.
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Document Management & Productivity
Google Workspace for Nonprofits – Free plan offers Professional, video meetings, 100 TB shared across all users, Security and management controls, Standard support. Notion – Organize notes, policies, or ministry planning in one place. Dropbox Basic – Free 2GB file sharing. Asana – Project management with tasks, boards, and timelines. Trello (Free) – Visual task management—great for planning worship services or church events.
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Church-Specific Management Planning Center – Free tier for scheduling volunteers.
ChurchTrac – Free for very small churches; includes membership and giving tools. Tips for Getting Started 1. Identify your most pressing need – Whether it’s accounting, communication, or design, start with one tool. 2. Leverage nonprofit benefits – Apply for nonprofit licenses with Canva, Google, or Microsoft. 3. Test and scale – Try tools with your leadership team or a small committee before rolling out church-wide. 4. Train volunteers – Many of these platforms are simple enough for volunteer leaders to manage after a quick orientation.
Conclusion Administrative tools may not seem like ministry, but they free up time and resources so pastors, staff, and volunteers can focus on discipleship, worship, and outreach. By taking advantage of these free platforms, your church can save money, stay organized, and communicate with excellence.
Original Content: https://www.gcfa.org/resource/free-tools-every-united-methodist-ministry-leader-should-know-about This content was originally published by the General Council on Finance and Administration; republished with permission on ResourceUMC.org on November 4, 2025.
Free United Methodist Resources There is not a much better sounding word than FREE. I always hated to come across a table that said FREE BOOKS. I knew that one or more would go home with me...even if I really didn’t need them. I have some good news for those folk out there like me. There are a lot of free resources produced by the United Methodist Church. The vast majority of those resources are aimed at/geared toward the local church. However, I think that for some of them, there are corresponding conference level leadership groups that could benefit from looking at these resources. I am going to highlight in this publication some items from the See All the People Resources. I will link you to the page where the resource is described and on that page is a link that will allow you to download a free pdf, or if you so desire, a printed version could be sent to you for $3.99. Just click on the title and it will take you to the appropriate page. These could benefit a conference level leadership group in that the group might discover ideas that it could share with local churches that come from these publications. As an added bonus, some of these are also available in Spanish!
Resources With Spanish Versions Developing and Intentional Discipleship System for Children (Spanish version) Developing an Intentional Discipleship System: A Guide for Youth Ministry (Spanish version) Finding and Writing Grants: Effective Strategies to Broaden Support for Ministry Grants (Spanish version)
How to Start Small Groups: Growing Larger by Growing Smaller (Spanish Version) New Member/New Disciple Orientation (Spanish Version)
Resources for Worship Forming Disciples Through Worship Digital and Embodied: Considerations for Online Worship 2026 Worship Calendar Bundle
Resources for Cultural Sensitivity Engaging Your Community with Cultural Sensitivity
Engaging Your Community: A Guide to Seeing All the People (72 page book)
Resources for Stewardship Disciples Living Generously (Stewardship)
Resources for Discipleship Discipleship as Care
Making New Disciples in New Places Measuring Discipleship Online Discipleship
Miscellaneous Resources Basics of Faith Formation Discovering a Fresh United Methodist Connection: Resources for People Affected by Disaffiliation
Fresh Expressions United Methodist: The Basics How to Have a Courageous Conversation
Crash Courses in Youth Ministry: The Complete Collection (ebook format) The Recycle: A Process for Community Discernment The United Methodist Rule of Life
Volunteerism in Age-Level and Family Ministries
I hope that several of our Conference Leadership Groups can find these items helpful. Don’t forget, that you can also share this with your local church if you see something that you think could help your local church get a better understanding of one of these ministry areas.