Volunteer of the Year
We’re thrilled about our first annual Volunteer of the Year nominations process. So far, nominations have uncovered some hidden gems in churches across the state.
From a dedicated Sunday School teacher to a fabulous men’s group, these volunteers are knocking our socks off!
Volunteers are necessary for the running of a church, an extension ministry, or really any endeavor that is taken up in love.
According to Donorbox, a platform for nonprofit donor and volunteer support, volunteers are essential for five reasons:
• They help boost visibility.
• They can be turned into advocates for your cause.
• They save money and increase donations.
• They can increase your impact.
• They can bring a diversity of skills to your organization.
More than that
Churches can definitely benefit from those reasons; however, even more essential is the role volunteers play in evangelism. Volunteers are vital because they are the hands and feet of God. By living out their faith with their actions, volunteers serve not only as ambassadors for the church, but as the church itself.
Churches in the Oklahoma conference host numerous food pantries run by volunteers. Volunteers teach children’s Sunday school and adult Bible studies. Volunteers prepare communion and decorate buildings for holidays.
Choirs and modern worship bands are staffed with volunteers. Students are fed lunch by volunteers on college campuses across the state. Building upkeep, church
van maintenance, and lawn care are often done by volunteers.
Volunteers are youth groups, men’s groups, women’s groups, cooks, drivers, paper folders, communion servers, acolytes, and so much more.
Volunteers respond to disasters and respond to the call to mission work near and far. They are resourceful, innovative, helpful, and kind.
Oklahoma United Methodist volunteers are the lifeblood of their communities, and they respond to crises with open hearts and strong support.
“Volunteers are so very important in disaster response,” stated Dana Parker, associate director of Connectional Ministry for community engagement and disaster response. “Volunteer labor stretches our dollars so that, by only paying for materials, we can help twice the amount of families recover. But also, I always feel such joy working alongside folks serving their neighbors!
Nominations are still open!
As we finalize the nominations process, this article should serve as a catalyst for those considering nominating someone for Volunteer of the Year.
There is no “perfect volunteer,” since all
who volunteer give their best for the glory of God and the care of the service they provide.
For this reason, the simple fact is, we won’t be able to choose the “best” volunteer, but simply one whose story touches our hearts.
We plan to share as many volunteer stories as we can in the fall issue of the Say So. We encourage you to nominate an individual or a group for Volunteer of the Year. If you’re working on a nomination, please have your submission turned in by Sept. 30.
FAQ
Does the nominee have to be an individual?
Not at all! We can take nominations for groups, Sunday school classes, clubs, and more - as long as their work is through a United Methodist church or extension ministry.
Can I make more than one nomination?
Yes! Please just fill in the form for each nomination.
What are the criteria for Volunteer of the Year?
We’re looking for moving stories of fantastic UM volunteers. As long as you fill in the form and send a photo, we’ll consider your nomination.
How will I know the results?
Our October issue of the Say So magazine comes out in late October. It will be published online via Issuu, and will be available on our website and social media. It will also go out to our email list.
Children take the lead in worship at Tahlequah FUMC
BY ABIGAIL SHAW-BOLEN
Kids are not just the future of the church—they are an essential part of God’s work in the world right now! At Tahlequah FUMC, our children are actively engaged in ministry, both within the church and beyond.
In TFUMC Family Ministries, we strive to help children and youth explore three fundamental questions:
1. Who is God? – We teach that God is powerful, loving, holy, and always present. Children learn that God is not distant, but a friend, redeemer, savior, and parent who cares deeply for them.
2. Who am I? – Helping kids understand God’s character gives meaning when we tell them they are made in His image. They begin to see themselves as beloved children of God and learn that God’s expert craftsmanship shapes their identity.
3. Who is my neighbor? –Once children see God’s image in themselves, they begin to see it in others. This recognition drives them to serve and love their neighbors, engaging in mission work that reflects God’s love for the world.
Ministering to others
Our kids aren’t just being ministered to; they are ministering to others and participating in worship, discipleship, and mission work as active members of the body of Christ.
One of my first Sunday School lessons as the Family Ministries Director was on Communion Sunday. I showed them a picture of the
Last Supper and asked what they saw. After the expected “Jesus!” response, I anticipated hearing answers like, “bread,” “a table,” or “people eating!” However, one child shyly raised her hand and surprised me by saying, “Believers. Like us.” That moment captured my heart and deepened my respect for these young Christians. It reframed for me the privilege of witnessing these young believers grow in their curiosity, intellect, and understanding of faith.
Week after week, I’ve been awed by how deeply these children engage with scripture. There’s Marcus, who recited the entire story of the Walk to Emmaus weeks after we read it, or Truman, reminding me how the disciples cast their nets on the other side at Jesus’ command. Mary Alice boldly proclaimed the Good News of God’s love, while Zayden, after creating King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol out of felt for our felt board lesson, very seriously warned us all not to bow down to it! These children are insightful, thoughtful, and spiritually gifted. They approach their faith with a mix of innocence and wisdom that is both inspiring and humbling.
More than just a talent show Children’s Sunday is more than
just a talent show—it’s a true worship service led by our young disciples. The children aren’t performing for the congregation; they are leading us in worship, with God as the true audience. Through prayers, songs, liturgy, artwork, and personal witness, each child contributes to a meaningful service that invites the entire church into a deeper and richer faith. Each child crafted a message to demonstrate our theme, “Be Disciples, Make Disciples,” and brought along an object or a costume to illustrate it. For example, one child shared that
A young boy shares a message of faith on Children’s Sunday at Tahlequah FUMC. Submitted photos.
being a disciple is like learning to solve a Rubik’s Cube—you have to be patient for all the pieces to fall into place, and you have to learn to love the puzzle before it’s finished. Another child compared a disciple to a sunflower, saying, “We keep our eyes turned to Jesus, the Son and Light of the World.”
Every child is uniquely gifted
If you’d like to develop something like this, you can spend time discerning the spiritual gifts of your children, just as we have at Tahlequah FUMC! Every child is uniquely gifted and has a special calling to share within the local church. Every child can learn to be faithful to God with those spiritual gifts. By celebrating these gifts and inviting children to take part in ministry, you help them realize their God-given potential and inspire them to live out their faith with confidence.
When children are embraced as leaders, servants, and contributors, they bring fresh energy, hope, and joy to the entire congregation. Together, we can watch them flourish as active members of the body of Christ, making a lasting impact on the church and the world—starting right now!
By creating space for children to lead, we’re not only empowering them, but we’re also growing together as a church. These young disciples are helping to shape the future of the church while teaching us how to live faithfully in the present.
We are grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside them as they continue to grow in their faith and leadership.
Each child crafted a message to demonstrate the Children’s Sunday theme, “Be Disciples, Make Disciples,” and brought along an object or costume to illustrate it.
Children served communion, prayed, sang, and shared art and personal witness to contribute to a meaningful service, inviting the entire church into a deeper and richer faith.
GNTV Celebrates 50 Years
GNTV invites you to help us celebrate 50 years of ministry on October 25, 2024. GNTV started as a Television Ministry in 1974 and grew to support events as an Audio Visual Production Ministry. GNTV is a ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference and has supported annual conferences and other events since the 1980s. GNTV has supported the South Georgia Annual Conference since 1985.
Very few people who have seen GNTV at an event have ever seen its location in Macon, GA. GNTV is going to open its doors and have a celebration at 6 p.m., Friday, October 25. GNTV will celebrate its history with stories of the ministry and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at its ministry.
Do you want to see where all the gear that shows up at conferences comes from? Do you want to learn more about the history of this unique ministry? Would you consider joining the celebration at GNTV? If you can’t join in in person, there is a virtual connection option. RSVP here.
Also, as GNTV’s ministry crosses the 50-year mark, they could use some support. GNTV has survived because people in the past gave their
support at a time of need. Now, GNTV needs your help to repair its roofs. The over 30,000 square feet of roof that covers the ministry is due for long-term maintenance and has some leaks to prove it. Would you help cover the cost of one square foot for $40, two square feet for $70, three square feet for $100, or more? Donate here.
A brief history of Good News TV / GNTV:
Good News TV started in September of 1974 with a daily 30-minute program for a potential audience of 29,000 on cable in Macon. At first, all of the programs were produced locally by one staff person and a team of volunteers. The purpose of Good New TV’s venture was “to reach the churched and unchurched of our city who have access to cable TV.” The idea was that local people, ministers and laity who came to share their testimonies of how Jesus changed their lives would make an effective evangelism tool. Individuals were encouraged to share scripture, poems, prayer requests, victories and Bible teachings with viewers who were given the opportunity to call in questions.
In the years that followed, the programming offered on Good News TV expanded. The anchor program that was often live was broadcast every weekday and took on the name “Good News”
based on Proverbs 25:25 “As cold waters to the thirsty soul, so is Good News.” In addition, a variety of live programming allowing for community interaction via phone was a staple of several programs produced in the Macon area over the next 30 years on Good News TV.
Local programs included Pacesetters, Openline, Talk, Art: with a Capital A, My Turn Now, Agape Rock, Country Music Mornings, The Georgia United Methodist, SportsPulse, High School Football Game of the Week, and Macon Braves Baseball. Each program sought to reach people in different ways by sharing the care and compassion of Christ with those watching. In 1992 Good News TV officially became WGNM, a full power television station in Macon. This allowed the ministry to expand beyond the single cable company reaching more communities around Middle Georgia.
Starting in 1980, Good News TV began a ministry of supporting events. Most of the events in the ‘80s were part of the work of the South Georgia Annual Conference. These included Winter Camp Meeting, Georgia Pastors School, Annual Conference, District Teaching Events, and local church special events. During this time the decision was made to switch the name to GNTV for the event
ministry work.
GNTV was also asked to be part of the video team at the General Conferences in 1980, 1984, and 1988 in conjunction with communicators from across the denomination and United Methodist Communications. This led to GNTV expanding to support more annual conference sessions; first to North Georgia and Florida Conferences. GNTV’s event work continued to grow as the ministry expanded to handle not just video but lights and sound in order to achieve the best results possible for our partners.
In 2004 GNTV’s event ministry had grown to be a significant part of the work of the ministry. GNTV was supporting about 35 events annually at this time. Unfortunately, due to new FCC requirements,
significant upgrades were going to be required in Middle Georgia for WGNM if the local television ministry was to continue. WGNM was unable to secure the needed financing or donations to meet the FCC requirements, but God provided for the Christian Television Network out of Tampa, Florida, to take over the ministry of WGNM. This allowed GNTV as a ministry to solely focus on its event support and video production.
GNTV has been involved in supporting events with a growing team of professional production staff and a better set of equipment since narrowing our focus. Today, GNTV supports around 75 events annually working with 26 annual conferences, United Methodist
United Women in Faith, The Salvation Army Regions, several Presbyterian groups, and many more.
In 2014, our organization began producing teaching and training virtual sessions for individuals who were unable to physically attend in-person meetings so that these meetings could extend their reach and share important information. Then with the COVID pandemic there were expanded opportunities for GNTV to support a plethora of virtual meetings with technology and a new voting system developed because of the needs created by the pandemic.
GNTV is a self supporting 501c(3) that is an extension ministry of the South Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. GNTV supports annual conferences and other church and nonprofit events with their audio, video, lighting, and voting needs.
Reclaiming our voices ... telling our stories
October 14 at McFarlin UMC
5:30pm–Silent Auction 6pm–Dinner
7:45pm–Live Auction
Our Goal
Norman First American UMC is partnering with McFarlin UMC on a critical capital campaign to complete the NFA church and educational facilities. As the sole Native congregation in the Norman area and the only provider of regular fellowship for Native students at OU, NFA holds a vital role as a spiritual and cultural hub for Native peoples across Oklahoma and the United States. Serving over 5,000 Native individuals annually, we have outgrown our current space and urgently require expanded facilities to meet the growing demand.
Our vision includes the construction of a new sanctuary, an expanded kitchen, and additional classrooms for children and youth. These enhancements are essential for strengthening and expanding our Native ministry in Norman. The new facilities will also feature a state-of-the-art multimedia technology center, enabling us to foster connections and collaboration with tribal communities and institutions nationwide.
Please RSVP online by scanning the QR code, visiting our website, or filling out the enclosed RSVP card. We look forward to celebrating this special evening with you!
EXPERIENCE LIFE AT ITS FINEST, EVERY DAY. Norman First American UMC Gala Indigenous People’s Day Dinner & Fundraiser
RSVP by scanning the QR code or by visiting mcfarlinumc.org/nfa-gala
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Churches dream big together
What began 30 years ago as a student ministry group of the OU Wesley Foundation by former Native students is today a thriving church, First American UMC, pastored by Rev. Dr. Justine Wilson.
The group came together to support Native American students during their education. The church still offers a campus ministry for Native students, but it offers much more.
This church formed with the vision of offering a different experience for Native Americans in the UMC. After conversations with the bishop, the church was provisionally approved, with the expectation that the ministry embrace the totality of Native culture.
After a few locations, the congregation bought an eight-acre parcel of land in Norman and built the first phase of a church. The plan was to move on to phase two, three, and four - but like many United Methodist churches, the space the church is using is still at phase one.
This location is a blessing, since the large land tract allows First American UMC to not only host Sunday services, but also to hold ceremonial gatherings, traditional prayer services, and more.
The challenge of the location is that, since stopping at phase one, the indoor facilities are small. Phase one included a fellowship hall, offices, and a kitchen. Since the building was built, the church’s activities have outgrown the facilities.
“We do everything outside,” remarked Wilson. “We cook outside, we dance outside, we eat outside.” With weather in Oklahoma as unpredictable as it is, this means First American UMC needs an indoor backup.
McFarlin UMC, also in Norman, serves as a weather backup for First American UMC. While this is a working solution, it is not ideal, since First American UMC could do so much more with its own dedicated facilities.
American felt the outsized impact the Covid pandemic had on Native Americans. Many elders were lost to the disease. In addition to those losses, youth and family programming were disrupted, and have struggled to come back.
Wilson didn’t see this as a time to shrink - instead, she saw this as an inception point. She saw it as a time to honor the elders who did not live to see the vision of the finished church.
“We need to go big,” she said. “The weight of those aspirations, and those dreams and visions of what could be. Not all of our elders have made it through, but they have given that to us, as a sacred trust.”
Enter McFarlin UMC in Norman. While the churches have had relationships historically, it has often been one of simply sharing resources.
When Rev. Wendi Neal, associate pastor at McFarlin UMC, met Wilson, they instantly bonded. “We met in fall 2022, and we became friends,” recalled Neal. “We found that we have a shared mission and vision of serving the community.”
Neal continued, “We talked about what it means to have a mutually beneficial partnership and relationship where we’re sharing with each other and learning from one another and growing together.”
Neal also pointed out that the two churches are only about two and a half miles from one another. “In this post-General Conference era is a new era for the United Methodist
Church; there’s so much to look forward to and dream big about.”
The two churches have decided to partner for a fundraising dinner featuring a Native feast at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 14. Using McFarlin UMC’s facilities, members of First American UMC will prepare, by hand, food that they harvested themselves, including wild bison and wild onions, plus multiple traditional Native foods.
On top of the delicious meal, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from a panel of speakers spanning three generations of OIMC faith leaders. The speakers will talk about what it means to be both Native and Christian. They will open the conversation up to all of those present.
With the meal and speaker panel, attendees will also have an opportunity to bid on silent auction items - many of which are handmade, as in gifts for the upcoming holidays, and services.
One service is a live painting by Chickasaw artist Brent Greenwood, which will be sold at the end of the event.
Wilson and the congregation at First
Chickasaw artist Brent Greenwood will perform a live painting at a fundraising event Oct. 14, at McFarlin UMC in Norman. Pictured above is his 2015 painting, “Native Sisters,” which was named Best in Show at the 22nd Annual Art Exhibition in Denver.
Three United Methodist Faith Leaders Among Most Influential
According to The Oklahoman, three Oklahoma United Methodist leaders rank among the most influential in the Oklahoma City metro area.
First listed is Bishop Jimmy Nunn, who retired in August. The article noted his leadership through the difficult disaffiliation season and his helming of both the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary conferences.
The article also quotes the nine words Bishop Nunn uses to illustrate his faith: “Love God, love people, make a difference, make disciples.”
Rev. Trina Bose-North, pastor of Crown Heights UMC, also made the list. She shared her thoughts on leading that church. “In 2016 as I was appointed to this church, the United Methodist Church was clashing over marrying and ordaining gay people,” shared Bose-North. “My image of God as love placed me on the side of inclusion. My theology found a home in Crown Heights UMC.”
The church voted to become part of the Reconciling Ministries Network and has served as an example of an inclusive church.
“Earlier this year, the United Methodist Church removed all the bans on gay marriage and ordination. I celebrate this step forward. Doing
Rev. Dr. Jimmy Nunn Retired Bishop 2016-2024
this work for inclusion has been a joy because I have done it with the support of the wonderful people at Crown Heights UMC.”
Rev. Dr. Derrek Belase was listed as an influential Oklahoma faith leader.
“I have sought to influence Oklahoma United Methodists by simply telling the story of our impact,” he said. “We are in ministry everywhere. When disaster strikes, we are there. When people are hungry, we feed them. We help students learn to read and we are in ministry with people throughout their lives in all circumstances. As director of connectional ministry, I simply tell others about what I see and hear in hopes of inspiring them to effective ministry in their own contexts. I am so proud of who we are in the United
Methodist Church across Oklahoma.”
While this list included leaders from across denominations and cultures, it could not begin to illustrate the influence United Methodist clergy and laity have on their communities. When faith leaders - whether ordained clergy or lay persons or even, or especially, children - share their faith, big things can happen. Just ask the members of Crown Heights UMC!
Rev. Trina Bose-North Senior Pastor Crown Heights UMC
Rev. Dr. Derrek Belase Director of Connectional Ministries
Retired Clergy Retreat
How do you spell "RELIEF"? - How about a 24-hour retreat in beautiful Canyon Camp near Hinton OK with friends from across the Conference?
Time for visiting, resting, & relaxing. Friends, fun, campfire, singing, learning.
Cost per person is $123 for a single, or $76.50 for a double (lodge & 2 meals). Contact Brian Bakeman, registrar, at brian405@prodigy.net with questions.
JOIN US SEPT. 30 - OCT. 1
Thomas Hoffman will speak on two topics:
• The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
• Pilgrimage to Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in Spain
Call to Action
Register for a Communities Impacting Poverty Workshop.
• OKC (Lakeside UMC) - 10 am - 2 pm, Saturday, Oct. 5
• Weatherford - Sunday, 3-7 pm, Oct. 6
• McAlester (First UMC) - 10 am - 2 pm, Saturday, Oct. 12
• Lawton (Centenary UMC) - 3-7 pm, Sunday, Oct. 13
Click here to register.
The Ministry Center will be closed for the following holidays:
Oct. 14 - Indigenous People’s Day
Nov. 27-28 - Thanksgiving
Dec. 25 - Christmas
Share your event or job opportunity in the Contact For consideration, email your listing to editor@okumc.org.
