Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church Receives “One More Question” Outreach Grant from the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (February 12, 2024) – The Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church was notified recently of a new grant that will benefit local churches with training and micro-grants. The grant aims to deepen the relationship-building of local church outreach ministries.
After visits by conference staff to many smaller churches throughout the Arkansas Conference in the summer and fall of 2023, both online and in-person, it became evident that local churches are looking for new ways to connect with their communities. For many reasons, even beyond the COVID pandemic and the United Methodist disaffiliation process that ended in December of 2023, local churches have proven to be eager to serve their communities and be good neighbors to all.
The “One More Question” grant will provide training by partnering with the Good Neighbor Experiment (originally part of UM Discipleship Ministries). Much of this training will focus on asking churches questions about themselves, their neighborhood, neighbors, and their communities to hopefully view serving people as friends, not just by providing a hand-out or transaction.
Workshop and coaching cohort facilitators were chosen for their experience serving smaller churches and willingness to take an asset-based approach to ministry. Those facilitators are:
Rev. Sara Ellzey, First UMC Paragould
Rev. Natasha Murray, First UMC Little Rock
Rev. Lyn Poplin, Booneville UMC, and Washburn UMC
Rev. Danita Waller-Paige, St. James UMC, Pine Bluff
Mary Lewis Dasinger, Project Coordinator
Samantha Menley, Project Coordinator for 200,000 More Reasons
Amy Ezell, Director of Communication and Congregational Vitality
This grant reflects and supports the four guiding principles shared by Bishop Laura Merrill for the work of the Arkansas Conference in 2024:
- Claim the power of the UM identity and witness.
- Resource and support local church efforts to develop new relationships and ministry partnerships with their communities.
- Discern the most faithful use of conference resources and team members, prioritizing outcomes and maximizing collaboration.
- Deepen the cultural competence of our staff, leaders, and churches.
District training events will be announced soon at various locations throughout the Arkansas Conference. These events will be required for local churches requesting outreach microgrants. The grant applications will be provided after each training event, and grant recipients will be named in June 2024.
Upon awarding the grant, Rev. Mackey Yokem, Director of Leadership Ministries at the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas, shared, “Thank you for allowing us to partner with you in this necessary plan.”
Bishop Merrill stated, “I am thrilled that our conference will continue our partnership with the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas to bring innovative ministry to our communities in the conference. There has been great research and planning put into making ‘One More Question’ a reality, and I am excited to see the fruit that this good work will surely bear, with God’s help.”