The Vital Church Summit for clergy will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at First UMC in North Little Rock from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is an opportunity for clergy to engage in conversation as we seek to reach new people in new ways. Different topics include:
- Worshiping Outside the Building led by Rev. Todd Seelau
- Growing Together in Faith, Hope, and Love Through Cooperative Parishes by Rev. Brad Moore
- Incarnation: A Foolish Proposition by Rev. Carlos Ramirez
- Why Communities Matter by Rev. Stephen Copley and Johnna Kosnoff
- The Mosaic Table of God: The Power of Creating Space by Rev. Haley Jones
- Telling the Story of Your Local Church by Kelli Reep
- Bridging Gaps: “Empowering Laity for Inclusive Leadership” by Teresa Bolin
- Reviving Our Communities Through Youth: Empowering the Next Generation to Lead, Serve, Thrive, and Grow in Faith by Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow
- AI, AI, Oh! Ways of Using Artificial Intelligence in Ministry by Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
The summit will include workshops by five Arkansas clergy and three Arkansas Laity who will share their experiences and wisdom in building this kind of community. I’m also glad we’ll welcome Rev. Todd Seelau from the New Mexico Conference and Rev. Carlos Ramirez from the Oklahoma Conference. Rev. Seelau will share about reaching people in new ways as he ministers in thirty worship spaces each month. Rev. Ramirez is the Director of Communication and Strategy for the Oklahoma Conference and will share his experience with building new faith communities and making connections with people of different cultures.
Rev. Todd Seelau, New Mexico Conference, keynote speaker
Rev. Todd, as he is known to the people in bars and on streets of Albuquerque, received his Master of Divinity Degree from Candler School of Theology, his Doctor of Ministry Degree under Dr. Leonard Sweet at Portland Seminary and was Ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2007. After many years of reaching people in new ways, the current iteration of his church X-ile has over 600 people a week engaged in 30 groups meeting in many, mostly public, locations and making over 60,000 meals for hungry kids in Albuquerque each school year. Rev. Todd is a pastor, artist, innovator, philosopher, mystic, and curator… and he always loves to find new people with whom to follow Jesus.
Rev. Carlos Ramirez, Oklahoma Conference
Rev. Carlos Ramirez currently serves the Oklahoma Annual Conference as the Director of Communications and Strategy. Over the years, he has been appointed as the Conference Associate Director for Congregational Vitality and coordinator for Hispanic/Latino Ministry; as lead pastor for local congregations; and, as a BOGM missionary to the OK Office of Mission, focused on Hispanic/Latino ministry and intercultural development. Through ministry in the local church, he has helped to establish new church plants, grow membership through new services and facilities expansion, and has developed meaningful relationships with community partners. Ramirez, originally from Puebla, Mexico, graduated from the Methodist Seminary in Mexico City Baez Camargo, and earned a Masters in Theological Studies at Philips Theological Seminary. Carlos is married to Rev. Wendi Neal, whom he met through Perkins School of Theology in Mexico; they have two children.
Teresa Bolin, CLM
Teresa “Tee” Bolin has served the Arkansas United Methodist Conference as the Director of Lay Servant Ministries since July 2023 and is a Certified Spiritual Director and Supervisor through SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Theresa hopes to partner with others as mentors to laity who answer the call to certified lay ministry, seeing many more lay seek out this program in the past year. She is blessed to journey as a Spiritual Director Supervisor of students within the Spiritual Director Program and to lead PEER and individual sessions outside the program. Her work as a businesswoman has a long history and she currently serves as a project manager in our Woman Owned Business that focuses on large scale industrial and commercial painting, welding, and sandblasting projects. “Tee” is married to my husband, Rev. Michael Bolin, ARUMC Elder serving Searcy First UMC; mother to local Pastor Cheyann Chambers appointed to Kensett and Bald Knob; mother-in-law to Jason, a certified chaplain at UAMS; and grandmother to three amazing grandsons.
Rev. Stephen Copley
Rev. Stephen Copley is a retired elder in the Arkansas Conference UMC, currently serving as the Senior Pastor of the De Queen, Gillham, Hatfield and Wickes Cooperative Parish. He has served churches (including two appointments in Great Britain) and worked as a Church and Community Worker for the General Board of Global Ministry over his forty years in Ministry. Copley has degrees from the University of Central Arkansas (B.A.), Southern Methodist University (Perkins School of Theology-M.Div.), University of Arkansas-Little Rock William Bowen School of Law (J.D.), and St. Paul School of Theology (D.Min.) He is married to Judi Copley, a retired school teacher.
Rev. Haley Jones
Haley joined the staff of First United Methodist Church, Little Rock as Pastor of Community Engagement in September 2017. She is a native of the Mississippi Annual Conference and made the official transfer to Arkansas in 2023. After graduating from seminary at Boston University School of Theology in 2015, she spent two years on the Reconciliation Ministry Team at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, England. She expanded the depth of her community engagement ministry in 2024 by becoming a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW). Haley has a passion for reconciliation, building strong communities, mental health access, and helping faithful people be “repairers of the breach” to live into God’s call for shalom. She seeks to model and teach faithful people how cultivating holy relationships is the foundation of loving like Jesus. Her heart leans in towards God’s beloved children on the margins including the unsheltered, the poor, and those struggling with substance abuse.
Johnna Kosnoff, CLM
Johnna Kosnoff moved to Bentonville in 2022 and transferred her Certified Lay Minister credentials from the New England Conference. Prior to becoming a CLM, Johnna served in various lay ministry positions in both urban and suburban churches, located in Indianapolis, Wisconsin, California, Hong Kong, and Massachusetts. While working through the CLM program, she served as part of a 4 person Lay Ministry team at FUMC in North Attleboro, MA, while they were without an ordained pastor. She is now assigned to serve at FUMC Bentonville and works as the Community Development Coordinator while chairing the Environmental Care Team and Missional Prayer group. As part of her Community Development role, Johnna coordinates with 3 Bentonville public partner schools and finds ways for her congregation to support areas of need in the community.
Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow
Elder Ronnie Miller-Yow was appointed as senior pastor of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in 2023. The membership there has grown considerably since with many Philander-Smith students taking an active role in leadership and participation. Yow earned a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and while teaching elementary school students, Yow finally answered the call to preach the gospel. Elder Ronnie Miller-Yow and his wife, Shantella are blessed with two children: Paulea and Mason.
Rev. Brad Moore
Pastor Brad Moore is an ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the pastor at First United Methodist Church in Clinton, and Leslie United Methodist Church.. Clinton and Leslie United Methodist churches began their cooperative parish relationship in July of 2023. One of Pastor Moore’s greatest joys is leading two churches that are excited about growing together through fellowship and collaborative ministry.
Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
The Rev. Dr. Michelle J. Morris is an ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference. She served Arkansas churches in West Memphis, Fort Smith, FUMC Conway, and now serves as the Lead Pastor at FUMC Bentonville. She has also served in the Arkansas Conference Offices, working on church revitalization and new church starts. That work gave rise to Gospel Discipleship, two books (a participant and congregation guide) which help people understand their discipleship in terms of paths spelled out in each of the four Gospels. Conference work also involved building a statewide online learning system, COuRSE, which led her into exploring educational possibilities with new technology. In Bentonville, she has led ministry experimentation with augmented and virtual reality, and encourages her team to ethically use AI for their work. She is currently working on a book that looks at how the major prophets line up with the current major generations.
Kelli Reep, APR
Kelli Reep, APR, is the owner of Flywrite Communications, the premier public relations agency of Mabelvale, AR, and the director of communications for Methodist Family Health. She writes for 501 Life Magazine, Arkansas Money & Politics, Arkansas Times, the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church and Inviting Arkansas. She manages the social media accounts for a native village in Alaska, Faith United Methodist Church, Geyer Springs United Methodist Church and Oak Forest United Methodist Church. She enjoys napping as much as possible, reading and pie.