| 2019 South District Charge Conferences |
There are four different opportunities
for Charge Conferences! EACH CHURCH MUST ATTEND AT LEAST ONE.
All charge conferences are from 9 am to 11:30 am on Saturday mornings.
September 28, 2019 Satellite Ministry: Multiplication & Church Growth at West Lawn UMC
October 12, 2019 Intentional Discipleship Systems at Lima UMC
October 19, 2019 Urban Ministry in the 21st Century at Eastwick UM
November 2, 2019 Mission Possible: Structure Your Church for Missional Effectiveness
September 28, 2019
Satellite Ministry: Multiplication & Church Growth
Location: West Lawn UMC 15 Woodside Ave. Reading, PA 19609
Agenda:
9 am Registration (sign in; breakfast; voting record)
9:15 Welcome
9:30-10:30 Plenary with Rev. Dr. Rodney T. Smothers
10:30-10:45 Q&A
10:45 am-11:30 am Charge Conference Business
District Updates
11:30 Departure
Rev. Dr. Rodney T. Smothers,
Director of Leadership and Congregational Development, Baltimore-Washington Conference, Leadership Coach, Training Facilitator
Dr. Smothers has founded new congregations and served as the lead pastor of multicultural, urban and suburban congregations. He has served as the Director of Evangelism at the General Board of Discipleship, a Path 1 New Church Development Coach, and Conference Director of Congregational Development for the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. Dr. Smothers has also served as an adjunct seminary professor; he taught courses in Church Administration, Evangelism, UM History, Preaching and Worship. As a church leadership coach and training facilitator, he resources local churches and denominational leaders in the areas of congregational health, and ministry effectiveness.
October 12, 2019
Intentional Discipleship Systems
Location: Lima UMC, 209 N. Middletown Road, Lima, PA 19037
Agenda:
9 am Registration (sign in; breakfast; voting record)
9:15 Welcome
9:30-10:30 Plenary - (with Rev. Junius B. Dotson)
10:30-10:45 Q&A
10:45 am-11:30 am Charge Conference Business & District Updates
11:30 Departure
Rev. Junius B. Dotson, General Secretary/CEO of Discipleship Ministries
A nationally recognized leader, speaker, and author on evangelism and church revitalization, the Rev. Junius B. Dotson is the General Secretary (chief executive officer) of Discipleship Ministries, an international agency of The United Methodist Church with a staff of 135. Dotson launched “See All The People”, the highly successful church-wide initiative that helps church leaders concentrate on intentional discipleship, while learning new behaviors around engaging their surrounding community.
Rev. Dotson is the author of Developing an Intentional Discipleship System: A Guide for Congregations, and Engaging Your Community: A Guide to Seeing All the People. Both resources help congregations look beyond their walls, acknowledging that God calls us to have “meaningful relationships in authentic, organic and consistent ways.” His newest book, Soul Reset: Breakdown, Breakthrough, and the Journey to Wholeness (Upper Room Books) is set for release in September 2019.
As a leader who responds to challenges and opportunities in new and creative ways, Rev. Dotson believes that effective ministry is about training, developing, and empowering leaders to establish ministries that address the needs of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.
His current 90-second daily radio series, “See All The People”, is featured on more than 40 stations across the U.S. His ministry has been featured in The Tennessean, The San Jose Mercury News, The San Francisco Examiner, The Sacramento Bee, The Wichita Eagle, religious journals and segments on CBS Radio’s “The Osgood File,” as well as on ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates in San Francisco, San Jose and Wichita.
Prior to his present position, Rev. Dotson was Senior Pastor of Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, where he was instrumental in transforming the 3,500-member church into a multi-campus congregation.
Rev. Dotson received his undergraduate degree in political science, with a concentration in economics, at the University of Texas at Arlington. While attending UT-Arlington, he was president of the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s oldest African-American fraternity. Rev. Dotson began his graduate work at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He was ordained in June 1992.
In 1996, Rev. Dotson responded to the challenge of planting Genesis United Methodist Church, a new and innovative church in the Silicon Valley of California, which grew into a diverse faith community of nearly 500 people.
October 19, 2019
Urban Ministry in the 21st Century
Location: Eastwick UMC, 8321 Lindbergh Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19153
Agenda:
9 am Registration (sign in; breakfast; voting record)
9:15 Welcome
9:30-10:30 Plenary - (Rev. Jasmine Smothers)
10:30-10:45 Q&A
10:45 am-11:30 am Charge Conference Business & District Updates
11:30 Departure
Rev. Jasmine Smothers
Lead Pastor Atlanta First United Methodist Church, Leadership Coach, Consultant, Author
Jasmine Rose Smothers is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She is a sought after preacher, teacher, workshop leader, church consultant, leadership coach, Birkman Certified Consultant, author, community advocate, self-proclaimed technology geek, and amateur shutterbug!
Jasmine Rose Smothers currently serves as the Lead Pastor of the historic Atlanta First United Methodist Church. She is the first female, the first person of color, and the youngest leader in the congregation’s 172-year history. Jasmine’s love for the urban center of the City of Atlanta; her dedication to inclusive church communities; and her call to help lead people to abundant life makes her appointment to Atlanta First a perfect fit!
Previously, she served as Associate Director for Congregational Vitality through the Office of Connectional Ministries in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. In this role, Rev. Jasmine partnered with congregational leaders to equip them for maximum effective ministry in church and community. Rev. Jasmine served as the primary staff resource for several ministry initiatives including working to increase the vitality of congregations; racial-ethnic ministries; and the development of young clergy leaders.
She has served the United Methodist Church as a member of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race; the Ministry Study Commission; and several task forces on Ministry with Young People. Rev. Jasmine is a 2015-2016 Lewis Center for Church Leadership Community Fellow. Rev. Jasmine currently serves as a member of the United Methodist Church’s Commission on a Way Forward and is a 2018 alum of LEAD Atlanta.
In March 2017, Rev. Jasmine was inducted into Morehouse College’s prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Board of Preachers. Rev. Jasmine has been named one of the “12+ Preachers that the English Speaking World Needs Now” by Nevertheless She Preached.
Rev. Jasmine has also contributed to several publications and is the co-author, with Dr. F. Douglas Powe, Jr., of The Washington Post bestselling book, Not Safe For Church: The Ten Commandments for Reaching New Generations. Rev. Jasmine’s latest book, with Dr. Rodney T. Smothers and Rev. Lia McIntosh, “Blank Slate: Right Your Own Rules for a Twenty-Second Century Church Movement” is due out in March 2019.
Rev. Jasmine is a native of Atlanta, GA. She is an amateur shutterbug; loves music; spending time with her family and friends, and traveling the globe. Jasmine is a Birkman Certified Consultant. She is a graduate of Spelman College (B.A., Political Science) and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology (M.Div.).
Above all, Jasmine loves God, loves the Church, and is committed to “equipping the saints for the work of ministry” so that the world may know and be transformed through Christ!
November 2, 2019
Mission Possible: Structure Your Church for Missional Effectiveness
Location: Wayne UMC, 210 South Wayne Ave., Wayne, PA 19087
Agenda:
9 am Registration (sign in; breakfast; voting record)
9:15 Welcome
9:30-10:30 Plenary (Kay L. Kotan)
10:30-10:45 Q&A
10:45 am-11:30 am Charge Conference Business & District Updates
11:30 Departure
Kay L. Kotan, PCC, Arkansas Conference Director for the Center for Vitality
Kay Kotan currently serves as the Director of Equipping Vital Congregations for the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church. Her responsibilities include congregational revitalization and new church starts. She will begin a new position in Arkansas starting July 1st as the Director for the Center for Vitality again having responsibility for revitalization and new places for new people.
She is a CoachU and Advanced Coach U Graduate, an accredited coach (Professional Certified Coach – PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, certified Path 1 coach, and once served on the faculty at Coaching4Clergy. As a passionate lay person, she has worked in banking and was a business owner for more than 20 years. Kotan has been serving churches, pastors, conferences, and judicatory leaders for the past decade. She is most proud to be the wife of Bob for 26 years and the mother of their 23 year-old son, Cameron.
Kay is the author of multiple books/workbooks including Gear Up: Nine Essential Processes for the Optimized Church, Mission Possible: Structuring Your Church for Missional Effectiveness, Full Schedules, Barren Souls as well as the co-author of the book entitled, IMPACT!: Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry, Small Church Check-Up, Insights on Productivity, Strategic Ministry Planning, Renovate or Die – Ten Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission, Ministry 3.0 and Get Their Name , Ten Prescriptions for a Healthy Church and Necessary Nine – Nine Things Effective Pastors Do Differently. This fall her newest book on leadership co-authored with Phil Schroeder will be available titled, Launching Leaders.
Mrs. Kotan spends her time investing in pastors, laity leaders, churches, and judicatory leaders in teaching, coaching, creating resources, and moving them into greater effectiveness and fruitfulness in their ministries to reach more people for Jesus Christ. She is an enthusiastic and passionate presenter who challenges her workshop participates in both their thinking and their doing.
Mrs. Kotan spends her time investing in pastors, laity leaders, churches, and judicatory leaders in teaching, coaching, creating resources, and moving them into greater effectiveness and fruitfulness in their ministries to reach more people for Jesus Christ. She is an enthusiastic and passionate presenter who challenges her workshop participates in both their thinking and their doing.
