"January/February Small Membership Churches enewsletter" Rev. Micki McCorkle of The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 25 February 2016

"January/February Small Membership Churches enewsletter" Rev. Micki McCorkle of The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 25 February 2016

VBS: Road Trip Curriculum

By the end of February, the Road Trip curriculum will be available for churches to use! For only $50 you have access to:
All songs
Opening and closing skits with notes of what music and videos are used for each day
Curriculum for all 5 days – including crafts, recreation, story, snack recipes, country information
Pdfs of posters and passports
Order form to have Sullivan Gang print posters and passports for you, at an extra cost
Road Trip is a curriculum developed specifically by and for the Great Plains Conference. It is based on our 3 mission partnerships in Haiti, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Day 4 is the Great Plains and Day 5 is your home town/community/county. The first 3 days, students learn about our partner countries through games, food and crafts. Story time each day is 5 of the partnerships of Paul in the Bible and how they worked together with Paul to share the gospel – as we are working together with our partner organizations to share the gospel too. Day 4 is a look at Native American games, food and crafts here in our region. Day 5 focuses on outreach to our own communities.
On the Road Trip webpage, you will be able to download the overview of the week and the intro to the curriculum for free! Email Micki McCorkle with any questions.
Summer Internship Opportunities

Do you know of young adults ages 18-25 looking for meaningful work this summer? Invite them to apply to be a conference intern working with Vacation Bible School! It pays a stipend plus room and board. The interns have fun working with children while making a difference in their lives. More information here.
Some tips on:
Welcoming visitors:
http://www.umcom.org/learn/youre-welcome-quick-and-timeless-tips-for-greeting-visitors-this-easter
Recruiting volunteers:
http://www.umcom.org/learn/recruiting-volunteers-when-begging-bargaining-and-badgering-doesnt-work
Creative ways to do Bible study (can be used with a variety of ages!):
http://www.umcom.org/learn/10-creative-ways-to-explore-a-Bible-passage
Vacation Bible School led by Young Adults!

Apply to have a team of 4-5 young adults lead VBS in your community! The young adults will bring energy and fun to your VBS this year. If you haven't had a VBS for a while, this is a great year to restart with the help of a young adult VBS team. This year's theme is Cokesbury’s Surf Shack! It promises to be great fun for all! Fill out the application. Email Micki McCorkle with any questions.
Resources - Factual tidbits for our ministries:
Statistics about Faith and Religion from 2015:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/22/15-striking-findings-from-2015/
Technology and younger generations:
http://www.churchleadership.com/leadingideas/leaddocs/2016/160127_article.html

Rev. Micki McCorkle
Small Membership Church Coordinator
9440 East Boston, Suite 110
Wichita Kansas 67207, United States
800-745-2350 or 316-684-0266
Cell: 316-210-3996
mmccorkle@greatplainsumc.org
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