FROM THE BISHOP
R. LAWSON BRYAN
Where are we
Alive Together in Christ in South Georgia? Where is God moving?
I want to share with you several specific answers to those questions. God is moving in the lives of those who are sensing a call to ordained ministry and who are responding to that call. For example, at our Annual Conference session in June, 11 people will be ordained or commissioned. That is one of the largest classes to be ordained/commissioned in several years. God is moving in the South Georgia Conference by calling men and women into ordained ministry. I know you will want to join me in prayers of thanksgiving to God for these 11 faithful people and in praying for even more to respond to God’s call in the years ahead.
But that’s not all.
God is moving among us in the lives of those who are responding to the call to become Certified Lay Ministers. A Certified Lay Minister is a church member who has received the kind of training that allows a district superintendent to assign that person to any of several possible roles: to conduct public worship, care for the congregation, assist in program leadership, develop new and existing faith communities, preach the Word, lead small groups, and more. Currently we have a large group of laity who are proceeding through the training. Certified Lay Minister training is ideal for the many laity in our churches who want to be equipped to respond to God’s call without having to become ordained clergy. For more information on the
Certified Lay Minister program, contact the
Office of Connectional Ministries.
God is moving among young adults in South Georgia. I have been working with our district superintendents to increase the number of annual conference delegates who are under 40 years of age. Thanks to the young adults who have answered to the “call” to serve as At-Large delegates. Their response means that we will have a noticeable increase in young adults when we gather June 2-5 in Columbus. I expect this trend to grow each year as we “call” increasing number of young adults to serve as At-Large delegates.
God is moving among us in these very specific ways. Hallelujah!
Alive Together in Christ,
Lawson Bryan
