Celebrating South Georgia UMC Lay Planters
By Rev. Stephanie Smith
Why Jesus? Why New Disciples? Why New Places?
Eight South Georgia United Methodist lay persons took a leap of faith and began to answer those three questions during the inaugural Lay Planters Academy facilitated by the South Georgia Conference Congregational Development Team.
Laurie Cigal, Mary Fletcher, Michelle Reeves, Roger Presnell, Steven Rowe, Chris Cigal, Diane James, and Margaret Wheeler committed to a 10-week online training and mentoring course through Path 1, a division of Discipleship Ministries. The course offered a time of intentional discernment, visioning, strategy planning, and implementation. Anne Bosarge, Director of Leadership Strategies and Local Church Resources for the annual conference, and Revs. Stephanie Smith and Jeremy Alexander, conference cultivators, helped facilitate the curriculum.
Participation in the Lay Planters Academy is a way to train and equip South Georgia laity to return to their settings to do new things.
“Here in South Georgia, we are seizing the opportunity to start new things for new people in new places,” said Bosarge. “We are seeing a resurgence of grassroots efforts among our laity to dive deeply into disciple-making using new models for church planting like home churches, fresh expressions and more. Can you imagine what it will be like in a few years when laity across the conference will be engaged in leading discipleship efforts across the conference? These discipleship groups and home churches will be able to meet in all kinds of places, made up of all kinds of people.”
The lay planters finished their course assignments, read additional books, met with their mentors, and began the process of developing ministries they felt led to start. To round out the 10 weeks, these 8 individuals joined representatives from the Congregational Development Team on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at the Methodist Home for Children and Youth in Macon to celebrate all of their accomplishments. They also shared the vision God has placed upon their hearts.
Some of the visions that God has been pouring into these lay planters are:
- Committing to local church revitalization,
- Starting a home church for those who feel left out of the traditional church,
- Sports ministries for kids in urban areas with care and support from local church leaders,
- Outreach, worship, and discipleship for lower income neighborhoods,
- Developing a new and welcoming ESOL program to help facilitate life in an English-speaking community, and
- Creating a network of resources for victims of abuse, with counseling, classes, meals together, and intentional partnership with area churches for support.
For more information on how you can be part of what God is doing in South Georgia, contact Anne Bosarge (abosarge@sgaumc.com), Rev. Stephanie Smith (ssmith@sgaumc.com) or Rev. Jeremy Alexander (jalexander@sgaumc.com).
Rev. Stephanie Smith is the associate pastor at Pittman Park UMC in Statesboro and is working with district and conference communications.