Janson Steffan, who serves as the worship leader and adminstrative assistant for West Fargo Flame of Faith UMC, gets ready for game night. Photo courtesy of Flame of Faith Facebook page.

Summertime is here. Have you thought about what you are doing to engage people in your community this summer? Four congregations: Flame of Faith UMC in West Fargo, North Dakota, Miller United Methodist Church in South Dakota, Southern Hills UMC in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sterling UMC in North Dakota, are reaching out in unique ways.
 

Wednesday Worship at Flame of Faith UMC

Attendance at worship can dwindle in the summer as people head off on vacations and enjoy outdoor activities. Flame of Faith UMC in West Fargo, North Dakota is offering a Wednesday night worship service to fill the attendance gap. 

It all starts with a meal at 5:30 p.m. at the church. The meal is followed by a casual worship service and activity. Game night was a hit. Everyone brought their favorite board games to play and enjoyed ice cream.

"When we kicked off Wednesday worship, our summer attendance doubled," says Pastor Sara McManus, who serves Flame of Faith UMC.

 

Children play outside at Southeast Pierre Community Center the night of the Banquet. Photo by Dave Stucke.

Feeding the hungry at Miller UMC

Miller UMC in Miller, South Dakota recently hosted the Feeding South Dakota mobile food pantry. The truck parked in the church parking lot to distribute food items in the Miller area. A total of 220 people received food items from 22 volunteers from Miller UMC.

Members of the congregation also served at Banquet at Southeast Pierre Community Center. The banquet serves a warm meal, prepared by various volunteer groups in the Pierre Area, at 5-7 p.m. Volunteer groups are from churches, businesses, and community organizations. There were 14 volunteers from Miller UMC that served 262 meals. 

Southern Hills holds mental health awareness Sunday.

Southern Hills UMC in Sioux Falls, South Dakota recently held a couple of Sundays where there was a particular focus on social issues. National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) Sunday featured guest speaker John Williams from NAMI of South Dakota. Williams highlighted mental illness and the mission of NAMI. 

Tom Roberts, a South Dakota children's author, was also present and shared his new children's book "A New Norm." "A New Norm" is a poetic tale that is intended to reflect the feelings of those of us who struggle with anxiety, depression, grief, anger, doubt, shame, fear and more, yet encourage that difficulties such as these can be overcome. Tom also provided a workshop during the Sunday school hour for fourth-eighth graders. 

"It was an enlightening Sunday as we learn to keep our focus on the joy and peace that Jesus provides through challenging times," says Pastor Don Vanderlip, who serves Southern Hills UMC. "One of the members of our congregation, Lauri Jackson also invited us to participate in the NAMI walk with her team Chainbreakers." 

VBS is a hit at Sterling UMC

The United Methodist Church in Sterling, North Dakota has an average weekly worship attendance of 40 and a Sunday School attendance of 25. There were 16 kids at Vacation Bible School recently. The theme was about the life and times of Jesus, based on the Jesus movie— the biblical story of Luke. 

The average attendance at Vacation Bible School in the past has been 5-6 kids. This year 16 kids attended. There are only two families in the town that have children. The church is located in a community that has very few people living in town. Most of the people live in the country on farms and ranches. 

"We made an effort to reach out to families in the area, and we moved VBS a week earlier," says Pastor Marlin Sapp, who serves the congregation of Sterling. "Out of the 16 that attended, coming to VBS was a first-time experience for ten children.

These ideas were reported in the Dakotas Conference Vital Signs dashboard. On July 7, Vital Signs reporting will be transitioning. Look for information to come from your district superintendent.