WORKSHOPS
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND IS PART OF THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM.
AVAILABLE WORKSHOPS
A Church Brave Enough to Heal: Practical Pathways for Churches to Support Community
Presented by Rev. Charity Goodwin and Ashley Pondoff
Salt and light show up where people are hurting … steadily, wisely and with practical love. In many communities, mental health challenges (anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and addiction/recovery needs) are common, yet stigma often keeps people silent. Churches can unintentionally reinforce that stigma unless we intentionally build cultures and pathways of care.
This 90-minute interactive workshop equips pastors and lay leaders to support mental health and wellbeing in their local context while staying clear about scope (we are not therapy) and strengthening partnerships with trained professionals, peers who are further along in their healing in an area and community resources. Participants will engage in discussion, storytelling and hands-on planning to leave with actionable next steps.
Together, we will explore three practical ways to support wellbeing in church and community to:
Reduce stigma and increase safety
Create proactive and responsive methods to support growth and healing
Cultivate community partnerships
Participants will complete a simple “One Next Step Plan” for their church, including one way to reduce stigma, one group to start and one partnership to cultivate plus who will own the next step.
About the Facilitators
REV. CHARITY GOODWIN
As a mom, pastor, and one who has suffered panic attacks and body break down from stress and anxiety, Rev. Charity Goodwin’s continual journey is to support others to honor and navigate feelings and their place in life, leadership and spirituality. Rev. Goodwin is a speaker on discipleship and leadership as well as spiritual wholeness and emotional wellness. She’s the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Groups at The Gathering in St. Louis. Rev. Goodwin strengthens her ministry with certifications in Emotional Intelligence from Six Seconds. She’s the author of GET UP: Unearthing Your Passion and Taking Brave Action in 50 Days. She’s married to Yusupha (YOU-soo-fah) and is mom to Gabriel (15) and Levi (13).
ASHLEY PONDOFF
Ashley Pondoff is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has spent the past 15 years helping people find growth and healing in the midst of life’s hardest seasons. She serves as Wellness Director at The Gathering in St. Louis, where she creates spaces for honest conversation, support and connection within the church and the wider community. Originally from Los Angeles, Ashley now calls St. Louis home and loves reading, spending time with her husband Chris and son Charlie, and hearing people’s stories over a good cup of coffee.
Advocacy 101: How a Justice Ministry Can Transform Your Church and Community
Presented by Trish Gunby
Is justice work political or biblical? Does your church participate in mercy work but not justice work? What's the difference? How can church leaders and members engage with elected officials? Do you want to bring life to the phrase, "What would Jesus do?" These questions and more will be answered in a non-partisan way by a lifelong United Methodist who served in the Missouri General Assembly.
Scripture and Jesus' teachings will provide a basis for this work and will move beyond study to faith in action. Together we’ll explore resource materials from the General Board of Church and Society, like the Social Principles, will be explored so participants can understand what the Bible says about societal issues, the position of The United Methodist Church on these issues, facts relating to them, and how members can respond in their communities.
The workshop will move into engagement with elected officials and how to find their contact information for effective interactions. We’ll discuss how bills move through the legislature, and we’ll review examples of how the Missouri Conference has responded to pending legislation. Time will also be given to reviewing news sources for bias, fact checking news stories and learning how to spot misinformation.
Showing up is the first step in advocacy work. Acknowledging that discomfort in this work is part of the journey will prepare participants for the work ahead inside and outside their church walls.
About the Facilitator
TRISH GUNBY
Trish Gunby is a lifelong United Methodist who has been a member of Manchester UMC in St. Louis for 30 years. She has participated in almost every ministry there except choir and was its first social justice coordinator. Her justice work in Church and out in her community led to elected office where she served as a state representative in the Missouri House of Representatives for District 99. Now she speaks on racial justice issues, is a Missouri Conference culture coach, and serves on the MOST Policy Initiative board and Freedom Suits Memorial Foundation board. She has been married to Mark, a retired internist, for 37 years and has two grown children who question if she's really retired.
Living as Salt and Light in God’s Mission: Practicing Mutuality and Solidarity
Presented by David McCormick
Mission is something we live and learn together. In this workshop, we’ll explore how the UMC Global Ministries theology of mission calls us to live as Christ’s salt and light — preserving dignity, revealing God’s presence and bearing witness through solidarity. We will reflect on how this calling seasons the world with God’s grace and illuminates God’s love in all we do. Using stories, discussion and practical examples, we’ll consider how mutual partnership and deep solidarity help us embody this calling in ways that honor the dignity and gifts of every community. Whether you’re experienced in mission or just starting out, this session invites us to learn from one another and leave equipped to shine brightly and serve faithfully in our local contexts.
About the Facilitator
DAVID MCCORMICK
David McCormick serves as the Mission Engagement Liaison for the Boards of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry, where he helps connect churches with the worldwide mission of The United Methodist Church. A former United Methodist missionary to Mozambique, David has been engaged with the mission and humanitarian ministries of the UMC since 2016. His calling centers on celebrating how God’s people embody the love of Christ through partnership, solidarity and shared witness. David approaches mission as a strengths-based practice — connecting passions to passion, gifts to gifts and communities to one another in ways that honor God’s presence already at work among them. Originally from the Louisiana Conference, he now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his family. He is energized by helping congregations discover the joy, responsibility and grace of participating in God’s mission in their local and global contexts.
Mission Trips as Discipleship
Presented by Rev. Chris Reyes
How can a mission trip be more than just mission tourism and bring lasting change to both those we serve and those who serve? How do immersive mission experiences help to make disciples?
Mission trips have often been thought of as a nice thing to do and a way for people to live out their faith through works of compassion and justice; Something to do when you have the time and money but not essential to discipleship. What if we could reframe mission trips as an experience that moves people along in their discipleship journey while being salt and light to the world?
In this workshop we will explore how a mission trip, whether local, regional or international, can not only impact the people who live there but be a tool for discipleship. Using experience leading many mission trips, from local to international, and recent doctoral research into how personal experience impacts the beliefs and practices of individuals, this workshop will give you practical tools and tips to plan your church’s next mission trip and make it more impactful for all involved.
About the Facilitator
REV. CHRIS REYES
Rev. Dr. Chris Reyes is an ordained deacon serving at the Pastor of Discipleship at Memorial UMC in Farmington. He recently received his DMin in Leadership for Public Theology. His experience in mission work extends 20 years back, and he has led trips ranging from local mission weeks to the inaugural trip to Peru from the Missouri Conference. He has a passion for helping Christians move forward on their discipleship journey and believes that intentional mission trips help people to do so. He is married to Ellen Reyes, and they live in Farmington with their boys and dogs.
Our Future is Now: A Strategic 90-Minute Blueprint for Small and Midsize BIPOC Churches
Presented by Rev. Danielle Quinn
In this 90-minute workshop, church leaders will step into a futuristic, strategic way of thinking about mission, money, people and presence. We’ll move beyond survival questions like “How do we keep the lights on?” and into strategy questions “What assets do we already have, and what future can we build with them?”.
You’ll learn how to lead like an anchor institution in your neighborhood — without needing a big staff, a big budget or a big building. Together, we’ll map your congregation’s hidden and visible assets (relationships, reputation, space, skills, partnerships, stories and spiritual authority) then translate those assets into a focused, sustainable impact strategy for the next three to five years.
Pocket Salt and Porch Lights: A Hands-on Neighboring Lab
Presented by Rev. Shawn Franssens
Jesus calls us salt and light (Matthew 5:13–16), but how do we bring out the God-flavors and God-colors of the gospel on front porches, in school hallways, at coffee shops and in our actual neighborhoods?
What we need are practices, not a lecture. Pocket Salt and Porch Lights: A Hands-on Neighboring Lab is a take-it-with-you workshop for clergy and laity ready to trade “another church thing” for a way of life intentionally focused on ordinary relationships and the everyday places we already show up. Expect practical tools, table collaboration and a concrete plan: Clear purpose, simple rhythms and next steps you can put into practice immediately. Whether you’ve got a staff team or it’s just you and a calendar, you’ll leave with tools that scale with your context, including a customized 90-day roadmap to aim toward National Good Neighbor Day (Sept. 28, 2026). Together we’ll make sure neighboring doesn’t become another great idea that loses its seasoning and shine before you even get started.
About the Facilitator
REV. SHAWN FRANSSENS
Shawn Franssens is a United Methodist pastor in Kansas City who is passionate about helping people live a tangible, hope-filled faith in everyday life. He brings a creative, collaborative spirit to ministry and loves gathering people to play, learn and share as they explore practical next steps together. Shawn is energized by stories of transformation, the often quiet work of neighboring and communities discovering how to live better together. Whether preaching, leading or encouraging experiments in discipleship and mission, he is drawn to simple practices that help ordinary people show up with courage and compassion right where they are.
Spreadsheets and Sanctuaries: Salt and Light Behind the Scenes
Presented by Rev. Andy Blacksher
Church administration is often treated as a necessary burden: Something to manage so that “real ministry” can happen. But administration either strengthens or limits a church’s ability to live on mission. When administration is healthy, the whole church shines the light of Christ brighter.
Pastors and lay leaders will explore together how faithful leadership in areas like budgeting, governance, facilities and staffing can create clarity, alignment and momentum for the whole church.
Participants will engage in facilitated conversations focused on the topics that matter most in their own ministry contexts. Bring your real questions. Learn from peers facing similar challenges. Share practical wisdom. Gain insights you can implement immediately. The session will conclude with a panel of executive pastors and church administrators from across the Conference who will offer practical perspective and hard-won experience.
You’ll leave with clearer understanding, renewed confidence and tangible tools for navigating church administration. Just as importantly, you’ll build relationships with fellow leaders — people you can call to swap ideas, troubleshoot challenges and offer support long after Annual Conference ends.
About the Facilitator
REV. ANDY BLACKSHER
Rev. Dr. Andy Blacksher serves as Executive Pastor of Manchester UMC in St. Louis and brings nearly two decades of pastoral experience and practical know-how to church administration. Andy loves helping churches rediscover that healthy systems aren’t obstacles to ministry — they’re fuel for it. He’ll be joined by several seasoned (and battle-tested!) executive pastors, executive directors and operations staff from across the Missouri Conference. Each bring hard-won wisdom from congregations of various settings. Together, they form the MO UMC Executive Network, a collaborative team committed to sharing ideas, solving challenge, and helping churches not just function but thrive.
Strategic Ministry Planning: Why Clarity Matters for Being Salt and Light
Presented by Rev. Brett Reith
Feel stuck, overwhelmed or unsure of what comes next? To be seasoned for service and to shine in mission, we must first know our why. When local churches lack clarity about their contextual purpose, even faithful efforts can drift toward institutional survival and fragmented ministry approaches. Strategic ministry planning helps congregations move beyond such outcomes by discerning and articulating their God-given mission, vision, core values and ministry priorities, while also serving as a shared accountability tool for both church leadership and laity.
This workshop will begin by grounding strategic ministry planning in the call of all churches to intentional mission, faithful service and prayerful planning. Participants will then be introduced to a live example of a strategic ministry plan, with a guided, step-by-step walkthrough of how one church has engaged in this process over the past five years. By sharing specific experiences, lessons learned and real ministry outcomes, participants will gain practical tools for beginning a strategic ministry planning process in their own local churches.
About the Facilitator
REV. BRETT REITH
Brett Reith is a passionate leader, communicator and collaborator with over 15 years of experience in local church ministry as both lay staff and clergy, complemented by leadership experience in business and nonprofit organizations. He works with churches and organizations to help them clarify purpose and live out their mission with authenticity and excellence. Brett currently serves as president of a growing local chamber of commerce and brings a unique perspective at the intersection of church, community and civic life. A gifted speaker and teacher, Brett’s leadership is shaped by compassionate communication, focused excellence, gracious authenticity, spiritual curiosity and purposeful relationships.