Spartanburg District ministry fair showcases creative ministries

On Saturday, Sept. 24, the Spartanburg District sponsored the “Open Doors for A New Day” ministry fair at Spartanburg Methodist College.

The ministry fair showcased churches with new and creative ministries to share ways congregations can meet the changing needs of communities. Seventeen ministries presented the purpose of their ministry; if the ministry was in partnership with another church, community group or agency; how the ministry is resourced; and how the community receives and benefits from the ministry.

After the presentations, laity and clergy were given the opportunity to peruse the ministry booths to learn more about the ministries presented.

Unity and Bethel Spartanburg’s Mobile VBS (Vacation Bible School) was one of the ministries showcased. With the Mobile VBS, Bethel Spartanburg’s Youth Ministry traveled to Union and walked the neighborhood to invite children in the community to Unity’s VBS. Unity is an elderly congregation that does not have any children in the congregation, and the turnout was great.

For another ministry, St. James created a Pickle Ball Court in their gymnasium and created a community garden. Both ministries are open to the community, which in turn has opened the door for St. James to build relationships with its surrounding community and has encouraged many of the new people to join St. James in other areas of ministry.

Silver Hill Memorial UMC, St. James, Central and the Church of the Covenant have come together to share youth ministry activities, which allows churches with fewer youth to have a larger group of youth and reduces the responsibility on just one or two youth leaders. Joel Humphries, the high school-age son of the Revs. Heather and Brian Humphries, shared that it was fun to join with other church youth and not to be the only youth participating in an event.

The full list of ministries showcased appears on the Spartanburg District webpage at https://www.umcsc.org/spartanburg-district.

The events of the day also featured a time of sharing from South Carolina’s Resident Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, free barbecue and fun and games for the entire family, which included an inflatable obstacle course enjoyed by the kids and attracted some of Spartanburg Methodist College’s students who were invited to also enjoy the barbecue.

Spartanburg Methodist College partnered with the Spartanburg District in this fruitful day, and the Spartanburg District Connectional Ministries team coordinated the event. Organizers hope both laity and clergy were inspired to launch out into the deep as God’s people face the challenge of engaging and ministering to an ever-changing community.