Let the countdown begin!

WOW is now less than a month away, and momentum is building. Already we have more than 125 people registered, and 22 sponsoring churches on board!

This is the most significant opportunity for training and inspiration in our Conference this year. We guarantee you will come away energized, equipped, and inspired for transformational ministry!

Have you registered yet? Will your church be represented?

Pre-Conference Intensive Seminars

Pre-Conference Intensive Seminars
Thursday, November 6
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
$40 per person (includes lunch)
Maximum of $120 per team from one local church if registered by Sept. 30

I. Natural Church Development Tune-Up
Presenter: Jeannette Buller Slater

Would you like to double your effectiveness with NCD and discover the key to lasting result that will improve the health of your church? Join us along with your Church Health Team for spirited discussions and practical tips for applying NCD. This workshop is designed to empower and encourage those involved in NCD and inspire those who are interested to take the first steps toward seeing their church increase in health. Together we will explore the importance of the Growth Forces, strategize for effective implementation, and share our stories, victories and challenges as we journey through the five-step process of NCD.

II. Training for Trainers: Spreading the News through Igniting Ministry
Presenters: Emily Reece & Larry Homitsky

Igniting Ministry, the advertising and welcoming ministry of The United Methodist Church, has trained thousands of churches all over the country in the past several years, however, few churches in the New England Conference are taking full advantage of the tools and resources that Igniting Ministry has to offer. To help more congregations develop the welcoming lifestyle reflected in the denomination’s “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” promise, we are offering this day-long training session to create a team of local trainers to help your congregation, and other congregations in your area, understand and use Igniting Ministry. A team of Igniting Ministry trainers from United Methodist Communications will lead the session. At the end of the time, you will be set loose to share the message of “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.”

Conference Schedule

Thursday, November 6

4:00-7:00 pm Registration (Dinner on your own)
6:30 pm Gathering Music
7:00 pm Opening Worship Celebration: Safiyah Fosua preaching
9:00 pm WOW after hours – informal conversation

Friday, November 7

7:00-8:30 am Breakfast (provided with registration)
8:30 am Listening to God through Scripture: Gwen Purushotham
9:30 am Keynote Address: Paul Nixon
11:00 am Workshop Session 1
12:00 Noon Lunch (provided with registration)
1:30 pm Keynote Address: Paul Nixon
3:00 pm Workshop Session 2
4:15 pm Workshop Session 3
5:30 pm Dinner (provided with registration)
7:00 pm Music, movies, and more

Saturday, November 8

7:00-8:30 am Breakfast (provided with registration)
8:30 am Listening to God through Scripture: Gwen Purushotham
9:30 am Workshop Session 4
11:00 am Concluding Worship with Bishop Peter Weaver

Beauty4Ashes

The worship band "Beauty4Ashes" will be with us throughout the end to lead us in music.

Isaiah 61 tells us that Jesus was sent to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim
freedom for the captives, to release those in darkness and to comfort all who
mourn. It also states that He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of
ashes, pour out the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a give them a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. We have been given the victory
in Jesus - we serve the God of the 180 degree turnaround! Our ministry is to
continue to share this life-changing Gospel through our music and testimony.

Safiyah Fousa

Safiyah Fousa

Director of Invitational Preaching for the General Board of Discipleship

Thursday evening Preacher; workshop leader




Rev. Dr. Safiyah Fosua, Director of Invitational Preaching Ministries with the General Board of Discipleship, will open this year’s School of Congregational Development as our featured preacher during the Thursday evening opening worship celebration.

A clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, Rev. Dr. Fousa’s pastoral experience includes ministry in the large downtown church, the unique ministry of the rural circuit, and the ministry challenges of the small inner-city congregation. Safiyah is well known for her weekly lectionary-based preaching helps and articles on the General Board of Discipleship’s worship web page (http://www.umcworship.org/). She has written for Upper Room publications, Cokesbury’s Daily Bible Study, and Urban Ministries, Inc., and contributed to the Women of Color Study Bible. Among her published works are Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women (1996), Jesus and Prayer (2002), and a tract titled Learning New Habits (2005). Safiyah also serves as the associate editor of the Africana Worship Book series (2006-2008) and the Companion to the Africana Worship Book.

In addition to preaching on Thursday evening, Safiyah Fosua will also lead two preaching workshops on Friday afternoon: “Invitational Preaching” and “Holy Imagination in the Development of a Sermon.”

Safiyah Fousa is married to Rev. Dr. Kwasi I. Kena, who will also be with us to lead two workshops: “Beyond Words: Meaningful Cross-Cultural Ministry” on Friday afternoon and “Evangelism – a Fresh Look” on Saturday morning. Safiyah and Kwasi spent a number of years as missionaries in Ghana, West Africa. They have two adult sons and two grandchildren.

Paul Nixon

Paul Nixon

Pastor of Epicenter, a new United Methodist community of faith in Washington, D.C., and author of I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church

Keynote Speaker

Our keynote speaker, Paul Nixon, is the pastor of Epicenter Church, a new United Methodist community of faith focused on serving the people who live in the urban expanse of greater Washington DC.

Formerly the Director of Congregational Development for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church, Paul is the author of several books: Fling Open the Doors: Giving the Church Away to the Community (2002); Healing Spiritual Amnesia (2004); I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church (2007); and a fourth entitled Meeting Jesus on the Red Line, due on bookshelves this fall.

Prior to his move to D.C., Paul and his son lived for several years on the coast of northwest Florida, where Paul served first on the leadership team of the 4000-member Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church, and then as the founding pastor of Gulf Breeze Church’s east campus, the Community Life Center.

Here's what Paul says about his current ministry with Epicenter, an exciting new church start in the D.C. area: "We are a multi-site church with locations in Arlington, Washington and Silver Spring. We will be launching weekly worship services in Arlington and in Downtown DC beginning in the fall of 2008. We anticipate eventually joining the people from our various sites together monthly for a high-energy Epicenter Celebration, with an eclectic blend of music, other art forms, and faith sharing -- a spiritual Earthquake event, where God shakes us up and sends us out to live out God's dreams for the city."

Paul will speak in the main plenary sessions Friday morning and Friday afternoon. In addition, he will lead two workshops: "Church Planting" on Friday morning and "Continuing the Conversation" on Friday afternoon.

Gwen Purushotham

Gwen Purushotham
Pastor, Main Street United Methodist Church, Nashua NH

Bible Study Leader

Gwen has served churches in East Hartford, CT, Sudbury, MA, Worcester, MA, and Wayland, MA. She completed eight years as a district superintendent in the New England Conference in 2003. During that time she received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Andover Theological School in supervision.

Gwen joined the staff of General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville in July 2003 where she served as Director of Clergy Supervision and Accountability. Her responsibilities at GBHEM included developing resources and training for supervision of clergy within the structures of the UMC, providing consultative services for district superintendents and cabinets regarding pastoral supervision, developing resources for ministry assessment. In January 2007, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry published her book entitled Watching Over One Another in Love: A Wesleyan Model of Ministry Assessment.

In July 2008 Gwen was appointed as pastor of Main Street UMC, Nashua New Hampshire.

Gwen’s husband, Sam, is retired from a career in auditing and finances. He enjoys gardening, cooking, eating and conversation with family and friends, music, politics and a wide variety of service in the church. Gwen and Sam have three adult children-- Vikram, Nisha, and Matthew.