Preaching

Rosemary Wangechi Mwenja receives donated items at the Tongogara Refugee Camp near Chipinge, Zimbabwe, where United Methodist refugees and asylum seekers have established a preaching point. Mwenja fled tribal violence in Kenya that killed her husband and oldest child. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Church connects communities at refugee camp

Displaced people of different cultures, ethnicities and languages establish a United Methodist preaching point and new sanctuary at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe.

Church Growth

Violet Crown City Church, a United Methodist congregation in Austin, Texas, did an experiment in September when it used artificial intelligence to plan a worship service, complete with an original song and sermon written based on prompts from the pastor and information on the internet. Motherboard image by OpenClipart-Vectors, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Artificial intelligence and church

The promise and problems around artificial intelligence are touching the religion world, with a United Methodist pastor in Texas using AI to craft a worship service, including the sermon and an original song.

Evangelism

Elison Mukandi (black jacket) and Samuel Muchemwa (striped shirt) lay hands on children wishing to be prayed for at Chipunza Farm in Harare, Zimbabwe, in June. The men’s organization of Chisipiti United Methodist Church launched “Vhuserere,” an evangelism effort to reach people in farming areas. Mukandi is chairperson of the men’s group. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Evangelism campaign fuels church growth in Zimbabwe

Launched by men’s group, new “Vhuserere” program reaches out to people in farming areas to share the Gospel and provide other support.

Church Growth

Carrie La Ferle and the Rev. O. Wesley Allen Jr. are co-authors of the book "Preaching and the Thirty-Second Commercial: Lessons from Advertising for the Pulpit." La Ferle is the Marriott Endowed Professor of Ethics and Culture at the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University. Allen is a United Methodist elder and the Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics at SMU's Perkins School of Theology. Their book is the first in a series that seeks to show how other disciplines can offer insights for preachers. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

What preachers can learn from Lean Cuisine

SMU professors collaborate on book titled ‘Preaching and the Thirty-Second Commercial,’ drawing on advertising campaigns to show how sermons can be better crafted.

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