WelcomeThis is the fifth and final week of the Entourage series. How has God spoken to you through this series so far? Which of these well known (and not so well known!) members of Jesus’ crew have been the most compelling to you in your own journey of following Jesus? In this final week of the series we focus our attention on Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ most beloved disciples.This is also Holy ...  Read More

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “without pain you can’t know joy.” The sentiment gets at a philosophical puzzle, namely can we know one feeling or state without experiencing its opposite. For example, we know what warmth is by experiencing that which is cold. We know peace only because we have experienced suffering. We know grace only because we have experienced judgment. You get the idea. Somethin...  Read More

WelcomeWelcome to week 4 of our Entourage series, where we take a deeper look at the people surrounding Jesus during the last weeks leading up to his crucifixion. This week, we are focusing on Peter and the unexpected ways God works in our lives.Opening PrayerHey God, thank you for the opportunity to come together and focus on your presence in our lives today. As we discuss your friend Peter, stir...  Read More

I will never forget Easter 2008 at The Gathering. We decided to do something different. Instead of having Easter in our sanctuary, expecting people to come to us. We decided to go to people, and we celebrated Easter in Forest Park under the World’s Fair Pavilion. There were a lot of memorable moments from that day. We almost didn’t have any chairs, we underestimated how windy it would be, so our d...  Read More

CoreGroup Guide | Entourage - Week ThreeWritten by Dan Hutti and Parker PattonWelcomeThis week’s discussion guide continues to focus on Jesus’ entourage. We first discussed the sisters, Mary and Martha, then Judas, and now Simon of Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathea. The biblical descriptions of these two people are limited, but we can still learn from them and their sacrifices for Jesus. Let’s get st...  Read More

Here is a sobering statistic – in 2022 over 70% of United Methodist Churches had no new baptisms, confirmands, or members. That means there were no new babies being welcomed in, no students getting confirmed, and no new people deciding to get baptized or become members. There are lots of reasons for this - cultural disinterest in religion, declining church participation, reluctance to invite frien...  Read More