This weekend, I am traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. General Conference only happens once every 4 years and it is the only body that can change United Methodist Church law and policies. There will be nearly 900 elected delegates from all over the world coming together for nearly two weeks to make decisions for the future of our d...  Read More

WelcomeYou can’t do a sermon series on Screen Time without talking about social media. “Doom scrolling” – spending too much time endlessly scrolling and focusing on the negative things you see on social media – has become an epidemic in our culture today. It’s so easy to get lost in a feed of entertaining videos, products you HAVE to buy, photos of peoples’ “perfect” lives, distressing news from a...  Read More

Earlier this week, there was heavy rain overnight. The next morning when I woke up to walk the dogs, there was an incredible vibrance to the spring colors. The grass was bright green, the irises in my front yard were a deep shade of purple. The reds, pinks, and blues of our emerging flowers almost seemed to be lit in neon. The gloomy and windy rainstorm the night before dissipated and was replaced...  Read More

CoreGroup Guide | Screen Time - Part 1Written by Denee Bowers and Parker PattonWelcomeDualistic thinking, or black and white thinking, is a common type of reasoning where we see only two distinct options. For example, we may think something is entirely good or entirely bad, and there is nothing in between. This can easily be the way we view technology. In the Bible, though, Jesus regularly invites...  Read More

The Gathering celebrated Easter this year at The Factory, and I want to thank all of you that were a part of it. We had an incredible morning of worship including an offering that will fund our local mission work including our Literacy Project. This weekend in worship I will celebrate the overall amount, and it is exciting. I am especially grateful to all of you that served and invited others to j...  Read More

WelcomeHappy Easter! This week we are reflecting on the Resurrection, the fulfillment of God’s promise in Jesus and the central belief of our Christian faith. But first, a quick wrap-up from last month.Ice BreakerIn our previous sermon series, we learned about the disciples of Jesus, his entourage, his crew. Each of these people taught us something different about what it means to follow Jesus.  I...  Read More