By Paul Black
Two IGRC churches were recognized by the Evangelism Committee with Discipleship Ministries’ One Matters Award.
Pinkstaff UMC, located in the Kaskaskia River District and pastor David Cogdill; and Harmony UMC, part of the Trinity Charge in the Kaskaskia River District and pastor Jill Bunker, were both recognized during the 2019 Annual Conference.
Now in its fifth year, the One Matters Discipleship Award is an effort for annual conferences to renew their focus on discipleship, especially at congregations in the United Methodist connection where annual baptisms and professions of faith too often are nonexistent, by honoring churches with the new One Matters Discipleship Award.
Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church is urging each conference to use the award to recognize one church that is turning zeros into positive numbers with a renewed focus on discipleship. The Illinois Great Rivers Conference has annually recognized two congregations.
The award, which includes $1,000 and a One Matters Discipleship Award plaque, will be presented to the pastor and lay leaders of a congregation which has done significant work to make its zeros from previous years become positive numbers. The monetary award is designed to encourage continued growth in the area of discipleship.