News & Stories

STORIES OF IMPACT WORLDWIDE

Children and youth from Terra Nova village in Quéssua, Angola, join in an effort to combat malaria by filling in low-lying areas that collect water where mosquitoes can breed. The campaign was led by Ben Jacob, a professor from the University of South Florida, who served with a Volunteers in Mission team from the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Photo: Mike DuBose, UM News

Explore how your gifts and our global partnerships connect local churches and communities in mission to alleviate human suffering around the world.

Browse Recent Stories

Filter by:

In his report to the board, general secretary Thomas Kemper named hopeful examples of mission the United Methodist people collectively do “in a fractured world and church,” with an emphasis on ministries surrounding global migration.
Residents of Grand Bahama Island and Abaco are receiving relief in the form of shelter, meals and hygiene items. Some are also taking great joy in being a part of the volunteer effort, serving their neighbors in the midst of their own tragedies.
Norma J. Kehrberg, a United Methodist missionary in Nepal for 25 years and head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief from 1984-1991, died on October 6.
A missionary family, a Global Mission Fellow and a mission volunteer demonstrate how different forms of mission service work together in Tanzania.
Global Ministries is holding its biannual board of directors meeting October 10-12 at its Atlanta headquarters.
From young adults to those seeking a second career, missionaries say “yes!” to God’s calling in their lives in many different ways. Follow along in October as we share some of the stories of the 400+ missionaries serving around the world as educators, doctors, pastors, agriculturalists and more.

Stay Updated on the Latest Stories of Hope and Healing

Subscribe to the monthly Engage newsletter today with new stories delivered to your inbox every month.

The gathering held on September 21 in Upper Sandusky, Ohio brought together more than 500 people in celebration of a shared past and promising, common future.
The month of September marks two years since Hurricane Maria brought widespread destruction to Puerto Rico. The recovery has progressed steadily, thanks largely to the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, and with the help of UMCOR training and funding and more than 200 Volunteer in Mission teams.
Although it didn’t receive much national attention, the spring floods of the Arkansas River wiped out property and devastated some communities. UMCOR and the Arkansas Conference Disaster Response Team have just rolled out a new phase to help with recovery.
A growing amount of grassroots climate change work is being done by graduates of Global Ministries EarthKeepers training.

Contact Information

Have questions? Send us an inquiry and we’ll get back to you promptly. Please direct all media inquiries to Susan Clark, chief communications officer for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

General Inquiries

Media Inquiries

Susan Clark, Chief Communications Officer
media@umcmission.org
800-862-4246

UMCOR Campaigns

Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. 

A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.” The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story