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A group gathered for a GBGM-supported seminar for leaders of ethnic, diaspora, international and migrant churches throughout Europe.
Photo: Courtesy of Üllas Tankler
Founded in 2019 to respond to the growing number of international and multicultural churches worldwide, the Institute for Multicultural Ministry (IMM) helps church leaders better understand their culture and the cultures of others to best serve their diverse congregations and ministries.
Through theological and intercultural competency training, IMM equips church leaders to build strong relationships with those from a variety of Christian traditions or those crossing significant cultural boundaries, like migrants and refugees.
The annual weeklong program is held in Stuttgart, Germany, in partnership with the United Methodist Seminary in Reutlingen. Students receive training in theology, mission, social justice, patterns of migration and more. Students worship together and visit churches engaging in ministry with migrants and ethnic minorities. At the end, participants form small groups to keep learning and supporting one another.
Pastors and lay leaders of multicultural churches in Europe can apply. The program is designed to be small, with only 15 people accepted for each gathering. Most students are Methodist, but leaders from other Christian denominations are welcome. Pastors need a letter from their ministry supervisor. Lay leaders need support from their pastor or church leader.
When:
September 8-15, 2025
September 15-22, 2026
Where:
Stuttgart, Germany
Deadline:
January 31 before each September session
Cost:
€1,000
Registration includes all meals, local transportation and round-trip travel within Europe.
Reduced fees are available for participants nominated by one of the partnering churches.
To learn more or to begin the registration process, contact imm@umcmission.org.
The IMM is a collaborative ministry of the following church denominations and organizations:
Oversight is provided by an Advisory Board comprising representatives of partner organizations.
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
