483 E. Lockwood Avenue, Suite 15, St. Louis, MO 63119

(314) 918-2602

Ministries

Learn about our Unifying Call to Core Ministries.

Our Unifying Call to Core Ministries – a kind of statement of identity – provides a framework and focus for all the ministries of the Conference.  Members of the Missouri Mid-South Conference Board of Directors and representatives elected from each Association make up Core Ministry Teams, which oversee, coordinate, and empower working groups (planning committees, task forces, etc.) to engage in specific tasks related to each Core Ministry.

So what does that mean?

We have clarity of purpose and a way to set priorities. We empower ministry directly. We offer more opportunities for involvement, action, and ministry that has significance and impact.

“We are the United Church of Christ in Arkansas, Memphis, and Missouri. United by Christ and led by the Holy Spirit, we support and empower one another in our unifying call to embody God’s love and mercy for all.” 

We answer this call through our Core Ministries:

Creating Community
Empowering Congregations
Pursuing Justice and Equity
Visioning the Future

Learn how each Core Ministry Team defines its purpose – and find a place to connect your passion to current ministries or help develop new ones.

Creating Community

“The ministries we create to engage with one another and the wider church.”

The Creating Community Core Ministry Team’s goal is to bring people together, embrace relationship, recognize commonality and diversity, and grow into the Beloved Community.

We do this by:

  • Organizing and participating in events and activities for fellowship, faith formation, and education, including Conference Annual Gathering (CAG), Association meetings, cluster gatherings, Conference Youth Events (CYE), General Synod, and CHHSM (Council for Health and Human Services Ministries)
  • Offering outdoor ministries, including Camp MoVal and Shannondale
  • Introducing and reinforcing United Church of Christ (UCC) concepts, history, and values, particularly with members and clergy from other faith traditions
  • Providing age/gender-specific ministries

Outdoor ministries can be life-changing. Deepen your faith through an experience of intentional community to connect with one another and with God.

Learn More

Youth ministry is an investment in leadership development. We work to ensure Conference youth programs and congregational youth ministries thrive by resourcing excellent Conference staff and local church volunteers to offer youth programming and activities. 

Learn More

Older adults ministry seeks ways to connect and engage the retirees  and seniors in our churches by celebrating and providing opportunities to serve and grow in faith.

Learn More

Empowering Congregations

“The ministries we do to help local churches thrive.”

The Empowering Congregations Core Ministry Team energizes and equips clergy and lay members for vision and leadership. The team’s work encompasses congregations, agencies, and leaders in the Missouri Mid-South Conference; both unallied and partner churches interested in working with the United Church of Christ; emerging congregations; and non-traditional communities.

We do this by:

  • Cultivating healthy relationships
  • Providing resources
  • Creating opportunities for service, spiritual growth, and church vitality

Learn more about the various educational opportunities that we facilitate throughout the year for clergy and lay leaders.

Pursuing Justice and Equity

“The ministries we do to faithfully impact change in the world around us.”

The Pursuing Justice and Equity Core Ministry Team exists to empower movements of justice and equity at work in the Missouri Mid-South Conference.

We do this by:

  • Discerning the Conference’s call to impact change toward a more just and equitable world, determining alignment between our values and the work we will empower
  • Empowering working groups to access resources needed to do their work (i.e., budget needs, communication support)
  • Serving as continued support, communication, and accountability partners to various stakeholders in the work (board, staff, Associations, working groups)
  • Advocating for the values of justice and equity to guide us in all that we do as a Conference and across expressions of the church
  • Inviting and engaging church members in the work of justice and equity

The Missouri Mid-South Conference is proud to have originated the call for all clergy in the United Church of Christ to attend racial justice training on a regular basis. 

Learn More

A variety of opportunities are available to connect for study and accountability in the continued pursuit of justice and equity.

Shannondale Community Center in southern Missouri focuses its ministry on community development through economic justice and environmental stewardship.

Learn More

Visioning the Future

“The ministries we do to provide governance oversight and make our world look as God created.”

The Visioning the Future Core Ministry Team listens, assesses, and evaluates the Conference as it exists today so we can continue to imagine and engage the Conference of tomorrow.

We do this by:

  • Working toward common goals across the Conference
  • Asking churches where they want to be in 10 years
  • Planning for General Synod in 2025
  • Reviewing the Conference constitution and bylaws every two years
  • Understanding online membership and virtual community engagement as churches emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Attending to financial development to sustain and enable thriving ministry in the Conference

God is doing a new thing, and we want to help churches be ready for it! 

We want to make sure we also are tending to the welfare of the churches that we serve now.

General Synod is coming to Kansas City, Mo. in 2025, and we are excited to co-host with our partners in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference. No specific details to share yet, but rest assured it’s on our radar.

Outdoor Ministries

Camp MoVal

Nestled amid rolling hills a few miles west of Union, Mo., Camp MoVal has been welcoming all ages to participate in a wide variety of programs and activities since 1962.

Shannondale Ministries

In the Ozark Mountains of Shannon County, Mo., Shannondale can be your place of rest and respite.

Retreat Inquiries

Interested in having a retreat or hosting an event at Camp MoVal or Shannondale? Our staff can help you find the right option to meet your group’s needs and secure an accommodating location.

Contact Us

Covenantal Partner Ministries

Serving People Well through Partnerships

We are passionate about serving seniors in addition to other vulnerable members of our communities by working with local partner organizations, including Deaconess Nurse Ministry and others, as part of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM).

Deaconess Nurse Ministry
CHHSM

Contact Information

Find contact information to reach staff.

Meet the Staff

Conference News

Subscribe Today