Pursue Holiness

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Pursue Holiness, host Kerry Wood speaks with Ryan Barnett and Matt Reynolds about Christ for ALL: Every Methodist an Evangelist. This book is all about the responsibility, desirability and capability Jesus Christ has given to every one of his followers to share their faith with others. In short, evangelism doesn't need to be scary! And it can't be shunted to only clergy or "the church" as a generic, unaccountable task. Growing in grace and faith means growing in the willingness to simply tell people about what Jesus has done for us and in us, being intentional in looking for opportunities right in front of us to pray with people, share in their burdens, and offer the hope found only in Jesus. Christ for ALL brings Scripture, culture and practical exercises together in a simple yet comprehensive toolset. Ryan and Matt share the background of how the book came to be, the results of what this type of faith will bring, and encourage us all to be true disciples of Jesus Christ and Methodists through and through!

Send us Fan MailThe Certified Lay Ministry (CLM) training in North Carolina is available for anyone who desires to grow deeper in understanding, applying and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The Rev. Steve Wellman heads up the program for North Carolina and today he joins host Kerry Wood in describing the ministry, offering details of the upcoming course offerings, the challenges and opportunities that come through the CLM program, and more!Find information about the NC GMC CLM program: https://ncglobalmethodist.org/certified-lay-ministry/NC GMC YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@NCGlobalMethodist/playlists

Send us Fan MailEarl Bradshaw, pastor of the Mount Pleasant Methodist Methodist Church in Mount Pleasant, NC, puts on an award-winning light show at his home every year. In today's episode, we learn more about how he builds a light show with thousands of lights, animations, music and more! Take a break from the Christmas-prep craziness and focus on the real reason for the reason for the season!Find videos of the light show on Facebook. You can also follow Earl on Facebook to see more videos as he changes out the show weekly!

Send us Fan MailThe North Carolina Conference has partnered with the Uganda-South Sudan Conference of the Global Methodist Church. In this episode, Kerry Wood interviews Ddamulira Christopher, Uganda-South Sudan Conference Superintendent, and Wilberforce Bwire, General Secretary. They share a brief history of Global Methodism in Uganda, and describe the works of God in their midst. They also give us in North Carolina encouragement for how we can pray for them and work together.As this episode comes online, a delegation from North Carolina is in Uganda to deepen our partnership and learn ways in which we can work together by God's grace. Pray for the safe travels for the delegation and for the ongoing opportunities that God will bless and grow the church in Africa and America!

Send us Fan MailTeresa Auten is passionately interested in bringing the good news of Jesus to children. She has spent decades working with children, introducing multiple generations into transformational discipleship relationships with Jesus Christ. Based in Newton, NC, Teresa has helped many congregations with their children's ministries strategic directions, programming specifics and more.In today's episode, Teresa and host, Kerry Wood, talk about the power of grace even in the painful experience of divorce and what impact this has on children, the importance of generously resourcing children's ministry with both finances and joyful attitudes among those guiding and nurturing children, strategies for churches struggling to attract families, and the power of the P-A-C-T.

Send us Fan MailHost Kerry Wood has a conversation with Shane Bishop about the importance of falling in love with Jesus and the implications and applications of that. Evangelism should not be a "dirty" word or a fearful one. Instead, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, we can proclaim Jesus Christ into our communities.Shane is pastor of Christ Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois. When he arrived there in 1997, they worshiped around 200 people. Today, the church has more than 3000 weekly attendees. Yet, Shane doesn't claim any credit for this. He humbly submits that this was all a God action that he was blessed to become part of. You will be inspired to expand your own evangelistic efforts if you listen to the Holy Spirit as you listen to this episode!

Send us Fan MailThe Annual Conference session for North Carolina Global Methodists was recently held in Winston-Salem, NC. Those who have bad tastes in their mouths for other annual conference sessions in the past are in for a great surprise: Global Methodist Annual Conferences are movements of the Holy Spirit!In this episode, Kerry Wood talks with some of the people being ordained, some pastors with long ministries, some who've just arrived in North Carolina, and all of them have praise stories worth hearing!Please share this episode in all your social media channels. Give feedback on the website or the Pursue Holiness Podcast page on Facebook. Send an email to [email protected]. Contributors to this episode (in order of appearance):Shannon Medlin, Connie Stutts, John Woods, George Gooche, Shelby Gilbert, Walt Amos, Andreas Kjernald, David Hornberger, Rodney Burton, Jason Guyer, Van Heath, Jo & Brian Simmons, Robert "Bob" Ray, Keith Lawson, Steve Parker, Patrick Whaley, and Rueben Rinker.

Send us Fan MailDavid Banks serves as the Conference Superintendent and Kari Howard is the Associate Conference Superintendent. Together, they provide effective administrative, connectional and spiritual leadership to the North Carolina Conference on a daily basis. Today, they share their stories of faith, the work of God in the formation of our NC Conference, and the power of the Holy Spirit as we come together for the Annual Conference session in Winston-Salem, June 25-28, 2025. Please use the "fan mail" to give us feedback on this episode, ideas for future podcasts, and anything else God lays on your heart!Don't forget to subscribe, share and give us a rating on whatever platform you use to listen. Help others find us and expand the reach of the kingdom of God!

Send us Fan MailHost Kerry Wood holds a wide-ranging conversation with the new bishop over the North Carolina Conference of the Global Methodist Church. Bishop Greenway (he prefers "just Jeff") describes the work of God in his life, his impressions and experience being elected a bishop at our convening General Conference last fall, and his vision and hopes for what our faith movement will seek to be.Links for more info:https://ncglobalmethodist.orghttps://globalmethodist.orghttps://www.pursueholiness.orghttps://www.goldstonmethodist.org