A Note to All Clergy Who May Sense an Urge/Call to Serve a Church in Alaska

Welcome to the Alaska United Methodist Conference.  We are a diverse group of 28 churches, two community institutions, and two camps living and ministering with Alaskans for the sake of Christ.  We need clergy leaders who feel a deep call to be in mission with people, who realize that God is already present among all peoples, who desire to see all people included in the life of the church, and who have a vital and personal faith. 

The number one quality I seek in pastors to appoint to Alaska churches is adaptability.  We need pastors who can move into a ministry context, sense what leadership style is needed, and who can implement that style to help that church meet its mission.  It should not just be about replaying our demonstrated skills, but a desire to learn new skills for a new context. 

One of these new skills is the ability to discern how to grow a church in our various Alaskan contexts.  Bishop Grant Hagiya and I really desire to see the church grow in Alaska.  So we want to raise the bar in terms of clergy effectiveness.  We want the best and brightest pastors to lead our churches into a new era of church growth.

Many new clergy share that it feels like coming home.  My wife and four small children trekked here from Ohio thinking we could stay four years.  That was in 1991 and I am serving my third appointment in Alaska.  It is a place where people give you the freedom to be yourself, your real self, the self God is creating you to be. 

If this is your desire, to live in a land of deep natural beauty and to give sacrificially in ways that give you life energy, then I invite you to pray and discern a call to come to the Alaska UM Conference.  If you feel like exploring this further please complete an application you will find on this web site.  You can mail a paper copy to me at our office (1660 Patterson St. Anchorage, AK 99504) or email it to me.

I’d also like two video sermons with one of them in a video of an entire worship service you have led.

Please don’t consider coming to Alaska if your main desire is to hunt, fish, or play.  Do consider coming if you have a deep desire to serve God by serving people who will show you something of the magnificence of God in this Great Land.

Dave Beckett

Conference Superintendent

dave@gci.net

 

Download the application here. 

You may download a large Word Document (6.4 MB) with information on the AUMC HERE.