The Cal-Pac Learning Lab is back! Join us in March and April as we continue our series of webinars designed to equip clergy and lay leaders with the essential skills and knowledge needed to sustain and grow their ministries. Each session provides practical, actionable insights tailored to the real-world challenges churches face.

SPRING SESSIONS | Recordings for all sessions available at www.calpacumc.org/learninglab

• Make it Last: Tips to Sustain Your Fundraising Flow: Recording available here.
  Designed for pastors, those on stewardship or mission and outreach teams, or program leaders raising critical funds (youth mission trips, anyone?), this down-to-earth Learning Lab will revisit fundraising basics meant to keep your funds flowing. Knowing your mission, cultivating powerful stories, and remembering the importance of saying thanks are key ways your ministry team can raise funds year after year. Led by Maria Longley, the Director of Community Life at Aldersgate UMC and a former fundraising and development professional. Passionate about the intersection of nonprofits and the church, she answered a call to ministry in 2021. A graduate of Perkins School of Theology, she is a candidate for commissioning as a provisional deacon at the upcoming Cal-Pac annual conference.
• Single Board Governance is for Any Church: Recording available here.
  Single Board Governance is a tool, allowed by the Book of Discipline, to assist small churches with a dwindling number of leaders or large churches with a vast organization. Single Board Governance can be the way these churches effectively administrative their ministries, leaving them with fewer administrative meetings and more time to do real ministry. This session will be helpful for local church pastors, Lay Leaders, Church Council Chairs, Committee Chairs, and church administrative staff. This session will be led by the Rev. Dr. Brian T. Parcel, Pastor of FUMC Chula Vista. Rev. Parcel has led two of his churches (one small and the other large) into Single Board Governance and has consulted/coached multiple other churches through this process across the Western Jurisdiction.
• Abuse and Harassment Prevention for Your Church: Recording available here.
  Your church cares about the safety of your children, youth, and vulnerable adults.  Policy templates and online platforms for staff/volunteer training and background checks continue to evolve in response to changing laws, improved technology, and church needs. In this Learning Lab, HR Director Jan Hanson and Assistant to the Bishop Paige Eaves will update you and your team on requirements and resources, including both Ministry Safe and Safe Gatherings. If you are already successfully using Ministry Safe, you will not be asked to move to a different platform. If you are not successfully using Ministry Safe, you’ll be encouraged to adopt Safe Gatherings.
• Church Websites 101: Recording available here.
  Led by Dr. Alyssa Fisher, Director of Communications, and Melissa Jackson, Director of Marketing, General Council on Finance and Administration, this session will cover the most important information to include on your church website and how to make sure those looking for your church can find you and join you in person!
• Promoting Your Church Event, presented with United Methodist Communications: Recording available here.
  Led by Brenda Smotherman, Public Relations Lead at United Methodist Communications, this session will walk you through everything you need to do to promote your event with local media channels, including how to write a press release, who to contact, and tips for media interviews.
• Discerning Your Call to Ministry: For Future Clergy and Lay Leaders: Recording available here.
  Led by Rev. Brian Belting, Board of Ordained Ministry Vocational Discernment Coordinator, and Cathy Wilson, Associate Director of Lay and Clergy Credentialing and Development. Have you ever felt a nudge toward something more? A call to serve, lead, or make a difference? In The United Methodist Church, we believe everyone is called—whether to lay or ordained ministry. This engaging learning lab is designed to help you recognize and respond to God’s call in your life. Through personal discernment and practical guidance, you’ll explore different ministry paths and discover opportunities to nurture your calling. If you’re wondering, “How is God calling me?” or “What’s my next step?” this experience will provide the tools and support to help you move forward with confidence. Come ready to listen, learn, and take the next step in your journey!
• How to Nurture a Culture of Compassion in Your Church & Community: Recording available here.
  The church is most truly ‘the church’ when it embodies a culture of compassion. Seldom, however, are we taught how to actually cultivate and promote compassion throughout our life together. This is unfortunate, for not only is the church more faithful as it embodies compassion; it is more efficient and effective. This workshop, a partnership with Claremont School of Theology, explores how faith communities can embody compassion-based processes of engaging in the work of the church together including processes for collaborative decision-making and dialoguing across difference. It is led by Dr. Frank Rogers Jr., Professor of Spiritual Formation & Narrative Pedagogy and Co-Director of the Center for Engaged Compassion at the Claremont School of Theology.