Episode 86 features Rev. Amy Aspey, Rev. Hannah VanMeter and Pastor Preston Watkins speaking about how their ministries have opened space for those the world sees as different and what it means to be fully inclusive.

“We are reaching those who are looking for a place to belong and live their faith out together in community, in a place that celebrates diversity and is willing to do the holy and messy work of being in community with people who might be different from them,” said Aspey.

“What we’ve tried to do is take this radical hospitality and genuine acceptance of people for who they are. The church can be a safe place for all people, where all of our differences are reasons to be cherished, not looked past,” shared Watkins.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠⁠

Episode 85 features Rev. Hannah Weisbrod, Terri Rodriguez and Rev. Jon Morgan sharing a conversation about howchurch exists outside the walls of the traditional building and the role the Office of Fresh Starts & New Beginnings plays in aiding such ministries.

“We find ourselves doing a lot that we have never encountered before so, we know now how to work with lawyers about non-profit structure, insurance and fundraising, donor relationships. Just all those sorts of things that you learn on the fly when you’re doing it that you might not have encountered in previous local church ministry,” said Weisbrod.

“It seems like every week or every other week we hear a similar testimony of people who find themselves, who find God, who understand that God loves them for who they’re created to be. And I think that’s what makes Hope Collective really special,” Morgan shared.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠

Episode 84 features Rev. Joy Fenton-Jones, Rev. Beth Ortiz, and Pastor Matt Whisenhunt engaging in wide-ranging conversation about redeveloping church property to be a daily presence in the life of the community.

“Part of this is about discipleship, thinking about how are we responding to the grace God’s given us? To spend time wondering, ‘are we using this space that we are called to be stewards, not owners, of in a way that really reflects that discipleship really well,’” said Ortiz.

“We’re thinking about, ‘who could we rent to, who could use a little space in our building?’ But maybe we’re not always thinking, ‘could this building really have a transformed use

that would require holistic approach to the space and even to the property around it?’” Fenton-Jones stated.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠

Episode 83 features Rev. Jon Priebe, Rev. Joy Fenton-Jones, Rev. Beth Ortiz, and Eric Kinaitis engaging in conversation about the building redevelopment ministry of Church Square, based in Cuyahoga Falls.

“Having building redevelopment under revitalization might be a mental shift for some people, and it takes a really deep amount of discipleship at the beginning because it really involves looking at everything differently from your building to your church to how you do life together,” Ortiz said.

Priebe shared that “it’s interesting to think back about the process that led to who we are today and what we’re trying to do. Obviously the creative redevelopment of our building spaces into new things that can both generate revenue and meet new community needs that we’re not touching as well right now is a key piece of it.”

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠

To learn more about Church Square visit https://www.cfchurchsquare.org/

Episode 82 features a conversation with East Ohio Advance Special Unlikely Partners (EOC 9999) founder DonovanHarris and board member Duane Crabbs as they share how they partner with community members to make a better future for youth exposed to violence.

“We thought that if we focused on the youth that were most likely to encounter violence, then we could start to change some of those things that we thought needed to be addressed in our community,” Harris shared.

“We’re really a ministry because ministries prioritize relationships. And at the end of the day we’re not an addiction recovery service, we’re not a child welfare agency, We’re notjust a housing development organization. We’re people who seek to love those who we’re in relationship with,” said Crabbs.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠

Learn more about Unlikely Partners at https://www.unlikelypartnersoh.org/

Episode 81 features a conversation with Executive Director of Discipleship Ministries Rev. Beth Ortiz and Discipleship Ministries Office Ministry & Resource Coordinator Tim Beckas they explore what the Office of Discipleship Ministries is, and the role that joy plays in discipleship.

“I would say part of our culture in Discipleship ministries is helping people follow Jesus in daily life and join God’s mission in their communities. And we celebrate that each person and each church is uniquely called, gifted and needed,” Ortiz shared.

“This world can obviously be very overwhelming at times, and it can be easy to sort of lose sight of where God is at work. But we’re trying to have fun with this too. We’re trying to share stories that might just engage with people in a way that is fun,” said Beck.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠⁠

Visit the ODM Substack at https://discipleshipministries.substack.com/

Episode 80 features a conversation with Farmer to Farmer founder Pryde Bass, Rev. Robin Dillon of Lakewood UMC (Northern Waters District) and Rev. Matt Anderson of Bucyrus UMC (West Plains District) about the origin and mission of the East Ohio Advance centered in Harrisburg, Liberia.

“After the 14-year-war (1989-2003) it is like 100% insufficiency there. So, we thought that agriculture would be important to help people produce enough food for themselves. They could even sell some food to help pay for things like medical bills, children’s school fees and other necessities of life,” Bass shared.

“One of the things that the teams have been doing when they go is to just help folks be able to look beyond the immediate to see what else is possible,” Dillon said. “That’s part of the work the teams have done in establishing the school and the farm and training.”

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠Learn more about Farmer to Farmer at https://farmer2farmer.org/

Donate to Farmer to Farmer through the EOC Advance Special webpage at https://www.eocumc.com/finance/advance-special.html

Episode 79 features a conversation with Chelsea Munroe of Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Kaila Mohney from Howland UMC (Central Valley District) about the work they and others have done with the nationwide charitable organization to build beds for children who do not have one in Trumbull County. 

“Once you get to experience the joy of a child receiving something as simple but as meaningful as a bed there’s no looking back. You just know that if you have the skills and you have the heart for it, this is what you want to be doing with your time,” Mohney said.

“I think for me as a mom it’s a great lesson for my children to not only give back but to see how other families might be living and to kind of build that gratitude of we are really blessed in our family and what we can do to help others is to give back,” Munroe said.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ ⁠

Learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace at https://shpbeds.org/

Visit the Trumbull County SHP Chapter's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SHPTrumbullCo

Episode 78 features a conversation with Pastor Jeff and Michelle Chapin, who founded and lead the arts- and connections-based EOC Advance Special outreach ministry based in Dresden (South Forest District).

“Since we began in 2019, we’ve organically grown into community gardens, a bi-weekly community potluck, and we do outreach, host homeschool co-ops, art classes, and we have a 40-foot school bus we converted into a classroom and we take that to farmer’s markets and festivals teaching free art classes and hosting free book drives,” said Michelle.

“We’ve been put in touch with the recovery community as well through the churches and that’s been an area that we didn’t realize was a big need in this community. And it’s really been amazing to see how that’s flourished over the last year and a half,” Pastor Jeff said.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/ Learn more about EOC Advance Specials and how to support them at

Episode 77 features Les and Debbie Dornon, who are retiring after 20+ years of medical mission work in that country.

“We had missionaries in our community from all around the world. Not just Methodists from the U.S. but from many countries come together to work. And so, it’s a fun and challenging time to create that community of the Christians who are serving there,” Debbie shared.

“The thing at the end of our career that we remember most is the relationships that we have and that’s not something that happens in a week or a month. It’s walking through life experiences with these people and their joys and their griefs and being there for them and sharing the hope that there is in Jesus in all these circumstances. So, we would like to encourage people to think about going for career missions or at least long-term, rather than just doing short-term trips,” Les said.

Learn more about The East Ohio Conference at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://eocumc.com/