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* Over 10 Years of Mississippi Chapter Discover God’s Call Retreats *
Date National # Location Speaker
Spring 1996 69 Arlean Hall Rev. Peter Pereira
Spring 1997 84 Arlean Hall Rev. David Brazelton
Spring 1998 103 Arlean Hall Rev. Doug Pepper
Spring 2000 142 Wesley Pines Rev. Walter Albritton
Spring 2001 162 Arlean Hall Rev. Scott Carter
Spring 2002 180 Wesley Pines Rev. James & Patsy Twiner
Fall 2002 202 Wesley Pines Rev. Cecil Williamson
Spring 2003 203 Arlean Hall Rev. Martin Case
Fall 2003 215 Wesley Pines Rev. Cecil Williamson
Spring 2004 219 Arlean Hall Rev. John M. Barrett
Fall 2004 231 Wesley Pines Rev. Scott Carter
Spring 2005 236 Arlean Hall Rev. John M. Barrett
Fall 2005 250 Wesley Pines Rev. Taylor Gallman
Spring 2006 261 Wesley Pines Rev. Cecil Williamson
Fall 2006 264 Wesley Pines Rev. Dale Hathorn
Fall 2007 275 Wesley Pines Rev. Taylor Gallman
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The National Organization - History and Background
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August 9, 1982, Dr. Charles Kinder, then President of The Foundation For Evangelism, and Gus Gustafson, author and layman from Griffin , GA , met with a committee of The General Board of Discipleship about organizing a program which later became known as Discover God's Call. Dr. L. Ray Sells, Chairperson of the committee, concluded the meeting saying:
A. Discover God's Call would have to do its own funding;
B. The program, before being launched nationally, should be tested in Georgia , the Midwest and
then either the Northeast or the far West and,
C. The program should direct people back into local church ministry rather than into para-church
organizations.
A plan for launching the program was worked out with Dr. Charles Kinder, Dr. G. Ross Freeman, then Executive Secretary of the South Eastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church , Gus Gustafson and Vance Archer representing the General Board of Discipleship.
December 18, 1982, twelve people met at the United Methodist Center in Atlanta , GA , and officially organized the Discover God's Call program with a positive decision to adopt the program and take action to implement it.
Founders in Georgia contributed the funds needed to start Discover.... The first retreat was held at the Toccoa Baptist Assembly June 10-12, 1983, with 78 attending.
December 1, 1984, a group in Illinois met at the United Methodist Center in Bloomington , IL . They decided to organize a chapter in Illinois and pledged the funds necessary to get started. The first retreat was held November 4-6, 1985, at King's House, Henry , IL with 56 attending.
About one year later, November 28-30, 1986, the first retreat was held at Lake Junaluska in North Carolina . June 2, 1990, a group met at Belmont United Methodist Church , Belmont , NC , to agree to forming of a Discover God's Call chapter for the Carolinas-East Tennessee Area.
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At the July, 1997, National Council meeting, it was decided to take a new direction in the administration of Discover God’s Call. Chapters will begin to take over the complete administration of their own retreats. They’ll secure their own speakers and contract with the retreat centers. Retreat Managers, representing the National Council and The Foundation, will be at each retreat to be sure all goes according to the planned program. This change will allow almost unlimited growth for Discover... .
It has been obvious that Discover God's Call is a powerful means of helping lay people identify possible ministries and their gifts for serving God through their local church and beyond. Through God's continued guidance and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Discover... will be an ever increasing force in bringing renewal to the United Methodist Church and bringing new souls into Christ's Kingdom.
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HOW DID IT START?
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1. The idea came to Gus Gustafson, retired
businessman and author, of Griffin,
Georgia, as he recovered from pneumonia
in 1980. The program was fully developed
under the guidance of The Foundation For
Evangelism in consultation with the General
Board of Discipleship of The United
Methodist Church.
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2. Two guiding principles followed were:
(1) Discover God's Call would have
to do all it's own funding and
(2) The program should direct people
back into local church ministry
rather than into para-church
organizations.
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3. Gus Gustafson was the first National
President. He served until 1990 when Charles
G. (Chuck)
Davis
was elected President and
Gus became President Emeritus. The current
president,
Tom Clarke
, was elected in 1999
to replace Chuck Davis.
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4. In 1998 the Foundation for Evangelism Home
Page on the World Wide Web added a link
to Discover God’s Call. In 1999 a list of
scheduled retreats and an online registration
form for future retreats was added.
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CHAPTERS OF DISCOVER GOD’S CALL
| Chapter |
States Covered |
Date of First Retreat |
Date Formed |
|
| N. Georgia |
North GA
|
June, 1983 |
June, 1983 |
|
Illinois
|
IL |
November, 1985 |
November, 1985 |
| Carolinas/E. TN |
NC, SC,
East TN
|
November, 1986 |
June, 1990 |
|
Virginia
|
VA |
October, 1991 |
November, 1992 |
| Central Texas |
Central TX
|
February, 1993 |
April, 1994 |
| NW
Texas
|
NW TX |
Fall, 1994 |
May, 1996 |
|
Arkansas
|
AR |
March, 1996 |
May, 1997 |
|
Mississippi
|
MS |
April 1996 |
April 1997 |
| Rocky
Mountain
|
CO
, WY |
September, 1996 |
September 1997 |
|
Florida
|
FL |
November, 1996 |
November, 1998 |
|
Alabama
|
AL
|
May, 1999 |
May, 2000 |
|
West Virginia
|
WV |
October, 1999 |
October, 2000 |
| New Mexico/Odessa |
West TX,
East
NM
|
May, 2000 |
October, 2001 |
| S. Georgia |
South GA
|
April, 2001 |
Nov. 2001 |
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Notes: The Rocky Mountain Chapter voted to disband in the Spring of 2002.The Florida Chapter voted to disband in the Summer of 2002. The North Georgia Chapter was disbanded in the Spring of 2003.The NW Texas chapter merged with the New Mexico/Odessa chapter and the new Chapter was named the West Texas Chapter in the Summer of 2004. The Carolinas/East Tennessee Chapter was renamed the Carolinas Chapter in 2004.
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