History

Congregations for Children (C4C) began as an initiative of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist through support of The Duke Endowment. The conferences worked collaboratively on development of mission and goals. While the mission and goals are aligned there are differences in process due to variations in conference structures.

The Western North Carolina Conference began with the Blue Ridge District as a pilot in 2013-2014, expanding into the Smoky Mountain and Catawba Valley Districts in 2014-2015 with plans for conference wide expansion. However, new initiatives as well as the strengthening of existing initiatives are taking place in all districts with conference wide support.

The focus of 2020-2024 is the development of a C4C conference leadership team to provide relevant support, resources, and momentum for the church’s response to children and families impacted by poverty in our local communities and further engaging in advocacy.

C4C has been developed under Mission Engagement as a resource for UMC districts and local churches, however, the hope is expansion through ecumenical and community organization ties as we seek a collaborative response to the needs of children impacted by poverty in the local community.