Loving and serving like Jesus Posted on May 12, 2026

A volunteer team from Walled Lake UMC in Michigan serves at God’s Country Community Ministries (GCCM) by building a ramp to make the homeowner’s house accessible. GCCM is a United Methodist ministry serving the rural population of the eastern Upper Peninsula, and is directed by Randy Hildebrant, a Church and Community Worker. One of Hildebrant’s responsibilities is managing volunteer work teams like this one during the warmer months. ~ photo courtesy God’s Country Community Ministries / Facebook

Church and Community Workers, United Methodist missionaries serving here in Michigan and throughout the United States, make a difference in communities of need. Might God be calling you to this servant ministry?

GLENN M. WAGNER
Michigan Conference Communications

Randy Hildebrant, director of God’s Country Community Ministries in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is a dedicated Church and Community Worker employed by Global Ministries, the mission and relief agency of The United Methodist Church.

Randy Hildebrant (right, sitting) appreciates all the donations given by Midland’s Open Door ministry and Midland: First UMC. These donations, headed to the Upper Peninsula, will be given out to residents as part of The Church Mouse, GCCM’s free store ministry featuring clothing, household items, and toys for children.~ photo courtesy God’s Country Community Ministries / Facebook

God’s Country Community Ministries began in the 1970s as a collaborative effort among seven United Methodist congregations in the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula to meet their communities’ needs by sharing resources. Based in Newberry, the ministry expanded in 2024 to include ministry with and for all, regardless of denomination. They address rural poverty and spiritual needs across 2,500 square miles and among roughly 66,000 residents in five counties: Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft.

Randy Hildebrant has served as the Church and Community Worker (CCW) and director of God’s Country Community Ministries (GCCM) for the past ten years. Prior to his work in Michigan, Hildebrant served in similar capacities as a CCW in Appalachia and in Nebraska. Financial support comes from Global Ministries, contributions from Michigan partners, and income generated by the ministry through its service to others. Both Randy and GCCM are also supported by EngageMI, the Michigan Conference’s mission engagement program.

Hildebrant notes that his ministry differs from that of a pastor: “I am not ordained or subject to a bishop’s appointment. I don’t baptize, administer the sacraments, or lead a local church. I am commissioned for my service by The United Methodist Church. I have received training for my work from Global Ministries, and I have been moved by the General Church as a national missionary to serve assignments in different places over the years.”

Hildebrant describes his role as CCW further: “I am not a preacher, though I have been asked to preach on occasion. Some people have likened what I do to social work. My work definitely addresses great social needs in our communities. I help our partnering ministries and many volunteers in ‘doing’ the love of Jesus out in the communities we serve.”

According to Hildebrant, God’s Country Community Ministries works because it has a strong team of staff and volunteers, along with many generous supporters.

“We do a lot to help people in need,” he explains. “We run feeding programs for children and the poor. We provide showers, laundry service, and shelter for the homeless. We have a free clothing store and work with area school systems to address identified needs for children. I got a call this week from a local school about a student who kept arriving at school in the bitter cold and snow with no coat, so we delivered a coat and helped address some greater dysfunction with the student’s family.”

Youth volunteers from a Methodist church in Pennsylvania learn how to make pasties for a GCCM fundraiser. ~ photo courtesy God’s Country Community Ministries / Facebook

Hildebrant adds, “We run a special birthday closet at our Dunlap Center in Newberry for needy children who are invited to visit the closet on their birthday to choose their own present. We have a gas card ministry that provides low-income residents with help covering rising fuel costs for required medical care trips. During the long and brutal winter we just had, we also helped many isolated seniors directly with transportation for their medical care.”

A big part of Randy’s job is managing Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams from across Michigan and the rest of the country who come to help throughout the year, primarily in warmer seasons.

“We host around 17 mission work teams each year,” noted Randy, “composed of able-bodied youth and adults from churches and other organizations across the country who travel to the Upper Peninsula to assist with work projects, primarily helping with needed home repairs for impoverished residents. Last year’s work included replacing a badly leaking roof on the home of a senior couple who were also dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Our work seeks to love like Jesus at the places of community need.”

Katie Peterson’s Story: Life as a CCW and a Deaconess

Church and Community Workers (CCWs) are deployed for service as U.S. missionaries by Global Ministries across the United States. Katie Peterson is a CCW and a Deaconess currently serving as director of the Mission Barn in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

Katie Peterson was raised as a preacher’s daughter in the West Ohio Conference. As a CCW, she has served ministries in Memphis, Tennessee; Williston, North Dakota; and, prior to her current assignment, preceded Randy Hildebrant as the director of God’s Country Community Ministries, where she worked from 2006-2010 and from 2010-2013 as director.

Peterson explains the unique nature of this ministry work: “Church and Community Workers are deployed by Global Ministries and must be willing to move, as assigned by the board, around the United States every three to nine years or so to serve ministries beyond their home conference where their skills are needed.”

Peterson shares that CCWs come from a wide variety of backgrounds, training, and life experiences. Persons interested in applying for this ministry are encouraged to explore the discernment resources provided by Global Ministries. Learn more.

Church and Community Worker Katie Peterson (second from left) and members of her team at the Mission Barn prepare emergency supplies for an UMCOR disaster response. ~ photo courtesy Katie Peterson

In her current assignment at the Mission Barn, Peterson leads a vital ministry that collects and distributes emergency supplies on behalf of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to areas affected by natural disasters across the United States. She notes that some of those supplies have been sent to Michigan to support cleanup efforts after storms and flooding. Her work at the Mission Barn also includes the life-assisting ministry of building accessible ramps for area residents who have difficulty entering their homes.

Katie Peterson explains that Church and Community Workers are assisted by the four-way partnership among Global Ministries, the annual conference where the mission is located, the local mission itself, and the Church and Community Worker.

In Peterson’s case, she is also a commissioned Deaconess, a committed public service ministry of The United Methodist Church, where her training and commissioning come from United Women in Faith (formerly known as United Methodist Women).

Margaret Madison’s Story: From Mississippi to Michigan

Margaret Madison served as the Church and Community Worker (CCW) at God’s Country Community Ministries before Katie Peterson and Randy Hildebrant. A native of Mississippi, Madison still recalls how difficult it was to reconcile a strong sense of God’s prompting to serve in ministry with the tangible resistance to that call from many close to her. Amid wrestling with her personal direction, she learned about the Church and Community Worker program and chose to pursue a path dedicated to helping others beyond church walls.

Margaret Madison applied through Global Ministries. She was accepted into a future that not only has helped her learn and develop new skills but also, in hindsight, has made it clear to her the difference her work has made in the lives of others.

One of her first assignments as a CCW was to God’s Country Community Ministries. She remembers vividly that the Upper Peninsula is a long way from Mississippi.

Madison learned that Upper Peninsula winters are cold and hard, but the people are gracious and open to sharing. She worked there from 1995-2006, serving as director for the last six years. She has fond memories of the growth in community among many as they discovered the joy of sharing their hospitality and gifts in collaboration to help meet others’ needs. She continues to value the lessons in trust and leadership she learned from God through her work.

Currently, there are six Church and Community Workers serving across the United States as United Methodist missionaries. Left to right: Trisha Manns, Central District Parish Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Little Rock, Arkansas; Randy Hildebrant, God’s Country Community Ministries, Michigan; Arabia Baynia Sweet, Bennettsville-Cheraw Area Cooperative Ministry, South Carolina; Katie Peterson, Mission Barn, Pennsylvania; Rev. Fuxia Wang, OU Wesley International Student Ministry, Oklahoma; and (not pictured) Althea Belton, Gulfside Assembly, Mississippi. Explore current openings. ~ photo courtesy Global Ministries

After 11 years in the Upper Peninsula, the Global Ministries’ board decided to change Margaret Madison’s assignment for the next 16 years to working with another important ministry in Columbus, Ohio, Community Development for All People.

In this new role, Madison improved her grant-writing skills. She was grateful to colleagues who helped launch a life-transforming housing ministry in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, which has benefited hundreds of people through homeownership and affordable housing. Many of these residences have been rebuilt by this ministry. Community Development for All People also operates a free store, a fresh market, community gardens, a youth development program, a leadership program, and other social enterprises.

Now that she is a retired grandmother living back in Michigan, Madison recalls the joy of her most recent birthday and remembers the unexpected blessing of a couple who sent her a birthday card, expressing great thanks for her role in helping them get into their first home through her Church and Community Worker ministry.

Explore Becoming a Church and Community Worker

Hannah Hanson is the Director of Young Adult Mission Service and US Missionaries for Global Ministries. Part of her responsibilities involves recruitment, training, deployment, and support for the Church and Community Workers (CCWs) currently serving in communities of need around the United States.

Hanson notes that emerging ministries, evolving needs, and retirements are all factors that encourage new persons discerning God’s call to consider this vocation as a Church and Community Worker.

She suggests that those interested in learning more can simply visit the web page dedicated to discernment and prayerfully consider how God may be calling in this next season of life. Explore now. This web page provides an overview of the program, expectations, and the application process.

Questions can also be emailed directly to missionaryinfo@umcmission.org. Hanson and her team will answer them, offer discernment resources, and connect persons to a current Church and Community Worker to build relationship and conversation, if desired.

Hanson also notes that those who feel called to this ministry as a Church and Community Worker should know that the time required from initial interest through application, discernment, interview, training, hiring, and deployment is often six months to a year. CCWs should realize that their missionary deployment will be in the United States, serving communities in need outside their home area. Explore current CCW openings.

Hanson further explains that organizations interested in hosting a Church and Community Worker are encouraged to email ccm@umcmission.org to begin a conversation about the process. Global Ministries and the project partners share the cost of the position, with each contributing 50% of the salary. Global Ministries also provides other benefits, including health benefits. The project partner is responsible for providing housing, utilities, and program-related expenses, such as mileage and office supplies.

Giving Opportunities

Persons who wish to donate financially to support the connectional work of Church and Community Workers through Global Ministries may do so through the Advance. Give now.

Instructions for those wishing to give to support the work of God’s Country Community Ministries (GCCM) in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are found on their website. Give now. EngageMI congregations in Michigan can also give to support Randy Hildebrant and GCCM through the mission engagement program. Learn more.

Last Updated on May 13, 2026

Posted in Featured, NewsTagged CCW, Church and Community Worker, Community Development for All People, General Board of Global Ministries, Global Ministries, Mission Barn, United Methodist Missionaries