12/10/2025
See our latest update from DS Tony Jones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2P67plIx-k
Transcript is below if you'd like to read along.
Hello Alliance South District family!
As we move from Thanksgiving into the Christmas season, I wanted to share a brief update and highlight several important items for our district. I recorded a 25-minute version of this message earlier, then realized I needed to be more concise. There's still important information to share, so I appreciate you taking the time to listen or read carefully.
Below (and in the video), I'll cover:
A Christmas reflection from John 1 and the call to be the light of Christ
The purpose of the year-end salary questionnaire
Transitioning from MEGs to monthly Zoom prayer groups
Opportunities to spend personal time together as I travel the district
New coaching clusters beginning in January focused on spiritual life, discipleship, and developing workers
Christmas Reflection
I hope you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are moving into the Christmas season with joy.
First, I want to remind us why we celebrate Christmas. In John 1, we read about Jesus, the Word, who was with God in the beginning and through whom all things were made. He is the light coming into the world—the light of all people. Verse 9 says He is the true light that gives light to everyone.
He is the God who allows His light to shine on both the righteous and the unrighteous—on believers and unbelievers alike. He came into the world He made, yet the world didn't recognize Him. People still don't recognize who Jesus is, and for a long time many of us didn't either.
John tells us He came to His own, but His own didn't receive Him. They didn't recognize or welcome Him. But to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children not born of natural descent, human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us for that purpose: to bring light into the world and form the family of God.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to His followers, "You are the light of the world." So during this Christmas season, let us be the light He's called us to be. Jesus is still in the world through us. Not everyone will recognize Him, but we want to give everyone around us an opportunity to see Jesus in us. As you prepare your sermons, decorate your church, plan your Christmas programs, and go about your daily activities, may you be the light of Christ to your neighbors, your cashier, your mechanic, and everyone you meet. My prayer is that through you, many will take one step closer to truly knowing who He is.
Salary Questionnaire
Churches and pastors received an end-of-year letter recently, and I know it was different from what some of you have seen. Someone asked me, "What is this for, and who is asking for it?" That was a great question, and I realized I should have explained it more clearly and want to take time to do that now.
In my previous district (the Northeastern district), this yearly questionnaire was standard. We asked pastors to forward it to their treasurers and governing boards because we wanted to encourage healthy, open conversations around compensation, salary, and retirement planning. For pastors who are often humble and meek, those conversations can feel awkward. This questionnaire is meant to foster those important conversations on a regular basis.
However, we're seeing a crisis among clergy in America—across many denominations—when it comes to financial planning and retirement readiness, and I recognize that these are things that need to be discussed and addressed. I see it as part of my responsibility to know how our pastors are doing—not only spiritually and emotionally, but also financially. I want to provide coaching to boards and pastors who need guidance.
The goal is to help you move toward financial stability and a healthy retirement. So, this survey is driven by care: a way to initiate conversation between you and your church and, where needed, a way for me to step in alongside you. My heart in this is to ensure that our pastors are being well cared for in every area of life.
Prayer Groups Instead of MEGs
In the end-of-year letter, I also mentioned MEGs and how we're approaching them differently going forward.
At district conference, we laid out our mission and vision, and afterward many of you responded with thoughtful feedback. We received encouraging comments about what you appreciated, as well as constructive criticism about what could be improved. I'm grateful for the gracious tone you used in the critiques. As pastors, we understand this: after preaching a sermon series, we often think, "I wish I had said that differently" or "I forgot to cover this." The same applies to conferences and MEGs. There were things we did well, and others we'd love to do over.
One recurring theme in both conference and MEG contexts is that many of you feel disconnected. You've said things like, "We don't really know each other," or "We feel siloed in our ministry contexts." MEGs, structured regionally, often put you together with people you already knew, which didn't always broaden those connections.
In the coming year, we're not continuing MEGs in the same way. Instead, we want to address that deeper need for connection and prayer across the district.
Starting in January, we'll host monthly Zoom prayer gatherings for the district. Each will last about an hour. We'll begin with roughly 10 minutes of Scripture meditation and a brief encouragement from the Word and then everyone will be randomly assigned into small groups of four to five people. You'll spend about 45 minutes in those small groups getting to know one another, sharing needs, and praying for and with each other.
Each month, you'll be grouped with different people. I know the natural desire is to reconnect with the same group, but our primary goal is to help you build relationships beyond your usual circle. In the old MEG structure, you mostly met with people you already knew in your region. With these prayer groups, you'll meet pastors and leaders from across the entire district.
My hope is that when you arrive at district conference, you'll look around the room and say, "I know him from one of the prayer meetings," or "I've been praying for her church for months." These ongoing connections in prayer are meant to knit us together as a district family, not just in isolated clusters.
This shift—from regional MEGs to district-wide rotating prayer groups—is about building relationships, deepening mutual care, and strengthening our unity as we pursue the mission God has given us.
Time with Tony
Another major need I see is more relational, personal time together, especially around leadership development, vision, and ministry challenges. While MEGs and large Zoom calls allowed us to share vision and some training, they weren't ideal for genuine back-and-forth interaction. On a large call, there often isn't enough time for you to ask questions, share your story, or explore how the district vision applies specifically to your context.
Now that we've laid out our district mission and vision—to see every man, woman, and child across our district have repeated opportunities to hear the gospel, and to equip church leaders to transform their communities by deploying fully devoted disciples of Jesus into every county—I want to spend more direct time with you.
My plan is to travel through the district and schedule one-on-one or small-group meetings with pastors and key leaders. These will be informal but intentional: opportunities to sit together over a meal or coffee, talk, pray, and listen.
In these times, I want to hear about your ministry and your journey and learn what God is doing in your congregation. I want to listen to what God has placed on your heart for your church, your people, and community, and share more of my heart for the district and how I believe we can move forward together.
We don't want to stack multiple overlapping initiatives on top of one another—MEGs, district trainings, coaching cohorts, etc.—without space for real relationship. These personal visits are meant to help us move at a sustainable pace, coordinate efforts, and ensure that what we're doing district-wide supports, rather than burdens, your local ministry.
So when you hear from me or the district office that I'll be in your area, I will greatly appreciate you taking some time for us to connect. Or you can take the initiative and reach out to me so we can set something up.
Coaching Clusters Starting January 2026
Finally, I want to share about the coaching clusters beginning in January and where we're headed.
During district conference, the pastors from northeast Georgia responded almost immediately. The very next day they said, "We got together last night, and we're on board. We want to invite you to come talk with us, and we want to bring leaders from our churches as well. We want to see how we can be part of expanding the Kingdom in northeast Georgia."
They took the initiative to set up a gathering, which we held on December 6. It was a wonderful time. More than 30 church leaders and five pastors were represented. I shared the district vision from conference again, and then talked in more detail about how we can take concrete steps toward seeing that vision realized.
A key focus of that conversation—and of what we'll be doing going forward—is coaching. Beginning in January, I'll start meeting regularly with this cluster of pastors and leaders from northeast Georgia for ongoing coaching. Our initial focus areas will be:
1. Spiritual and Deeper Life
We want to explore how to deepen the spiritual life of our churches and cultivate a greater hunger for God and His mission. This includes building rhythms of prayer, dependence on the Holy Spirit, and responsiveness to God's leading in our congregations.
2. Discipleship and Developing Workers
Jesus didn't tell us only to pray for the harvest; He told us to pray for workers because the harvest is already plentiful. Our challenge is that we need more workers—more fully devoted disciples who are equipped and mobilized.
In our coaching clusters we'll work together on how to strengthen discipleship processes in our churches to effectively develop leaders and volunteers. We want to empower the churches in our district to raise up workers who can serve both inside the local church and, in some cases, be sent to neighboring counties or new ministry fields.
As we invest our energy into developing leaders from within our congregations, some will say, "God is calling me to stay right here and serve my church more deeply," while others may sense, "God is calling me to the next county or to plant a new work." Either way, our investment in developing workers will bear fruit for the Kingdom.
For those of you in other parts of the district who, while at conference, expressed a desire to participate in discipleship coaching or right now you are thinking, "I want that kind of coaching to make sure that my church is fully equipped to make disciples and develop leaders," please contact me so that I can get you started in this first round in January. I'll be focusing first on this initial group starting in January, but the long-term plan is to expand coaching clusters across the district as capacity allows.
As we move into this Christmas season, know that we're praying for you as you serve the Lord and shine His light in your churches and communities. May God bless you, strengthen you, and use you powerfully as the light of Christ where you live and minister.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you.
The Alliance South | 704-543-0470 | 1430 Gadsden Highway, Ste 116 Box 121 Birmingham, Alabama 35235 | alliancesouth.org
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