PREACH, TEACH, AND HEAL
Our church mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. For many years the theme of the Missional Movement of the Methodist Church was to PREACH, TEACH, and HEAL. Every mission had to include those three. It could be a clinic or a hospital; it could be a cathedral or a chapel; it could be a single classroom or a university – but every mission included something that allowed all three to happen.
A few years back our leaders began investigating different ways to reframe our ministries so that we are doing just that. How are we feeding the hungry? How are we clothing the naked? How are we healing the sick and visiting those imprisoned? How are we spreading good news to the poor?
Over the last several years our church has done many of those things by sharing space, participating, and partnering with organizations such as New Horizons, which tutors at risk kids children in our community and by feeding the poor with Cafe of Life and Meals of Hope. Additionally, during the month of June we will be hosting, YesUKan (See info link below) which provides adult literacy programs.
Many of our members have been praying about the next steps of growth and for the next 100 years of our congregation. As a matter of fact, you may have seen members walking in a prayer circle around the campus seeking God’s direction.
Over the years we have found that our congregation is getting older, our attendance and giving have declined, and the needs of our community are changing. While COVID added its own complications to the process, these trends were being noticed by all Christian denominations long before 2020. We are not alone in recognizing our trends.
I am excited about the possibilities of continuing to be the hands and feet of Jesus in ways that we had never imagined or could do on our own. Our church could further become more of a beacon of hope to this community – combining spiritual direction with physical, emotional, and educational ministries. That’s what Jesus came to do, and that’s where we can show our love for Him and our neighbor.
Will you join me and those other prayer warriors and asking God for His clarity and direction?
– Rev. Bill