The mission of the United Methodist Church is to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ
for the transformation of the world.” (Matthew 28:18-20 And Matthew
22:36-40) This mission is achieved
through vital congregations that equip and empower people to be disciples of Jesus
Christ in their homes and communities around the world.
Vital Congregations are;
Spirit filled, forward leaning communities of believers that
welcome all people (Galatians 3:28)
Places where Disciples of Jesus Christ are made through the
power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 18-20
Communities that serve like Christ through justice and mercy
ministries (Micah 6:8, Luke 4:17-21)
taken from www.umvitalcongregations.org
My heart weeps as I see an increased number of people pull away from congregational fellowship. Some are truly seeking to find strength, understanding, and faithful responses to their life challenges and do not find that within our congregations. They continue their search outside of our fellowship - some coming to rest in other communities of faith - some continuing to search. It saddens me that they are not able to find community and support within our fellowship but I am comforted in knowing they have continued their search and perhaps found it in other faith fellowship.
I struggle, however with those who separate themselves from our community of faith for other (in my eyes) less important reasons and do not attempt to find faith fellowship as they discern which way God is calling them. Over my 30 plus years of ministry I have known people to stop attending worship and supporting the church due to such reasons as: a disagreement with a fellow worshiper; worship service challenges which has been left to fester for so long it becomes a barrier(too cold in the winter - to hot in the summer; music is too slow - music is too fast; too much prayer - not enough prayer; too traditional - too modern; too much sharing - not enough personal participation; the list goes on); not being asked to participate in an event open to all; concerns over the pastoral leadership; concerns over the participation of laity; and yes even the old standby "Someone is always sitting in my pew - I just do not matter anymore". I am sure you realize the list could go on.
I truly believe God has called me into this particular ministry in the Lake Sunapee area to strengthen the congregations and equip them to reach out into our community and bring the message of Christ alive to our families, friends and neighbors so they can build relationships with God and with each other. If we are not in conversation within our own community of faith how are we going to be vital in our communities? When one or more of our brothers and sisters in Christ separates from our fellowship with out conversation with our leadership of the whys and wherefores we are unable to be in intentional conversation and prayer on how we can be a more vital and transforming congregation.
All of this to say our congregations in Lake Sunapee and Grantham are in my continued active prayers that we may hear and be set on fire to God's ways to be significant and life enriching places of faith. Will you pray with me? Will you be in conversation with me as to where to go from here?
I recently sent out a pastoral letter to the congregation of Lake Sunapee UMC. Over 130 letters were sent out requesting thoughts and suggestions from the past into the future. I have received less than 10 % back. Perhaps this format - a chat with Pat - will bring about a more active conversation.
To begin - in looking at the description at the head of this entry - Vital Congregations - what is your response in relationship to our congregation and your personal walk of faith?
