These are my notes for my Pastor's Report at our Church Council meeting last night (March 26, 2009). I addressed Horne’s role in the second focus of ministry: “Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones.”
There is a saying that if you want to go surfing you have to go where the waves are. Also, if you want to be in on the exciting work of God you have to look around and see the movement of the Holy Spirit. So, when opportunities continue to present themselves you have to ask if this is the movement of God’s Spirit.
On Ash Wednesday I talked about the Four Areas of Focus for Ministry. The Four Areas are...
Developing principled Christian Leaders for the church and the world.
Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones.
Engaging in ministry with the poor.
Stamping out killer diseases by improving health globally.
Tonight I want to lift up the second one again: “Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones.”
What does that look like for Horne?
Working with new church starts. We have several new church starts within 10 miles of us. Two of them we have some degree of involvement in: Greater Heights and Trinity UMC (in the Cleveland area). Trinity has a very specific target area and the center of that target is Cleveland Elementary School. Pastor David Wehrle is making a very specific request for us to assist them by paying for 2 hours of child care a week to help them get off the ground. I think would be a good thing to help out with and I want to place before you for your consideration.
By now you are all familiar with Greater Heights UMC and Pastor Matt Evans. Since Greater Heights had to leave the high school auditorium for it to be renovated, the congregation has been gathering at a much smaller venue for its worship services and they have outgrown it. They are going to be moving to the Clayton Center to have their worship services and the conference office that handles new church starts is asking us to consider entering into a partner relationship with Greater Heights. The model for this is provided by the relationship between Apex UMC and Acts UMC. Apex UMC has a history that is similar to our own, but accelerated by about 10 to 15 years. Apex UMC serves as a mentoring congregation to Acts UMC and the expectations of the relationship are drawn up in a rather detailed covenant. I will send out a copy of that covenant to the church council mail list so you can look at it.
A third area of ministry and mission expansion for us could be Calvary UMC in the Archers Lodge area. This church currently has one service a month that meets in the afternoons and services of Holy Communion on 5th Sundays (which are usually four times a year). It serves as the only UM presence in that area, but we have gifted and talented people who can serve to help lead and mentor that congregation into a growing and thriving base of mission and ministry to the Archers Lodge area.
Sometimes, as church people we have a tendency to view other congregations as competition – they are not. They are natural allies. The competition is that warm Sunday morning bed or the Sunday newspaper and a cup of coffee or tea. The competition is the easy access to shopping malls on Sunday mornings or sporting leagues that schedule events on Sunday mornings. No, these new church starts and Calvary can serve as vital centers of discipleship and transforming the world one person at a time. It gives us an opportunity to serve our God is new and exciting ways.
This Sunday we are finishing our congregational study on the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. The theme will be Extravagant Generosity. Think about those five practices in the context of our relationship with these ministry and mission stations. How is this giving us a chance to demonstrate and live out Radical Hospitality, especially if we are willing to covenant with Greater Heights. In modeling this kind of radical hospitality to Greater Heights, how will we be mentoring them to be a congregation that demonstrates that same fruitful practice.
Consider Risk Taking Mission and Ministry, especially if we are given the chance to seriously extend the work we can do in the Archers Lodge area with Calvary. As I said this past Sunday, yes taking risks allows for the possibility of failure, but what if we can provide the kind of turnover the servants with the two and five talents produced?
And looking ahead to this Sunday all of this can become a tremendous expression of Extravagant Generosity and willingness to trust in God to provide ways for us to use these opportunities for building of the Kingdom of God.
I am not asking for any action tonight. I want you to take these ideas and pray about them. I want you to listen for God’s voice. Can we hear God speaking to us through these proposals?
Thank-you, and may you catch God’s wave.
Alan Swartz
Horne Memorial UMC – Church Council
March 26, 2009
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