The end of January saw us completing our End-of-Year reports and reviewing the direction of the church through finances, ministries, and other measurable components. Although these reports are a difficulty at times, they are helpful in keeping the church focused on our mission. Some of these statistics and the information that the North Georgia Conference tracks on individual churches is generated from the weekly reporting of our "vital statistics"*.
In 2011, the UM Conference of Bishop’s introduced a “Call to Action” titled “Vital Congregations”. It was developed to help promote a cultural change in the UM church from a mindset of “Maintenance” to one of “Mission”. They clarified the mission of the UM church with this statement: “The mission of The United Methodist Church is to “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” This expressed thought comes directly through the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) Jesus gave his disciples and the Great Commandment (Matt 22:36- 40) that he shared later. The Conference of Bishop’s also said that this unified mission will be achieved through vital congregations that equip and empower people to be Disciples of Jesus Christ in their homes and communities around the world.
Through their efforts and with the input of many UM leaders, they identified vital congregations as those that are:
* Spirit-filled, forward-leaning communities of believers that welcome all people (Gal.3:28)
* Places where Disciples of Jesus Christ are made through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:18-20)
* Communities that serve like Christ through justice and mercy ministries. (Micah 6:8, Luke 4:17-21)
They further defined a disciple of Jesus as persons who: worship regularly, help make new disciples, are engaged in growing in their faith, are engaged in mission and share by giving in mission. The Conference of Bishops also provided 4 areas of focus and importance in developing a vital church. At the top of the list was establishing small groups (including ministries with children and youth), followed by leadership training for our laity, leadership training for clergy, and worship. And lastly, in order to monitor how our churches are responding to their “Call to Action”, they set up a means to establish goals and for pastors’ to provide weekly updates for their churches (* our "vital statistics"). These areas include:
* Weekly Worship Attendance
* number of Professions of Faith
* The number of Small Groups
* The number of persons participating in Small Groups
* Members in Mission and
* Dollars given to Mission
Our church is responding in bold and wide-ranging efforts to move the church toward its mission for Jesus Christ in the world. There are opportunities for every one of us to support the work of the church and to be a vital congregation in the transformation of the world. Christ is counting on you, what will you do to make disciples of Jesus Christ?
In Christ, I am
Rev. Pat
