Tags: Evangelism, Hospitality, Medium, Young Adult, Youth
Knowing the Make-Up Enhances the Make-Over
McKinney United Methodist Church is a church that serves within a community consisting predominately of seniors and less than one third of the population being considered young adults, those under 30 years of age. Another key identifying element in this make-up is the number of children being reared by grandparents and rapidly emerging Hispanic families leading to a change in demographics and multiculturism. These dynamics, along with economic woes of the region due in large part to widespread loss of jobs in industry such as refineries, hospitals, and schools that support more than seventy percent of all employment opportunities, created an environment inundated by socio-economic hardships. In addition, the community at large is one of great heritage steeped in monuments and memorials of the past and less movement towards the future. Consequently, there was an experience of stagnation within the church and community that made evangelism challenging. However, it was the realization of these elements that has helped McKinney identify and conceptualize its mission field and begin making adjustments in the ways we do ministry, from the inside out. In other words, we as the church, began to meet the people exactly at their point of need in their everyday lives. This is the origin of our experience in church growth.
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By definition an Endowment Fund is a permanent investment account which produces earnings that are used to meet annual operating expenses, supplement important programs and services, and make possible other activities that enhance the overall quality of a nonprofit organization. In addition, it provides a financial cushion for today as well as tomorrow, ensuring a [...]
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The Foundation for Evangelism welcomes Rev. Neil Blair as its new President. Blair assumed his new role August 1 at the Foundation’s Lake Junaluska, N.C. headquarters. He most recently served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. Prior to his tenure there, he served 19 years in development at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. Rev. Blair is an ordained elder in the Dakotas Conference and served eight years in the local church in the Missouri Conference.
In an interview with Rev. Blair, he shares how his past has prepared him for this new leadership position, and what role he sees The Foundation for Evangelism playing in growing and strengthening The United Methodist Church.
What do you feel has most prepared you for this role with the Foundation?
My extensive background in The United Methodist Church, leadership as a youth, work done at two United Methodist colleges, two decades as Vice President at a United Methodist Seminary, and eight years in the pulpit. I genuinely believe every step of change in life prepares you for the next opportunity.
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I firmly believe that God selects places, times and communities for us, and in those special situations, opens our eyes for a season of discernment. At which times, He expects a response to His call. I experienced such a season in my life during the spring of 2007. My friend, Ron Deloney, led a Disciple Bible Study class from the new generation of DBS entitled, Jesus in the Gospels. Only a few weeks into the daily reading, I knew the scripture was speaking to me! I heard a brave, assertive Jesus telling the establishment that law was certainly good, but it was insufficient. I heard a loving, understanding Jesus tell disciples that he had a mission for them that meant that they go from their comfort zone into an unknown world. The more I read, the more agitated I became. My prayers for solace seemed hollow. I kept hearing these bold action verbs, and they seemed to be addressed to me. “Go,” “Do,” “Work,” “Teach,” “Heal,” “Pray,” I realized that the Jesus to whom I had offered my life in exchange for His saving grace is a radical God. He expected me at age sixty-three to forget about retirement, forget about Rheumatoid Arthritis, forget about all the excuses that I had neatly arranged and filed under a bold capital “C” for Can’t. I needed to select some action verbs and begin living them.
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Tags: Community, Dynamic Worship, Medium, North Carolina, Outreach
“Reach, teach and unleash people for Christ”
Grace Church is located in downtown Greensboro, a block and a half from one of the largest United Methodist Churches in our annual conference. During the 1950’s and 60’s Grace was a vibrant community of faith. However, in the 1970’s the population shifted to the suburbs. And like many downtown churches, Grace began to experience 35 straight years of decline in worship attendance and membership. In early 2000, however, all that began to change. During the last eleven years the worshipping attendance at Grace has grown from 140 to 325 each Sunday, the average age of the congregation has dropped from “70” to “40”, and the number of children and youth has grown from 15 to 150. Grace is now a vibrant community of faith offering a variety of ministries focused on helping children, youth, and adults follow the way of Jesus so they can be used by God to transform the world for love.
Here are a few of the steps that helped that process happen.
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Each year, many events are held to strengthen the leadership of The United Methodist Church, however one event focuses on The Great Commission and sharing God’s transforming love through Jesus Christ. The Congress on Evangelism is held annually in January to give clergy and laity a chance to recharge and train how to be more [...]
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