Photo credit: North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church
Madras Church received a 2022 Equipping the Local Church Grant to help implement projects aimed at inclusively and fully welcoming everyone in their community to be part of the Body of Christ.
On Sunday, January 22, Madras United Methodist Church launched in the South West District of the North Georgia Conference. This new church start now begins weekly worship.
“Sunday was probably one of the most incredible experiences of my life,” said lead pastor Rev. Fede Apecena. “For the team and I to launch and say ‘hey, we are here and we are seeing the fruits of our presence in this area; all the hard work and the wait was worth it’ is fantastic!”
The launch was two years in the making!
In the congregation Sunday were not only the launch team and regular attenders of the growing faith community, but also first-time visitors from the community, and Bishop Robin Dease along with District Superintendent Susan Landry.
“To be able to have our Superintendent Susan Landry and our new bishop, Bishop Dease, with us was the most encouraging statement we could have had when it comes to the support from the conference,” said Apecena. ”For them to be able to join us and celebrate affirms us, uplifts us, and reminds us that they believe in what God is doing and will continue doing in this community.”
The name Madras is appropriate for several reasons. The colorful, plaid pattern is a good visual representation of the vision of the multi-cultural welcoming church, but Madras is also a familiar name in the community with nearby Madras Parkway and Madras Middle School.
The church, located at 2331 US-29 in Newnan, will worship every Sunday at 10:45 am in the sanctuary. Additionally, on the last Sunday of every month, Madras will meet as a church to serve at one or more locations in Newnan and surrounding areas. All are welcome to worship and serve!
This story was originally posted at NGUMC.org on 1/25/2023.
As I step into my first year as The Foundation for Evangelism’s board chair and reflect on the last three years I have served on the board, I am reminded that we are building on the foundation laid by those who came before. Seventy-four years ago today, the Foundation was born, charged with “diffus[ing] the blessing of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s quite a weighty task.
Raising Up Gospel Leaders
From the Foundation’s early days, under the umbrella of the Methodist Church, our board had a vision for emphasizing the ministry of evangelism. This vision led to funding professors of evangelism, E. Stanley Jones Professors, at 13 Methodist-related seminaries in the United States, Russia, Germany, and Zimbabwe. Nearly thirty-five years and many discussions with Wesleyan-tradition leaders later, we recognize that not all those called to pastor or lead a church take a traditional seminary path. So, we are enlisting instructors that are “bridge-builders” whose expertise helps translate and contextualize theological ideas with the goal of inspiring the practice of Wesleyan expressions of evangelism. In addition, Innovation Grants encourage out-of-the-box ideas and practices for equipping evangelistic leaders to minister in an ever-changing landscape. For instance, a 2022 grant involved collaboration with leaders in the Brazilian Methodist Church movement that drew more than 800 leaders to a virtual evangelism-equipping event.
Engaging the Ministry of the Laity
Our founder, Dr. Harry Denman, was a layperson, called to the ministry of evangelism like so many of the Foundation’s leaders that followed. The laity have a vital role to play in inviting people to the Christian journey. We celebrate the Foundation’s past grants such as Discover God’s Call Laity retreats, Campus Ministry Grants, and the on-going Denman Evangelism Awards in United Methodist Conferences that lift-up the evangelistic ministries of the laity. This spring, the Foundation will gather a group of evangelistic laity from seven Wesleyan-tradition denominations across the U.S. Their challenges, dreams, and needs will inform how we develop future grants to further engage the ministry of the laity in the Wesleyan tradition.
Equipping the Local Church
The Foundation for Evangelism recognizes that Christian disciple-making most-often happens in the local church. That is where many receive the invitation to life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, grow in grace, and live out their faith by loving and serving God and neighbor. My father, Dr. H. Eddie Fox, pastored local churches for the first 18 years of his ministry before becoming a full-time world evangelist. The local church is where I learned about Jesus, where I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior, and where I find my faith community today.
Yet, the global pandemic led to a loss of community in many small and medium-sized churches. They are slowly rebuilding those connections vital to life-transformation in Jesus Christ. That is why I am excited for the Foundation to partner with these churches in its second annual 2023 Equipping the Local Church Grants cycle. The first round of these grants given in 2022 are already equipping the local church to share the Good News and invite their neighbors on the Christian journey! We invite you to hear about their impact!
Next year, in 2024, The Foundation for Evangelism will celebrate its 75th anniversary. We are already planning a big celebration, and we can’t wait to share the plans with you. While so much has changed since 1949, the priorities that were part of our mission then are still at the heart of what we do today:
Promote, encourage, and provide resourcesfor Wesleyan evangelism, inviting all peopleinto a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.
mission Statement
As we build relationships across the spectrum of Wesleyan-tradition denominations, our vision is to be a catalyst to equip disciples to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Happy 74th Anniversary to The Foundation for Evangelism – and MANY MORE!
