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Healthy Churches Look Out and Move Out
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“Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors: The People of the United Methodist Church.” Most of you recognize this as the Igniting Ministry slogan. It is certainly not a bad slogan and it has helped The United Methodist Church become a community that is recognized by many in the world as an organization that accomplishes some good things. But isn’t a healthy church called to be more than that? To be different from the other community service organizations who do good things? For The United Methodist Church to be truly healthy the answer to this question needs to be, “yes.” The reality is that in order for our community of faith to become healthier we need to claim or reclaim our identity as a movement of God’s Spirit that is called to make disciples of Jesus Christ, to share the teachings of Christ, to baptize, and to move out into the world with this movement in a way that makes a difference, in a way that transforms. The United Methodist Church exists not to be described as an institution that does some good things, but it exists as a vehicle for God’s Spirit, a movement, that brings change, that makes a difference – to be light, hope, and love.
A healthy United Methodist Church needs to be out in the world opening hearts, minds, and doors – not just people and buildings who claim to have open hearts, minds, and doors in and of themselves. Healthy Churches are communities of faith who look outward to connect with those who are not yet part of the group. Church, if you have not thought about it yet, now is the time to RETHINK Church. It is time to take our prayer, ministry, and mission circles and instead of holding hands in those circles so that we face one another, we need to get out of our comfort zones and hold hands so that we face outward, intentionally focusing on the mission to open others to a personal relationship and saving action of Jesus Christ. Take the challenge! Reclaim your United Methodist Identity as a movement of the Spirit! If you are ready to move, there are many of your brothers and sisters in Christ who stand ready to help!
How Your Church Can Get Involved: If you would like to know more about RETHINK CHURCH and how your congregation can become more welcoming and hospitable, please contact Rev. Dr. Sandra Steiner Ball, Director of Connectional Ministries, at the Bishop Felton Edwin May Resource Center (1.877.736.3351) or e-mail her at ssteinerball@pen-del.org.
Local churches looking for resources and tools to use in promoting RETHINK CHURCH can visit www.rethinkchurch.org.
Visitors and Guests of the United Methodist Church can find out more about the denomination by visiting www.10thousanddoors.org.
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