"Believing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and acknowledging that every person is a child of God, we desire to know, understand and share the gospel with all God’s children by our words and by our actions."

"As living examples of Christ, we will be a welcoming and inclusive community. We will equip disciples for Jesus Christ. We will study, preach and teach the Word. We will pray, praise, worship, and participate in fellowship. We will reach out to those in need, providing nurture and comfort."

~ Mission and Vision Statements of South UMC

I have been thinking a lot about our mission and vision statements lately – about what they say or don’t say, mean or don’t mean to our church. . .

And the thought that follows the reflection is simply this: They say as much as we want them to say and mean as much as we want them to mean.

That’s obvious, I know. Being obvious, of course, doesn’t make it any less true! As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are as faithful, loving and fruitful as we want to be. That doesn’t mean that any one of us can do anything. Each of us has limits and we are not expected to do what others are better able to do (we are, after all, only part of the body). Yet so, our faithfulness is directly affected by our desire for faithfulness. Do we want to serve? To be loving? To experience Christ in our lives?

And as with individual members, so with the body: South UMC will be the church we want it to be. Do we want to be an open and affirming church? Make a powerful witness in our community? Empower disciples for Jesus Christ? Provide a joyful home for the community of faith?

What are we passionate about at South United Methodist Church? What kind of church do we want to be?

Peace and joy – and good thinking, too,

Pastor Mark