Greetings in the name of Jesus!
Many of you might be aware of the United Methodist Church’s mission statement: The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. In May of 2025, the Council of Bishops released a guiding vision statement to complement the mission: The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.
These two statements are intended to guide the work of the denomination as well as provide a mission and purpose that binds us with other United Methodist Churches. I see three key ideas in the new statement: love boldly, lead courageously, serve joyfully. If United Methodists are to embody those three ideals, then I thought it was worth looking at each more closely. So I have created a 4-part sermon series based on the idea that United Methodists are people who transform the world by loving boldly, leading courageously and serving joyfully! The series will begin on October 4th:
- October 4 (World Communion Sunday)– Loving Boldly
- October 11 – I am out of town. Sharon Bartter is preaching.
- October 18 – Leading Courageously October 25 – Serving Joyfully
- November 1 (All Saints Sunday) – Saints Transforming the World
But wait, there’s more! I appreciate being a part of a denomination that is intentional about who United Methodists are called to be and what we are to do. While the denominational statements provide some common ground, it is important for each local church to discern who they are called to be by exploring questions like “What are our values? What is God calling the Aldersgate United Methodist Church to become? What is God calling us and equipping us to do?”
While these questions have been explored before, the Council decided this is a good time to revisit them. Therefore, we will be entering into a process where we look at these questions. There is more detail elsewhere in this letter about this process. I encourage all of you to prayerfully consider being a part of these meetings as we discern together God’s mission and vision for AUMC.
Be well! Pastor Wilson