What We're Working on at KUMC

We’re right at three months of church life together now. And it’s been wonderful in so many ways! It is easy to pause in this season to say thank you to all of the many people who have been part of this journey so far. I’M GRATEFUL FOR YOU!

And that gratitude is what propels us to move forward with big hopes for the future! Over the last few weeks we’ve shared some insights with you about what we’re working on with our relationship with NFC and more. I want to lay out a little more of what’s happening behind the scenes at KUMC for you - so that as you are praying for this church and how you might partner with this work, you are able to do so with a greater sense of how God is shifting our culture and focus.

First, a vision for the future! Starting in January we’re begin a formal discernment process called “visioning.” With the help of a consultant the leadership of KUMC will prayerfully and faithfully create a guide/outline for our work ahead. We’ll create a picture for what we expect to look like as a church community. We’ll establish a pathway to making that vision a reality. And we’ll set some foundational structures to keep us faithful to who we are. This is a huge step towards growing into God’s bigger vision for us!

Next, a framework. Even before a re-visioning we’re making room for growth. For example: Our Admin Council is considering a single board of church leadership, instead of our traditional separate committees. If you’re new to Methodism I’ll tell you a secret: we love our meetings! But here’s the truth… ministry rarely happens in meetings. Look around at research about churches today and you’ll see that the difference between a growing church and one that’s dying is often directly related to how much time is spent in meetings versus how much time is spent in ministry. SPOILER ALERT The growing churches are the ones in more ministry and less meetings.

And along the way, worship/kids-n-youth/you. One of the central functions of church is praise and worship of God. It’s also what most non-church people expect to see when they visit. So we’ll be working on strengthening, changing, and adapting our worship on Sunday mornings in our practice of growing together. / Another focus is kids and youth. We’re dreaming about how our love of them will grow, and we’ll aim to invest in them heavily. In January we’ll begin a Duke Endowment cohort for developing practices of worship for children (are you interested in hearing more? Reach out to me!)! / And one more focus is you. We need you to be part of all of this, so we’ll be revamping things like our newsletter to get more information to you and inviting you to invest more of your time and talents and gifts into our shared work.

Let’s be honest, we know there will be growing pains along the way. New things are hard, they come with challenges we don’t expect, and they don’t always work. You and I both have lived through that before, and we will again. But keep the honesty going… growth doesn’t happen if you stand still. It takes effort and intention and, in our case as church, a whole lot of FAITH! That’s what these things are about. Walking forward in faith.

Here’s a modern proverb I’m leaning into lately:

“The only way to be great at anything is to be okay being bad at it in the beginning.”~ anonymous

Will you pray with me?

Once again I say THANK YOU for every prayer and sharing on this journey. As I lean deeper on my own relationship with God I’ll ask the same of you. Will you take a little extra time this week to pray on behalf of KUMC and God’s Kingdom building? While you’re at it, why not lift up to God a prayer for how you are being formed and transformed in the behind the scenes of your own life.

Holy Spirit, wind of change.

Blow through my life with the fresh breeze of your presence.

Shake loose all the dying branches that I’ve been holding on to for fear of change.

Brush away the leaves I know longer need in this season,

and make me ready for new growth in the coming spring.

This I pray for my life, so that others around me will see your work and pray for your wind too.

In the name of the Son, who change the world.

Amen.

“Listening is the first act of loving.”

Steph