The first day of fall this year, also known as the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the exact time of the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is 8:44 a.m. EDT. There are technically two days that you could consider as the start of the fall season. There's astronomical fall, which begins Sept. 22 with the autumnal equinox. Some meteorologists also consider Sunday, Sept. 1 as the start of meteorological fall, which is based on the annual temperature cycle. Whether the Fall season begins on September 1st or September 22nd, this season that follows Summer begins this month. Wow! I don’t know about you, but, for me, the months of June, July, and August have flown by.
In the April newsletter, following Resurrection Sunday and at the beginning of Eastertide, the Christian season during which we celebrate the risen Lord, I wrote the following about church mission and vision. I repeat it because it is very important and, also, because after asking each of us to pray and prepare over the mission and vision of LeValley and Berlin Center for those 50 days, I decided that Summer would not be the time to attempt to discern where God is leading each church. But, the time is now. By the time we celebrate our first anniversary as Global Methodist Churches on January 1, 2025, I want us to know who we are, where we have been, and where we are going.
I would like us to use these fifty days to prepare our churches, not for a launch but for a re-launch. On January 1, 2024, LeValley Church and Berlin Center Country Church became part of the new Global Methodist Church denomination. Though in most ways our churches won’t change as a result of leaving the United Methodist Church, it is my opinion that the churches need a re-fresh. You have used the same mission and vision statements for over twenty years. They need to be updated to reflect where the churches are and where they are going into the future.
Do you know them? I’m not even sure of your vision statement, but the mission statement is in the bulletin each week.
Mission Statement:
To transform the world by reaching out to people in Jesus’ name and developing them into mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Even though LeValley and Berlin Center are sister churches, with the same pastor, should they have the same mission and vision? I would say, definitely not. I have actually gotten ahead of myself. I should have defined mission and vision first. A mission statement serves as a concise declaration of a church’s purpose, summarizing its reason for existence and guiding its activities. It should be transparent, memorable, and reflective of the church’s identity and calling. In short, ha, ha!, a mission statement should be short enough to be memorized. The vision is where we are heading– “we will be.” Vision is future-orientated and focuses on where we are going. A church vision is an idealistic dream, so it inspires and speaks to the heart. A vision is ‘seen’ with eyes of faith and is ‘felt’, bringing shape to tomorrow. The vision reveals the destination, to be steered and moved towards.
I will bring to the ad boards several ideas for mission and vision statements to get their thoughts percolating. These ideas will be available to anyone who is interested. I foresee much prayer, special meetings, retreats, for contemplating what the mission and vision for each church should be, followed by all church meetings to finalize them.
I have given you many details in this article. I hope you will read it more than once, highlighting what is most important to you. I look forward to our mission and vision work over the next few months, something that is way overdue and should have been addressed shortly after I arrived as your pastor almost seven years ago. That said, I will not look back, but shepherd with you as we move to a healthy future for LeValley and Berlin Center, praying that we will see God’s will for his churches.
Now, back to today. LeValley needs to base their mission and vision statements based on growth and change. Though it may be difficult to accept, Berlin Center may have to make decisions based on the reality of a church family that is aging and not reaching new members. I was going to include some examples, but there are so many excellent ideas, I chose to include the links. We should not copy these word-for-word, but use them to help us compose our own statements.
For mission statements-httpshttps://faithinthedivine.com/examples-of-church-mission-statements/://
For vision statements-https://www.churchrelevance.com/2013/03/27/30-examples-of-church-vision-statements/
Be prepared LeValley and Berlin Center! We’re going to get to work beginning at our September board meetings.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:2-3
Love in Christ,
Pastor Nancy
