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Royersford United Methodist Church
PASTOR'S REPORT
TO THE CHURCH CONFERENCE
ROYERSFORD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
November 16, 2008
A little over a year ago, November 3, I reported to the
Church Conference that the report and recommendations of the Long Range Planning
Team were approved by the Administrative Council and ready for implementation.
Today I am pleased to share with you an update on the progress that has
been made.
As you recall our vision statement is “Building A Loving Family of Faith”.
Three areas in the life of the congregation were identified for focused
attention so that the vision statement would become a reality.
The first of these three areas is leadership development.
There is a strong belief that the leadership base needs to be broadened
as more members of the congregation become involved in ministry.
Coupled with this is the need to provide training to all those who are
willing to serve. To that end, every
effort will be made to encourage participation in the Toolkit Training Event to
be held on Saturday, January 24, at the Christ United Methodist Church in
Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by
the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church, workshops
will be held dealing with such topics as children’s ministry, youth ministry,
finances, building maintenance, staffing, and much more.
This is an excellent training opportunity for local church leaders.
Adequate staffing is the second issue being addressed.
The Staff/Parish Relations Committee has been working to identify the
areas of ministry where we would benefit the most from additional staffing.
After much thought and prayer, efforts are now underway to find the
person or persons (volunteer or paid) who would provide the leadership for small
group ministry. This person or
persons would be responsible for organizing the process to insure that every
member and friend of the congregation would have the opportunity to participate
in a small group. They would set up
small groups, recruit and train group leaders, help groups select study
materials, and coordinate the overall small group ministry of our church.
The last of the three areas to be addressed is the adequacy of our facility to
carry out the ministries to which God has called us.
In response to this priority, the Administrative Council authorized the
creation of the Facility Study Committee.
During the past several months, the committee has carefully determined
the total space available to us for ministry, has thoroughly discussed the
ministries presently in place as well as those that may be added in the future,
and is presently evaluating some possible courses of action.
This committee is firmly committed to the belief that God is calling our
church to specific ministries and that our facility needs to be at its very best
to support those ministries
As we move forward in all three areas, we need to undergird our efforts with
prayer. As we make decisions about
the future, we need to undergird our efforts with prayer.
As we formulate recommendations for congregational discussion and action,
we need to undergird our efforts with prayer.
I call upon the Healing and Prayer Group, the Prayer and Visitation
Group, the Prayer Chain, the United Methodist Women, the Youth Group, the Sunday
School Classes, Choirs, breakfast groups, all small groups, families, and
individuals, to set time aside during the upcoming Advent season to be in
prayer. Let us seek out God’s will
on earth as it is in heaven. Let us
pray that God will continue to bless our long range planning efforts and will
reveal to us what comes next. We
pray God’s blessing upon all of us as we continue to be faithful to Christ and
his church.
I praise God for the twenty new members received into the life of the
congregation since the last report.
All twenty were received on profession of faith.
Their enthusiasm, joy, and commitment is greatly valued and appreciated.
In such a short time, they have contributed so much to the spiritual
vitality of our church family.
It has been a joy to serve the entire congregation for the
past twenty-one plus years. I
appreciate the relationships that have deepened over the years as well as the
ones that are just beginning. We all
bring something important to the body of Christ and the many ministries of this
church. My thanks to everyone for
your willingness to serve and for the opportunity we have to serve together for
another year. God bless you all.
In
Christ,
Lee F. Adams, Jr.
Pastor