Final Pastor's Report: Extending the Welcome
Are you ready? Ready to extend the welcome? I’ve just submitted my 33rd and final Pastor’s Report; it is my 27th one to share with you. I share this report with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving and an excitement about Lovers Lane United Methodist Church’s future. This report is a reiteration that I will continue to run this race until I have successfully passed the baton to the new Senior Pastor, the fifth in 80 years.
This Charge Conference report is unlike any I’ve ever given in that its backdrop is my transition into “retirement status” and a statement about getting succession “right” for the good of our great church. We will be working hand-in-hand with our Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. and his cabinet through a truly collaborative process led by Jim Ozier with Church Difference Makers.
Friends, I will be your pastor for a few more months. I am also going to put us all to work. If we are going to conduct a successful, nationwide search for a pastor and be attractive, we have to have our house in really good order and collectively extend a warm Lovers Lane welcome.
My wife Tammy is about as good an entertainer as I know. This gal loves a party. When people are coming to our house, she cleans and has me clean, she cooks and won’t let me sample the food, and she limits the number of pickles that I put out on a tray. She plans where everyone will sit and how we will serve the food. She’s always ready when the doorbell rings to welcome our guests.
Dear church family, we have to get our house ready because we are going to have some guests over. We need to commit to doing 5 things, and EACH of us do our part in getting ready. Here’s what I am asking you to do:
First, PRAY everyday for our church to remain strong and Thrive in pursuit of our mission, vision and values. Pray for our new pastor and for our church to begin to truly thrive going forward. Ask God to direct our steps as we extend our welcome.
Secondly, WORSHIP weekly at one of our eight worship services–featuring different styles, in wonderful venues, and offered at a variety of times. Invite your friends, family and fellow members to make in-person worship a priority. We do live streaming very well, but there is nothing like being together to worship our Risen Lord.
Thirdly, ENCOURAGE one another, as we enter this season together, to reduce any anxiety and to keep us assured that great days are ahead and we are in this together–we are not alone. Say to one another “God is good all the time….. and a good day is coming soon.
Fourthly, GIVE generously to the budget so that we can end the year strongly and get
ready to go into next year with real strength. Nothing is more important as we get ready to be examined by our invited guests. We have a generous congregation and a good budget for the coming year that we can fund.
Finally, ESTIMATE YOUR GIVING and fill out your card, you can also go online and get it done. Making our estimates of giving helps us plan. Planning helps us fund the Essentials of our ministry and outreach budget. Support for the Elevated budget, which is the $300K will fund the exciting Power of One Ministry Plan.
Centering our attention on funding these ministries, is what the Elevated Budget and our Ministry Development Fund, is all about. Positive results in these areas will create a growing experience that a new Senior Pastor will be excited about leading. Here are three areas we are addressing and what is about to get underway immediately:
- Children and family, youth and young adult ministry at Lovers Lane are very culturally diverse, which presents challenges that are well worth our efforts. It also gives us a uniqueness and stages our Christian education as a ministry that is fun, meaningful and a vibrant example of Christian love and acceptance in a time when it is so needed.
- Engagement (Evangelism) needs to be enhanced through creating positive contacts and relationships. We want to better use social media and develop marketing strategies that attract people to the “front door” of worship and the “side doors” of small groups and classes, as well as mission and outreach opportunities for service.
- Discipleship is the third area. Revamping our Sunday mornings from a collection of classic Sunday School classes to being a church offering many new groups and classes will be a focus. Also, more of these groups will be established in homes and spaces not necessarily on the church campus or on Sundays.
Most of the challenges we confront are faced by many churches in our denomination. My peers are all trying to bring their congregations back to the pre-COVID attendance days and the giving to levels of pre-disaffiliation. It is a common testimony from Senior Pastors to account for membership loss for a plethora of reasons. We can testify to all of these realities. We can also witness to members coming our way due to our steadiness, the kind of church we are and the positive, energetic, joyful, loving, approach we have NOW for the future. Sure, we have our own challenges, but we will work NOW and with our new pastor coming to: 1) Retire our debt, 2) Make Walnut Hill Church sustainability a priority, and 3) GROW through our Power of One Ministry Plan.
Are you ready to go to work? We have a house to get ready for guests. The doorbell is about to ring and we WILL be ready to extend a warm, Lovers Lane welcome to an exciting new day.
