FLAME: Igniting God's Vision

At West Newton UMC, we’re in the middle of a visioning/planning process called FLAME: Igniting God’s Vision. Like good Methodists, we created and acronym -- FLAME stands for “Fostering Love and Ministry Everywhere.” We’re meeting Saturday mornings at 8:30 for breakfast, with conversations beginning at 9 am. The intent is to reflect on ourselves and our context, then moving into conversation, prayer, and discernment about how God is calling us to use our gifts and talents to be in ministry with the world around us. Since the church already has pretty good mission and vision statements developed several years ago, we are not developing new ones. Instead, we are trying to determine how best to live out these statements, which are:

Mission Statement: The mission of First UMC of West Newton is to become faithful disciples of Christ so we may effectively minister with others.

Vision Statement: Our church is so spiritually alive that God’s love overflows into our community and the world.

Week 1: We talked about the state of our church. We shared past and present programs and ministries – some that went well, others that didn’t quite turn out as we’d hoped. We shared insights about who we are, what gifts and talents God has given us, and how we see ourselves. It became quickly apparent that all was not lost. Despite the “doom and gloom” atmosphere that has prevailed here in recent years, we have been doing ministry. We have been experiencing God. There are still positive ways in which the Holy Spirit is moving through our congregation, even in the midst of painful situations, lack of clergy and lay leadership, mistakes and poor decisions, and the prevailing attitude of “surviving” rather than “living abundantly.”

Week 2: we tried to look at ourselves from an outside perspective. We shared reflections on how we might better serve each other, how we might better serve the West Newton community, and how we might better serve all of God’s creation. We learned about the Four Areas of Ministry Focus developed by the denomination. We also learned the differences between a program-oriented church and a mission-oriented church. For that, I developed my own explanation, which you will find in a subsequent post. Finally, we talked about the difference between serving others with the goal of “increasing attendance, membership, and tithing” as opposed to serving others simply because it’s what Jesus would do. We talked about the difference between being a “successful” church as opposed to being a “faithful” church. After all, we are not seeking to ignite our own vision. No, we are seeking to let God ignite His vision in our congregation and community.

This Saturday, we will begin to harmonize the gifts of the congregation with the desperate cries of need that surround us. We will lay the groundwork for programs and service opportunities that will help us “become more faithful disciples of Christ so we may effectively minister with others.” If you are a part of our congregation, I invite you to join us if you haven’t already. In addition to attending meetings, we ask you to pray. Pray for FLAME. Pray for God to ignite that vision to which He is calling us. Pray for God to “rekindle the gift of God that is among [us],” not with “a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:6-7)

If you are not part of our congregation, please join us in prayer. Pray that God may illumine our hearts and minds so that we may grow into deeper discipleship, leading to loving, humble service of our neighbors. As we go forth, we will trust in the words of 1 Peter 5:10-11: “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To God be the power forever and ever. Amen.”