I want to thank those of you who shared your hopes and dreams for
Edgemont UMC at our Covenant Breakfast on December 31st. If I were to
sum up what was said in a few words it would be that our church grows
numerically and spiritually in 2024. Those two desires for growth should
always be coupled together. Churches that only focus on numerical
growth are “throwing out the baby with the bath water.” Churches that
settle for emphasizing spiritual growth only are separating faithfulness and
fruitfulness.
To grow numerically and spiritually demands that we pray and so our
sermon series for January is about “Going Vertical.” We start with prayer
and by asking God to help us to know, think, and do His will. We pray with
Jesus, “Not my will, but thine be done!”
Churches that grow have other aspects in common and the shortlist is
passionate worship, personal invitations, strong connections, and
extravagant generosity. Passionate worship happens when we enter
God’s presence with as much energy and excitement as we share our
greetings with one another. Imagine Edgemont greeting God with the
same enthusiasm as we do one another doing our greeting time. We can
also be intentional about inviting people to our church. Church growth
gurus still say nothing beats an invitation by the laity when it comes to first-time
friendly church. They want and need friends. Churches that provide for
belonging needs discover that very few if any ever leave their church for
another one. Strong connections like Jesus had with those first disciples
is what we desire and we do that through groups and events. Finally,
churches that are able to reach people must have people who practice
generosity in both gifts and service. I invite you to pray about how you give
at Edgemont. I also want to thank you for how you gave in 2023. Perhaps
one of the many things you are or will pray about in January is how God
desires to give through you in 2024. We know that anything and any
we give is a response to God’s great gift in Jesus and the life we receive
from our creator.
Pray. Pray First! But then worship passionately, invite personally, connect
strongly, and give extravagantly. If we do, our hopes and dreams will come
true.
Going & Growing Vertical Together,
Pastor Dean