A Three to Five YEAR PLAN
of
Growth & Action
for
Newberry United Methodist Church
24845 W. Newberry Road
Newberry, FL
Presented December 7, 2014
I. Why This Plan is Offered
A. OUR MANDATE: To go forth in the mission of Jesus Christ and make disciples for the transformation of the world. (Matt. 28:19-20)
B. OUR OPPORTUNITY: To direct and guide people toward fulfilling their spiritual hunger.
C. OUR MOTIVATION: To achieve our potential as individuals and as a church as we look forward to the second coming of Jesus. (Acts 17:30)
D. OUR NEED: To be obedient to the mission, which requires visionary thinking, aggressive action, and a clear plan for the future.
II. A Mission Statement for Newberry United Methodist Church
A. Who we are - Newberry United Methodist Church is part of The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church located in Newberry, Florida. We are a community of believers dedicated to fulfilling our mandate through worship, discipleship and evangelism. As a United Methodist Congregation we have an obligation to bear a faithful witness to Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the church's life and witness.
B. What we will do - We will see our whole congregation involved in making disciples for Jesus Christ first in our own community, then in the surrounding communities, then throughout this region and ultimately to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
C. What kind of people we will be - We will be people characterized by holiness, compassion and zeal. We will live lives pleasing to God in every way; we will manifest God's love in all our relationships: we will be enthusiastic in our efforts to share the gospel with the whole world.
D. How we will do our work - We will reach people for Jesus Christ through High-Quality, People-Centered ministries.
High-Quality ministries are those done with excellence, innovation and integrity. Excellence wins the respect of our community. Innovation puts us on the cutting edge of our culture. Integrity guarantees that our work will stand the test of time.
People-Centered ministries are those that have their central focus on meeting the real needs of people. In particular, a people-centered ministry is one in which helping people takes precedence over the details of running a program. Since people are more important than programs, if a program does not meet the real needs of people, it will either be restructured so that it does meet needs or it will be stopped altogether.
III. A Key Statement for the Next Five Years
We suggest the following "slogan": Reaching People and Sharing God's Infinite Love.
This slogan is short, simple, and easy-to-remember. Most importantly, it sets forth a "tone", or "feeling" or "image" compatible with our general thrust for the next five years.
- Reaching implies openness, friendliness, progress, direction, movement toward a goal, and a general outward thrust.
- People implies we want to be a family of believers and not a religious institution. This suggests a people centeredness where the focus is not programs or buildings, but witnessing with words, if necessary.
- Sharing implies giving, contributing, communicating, and reflecting Jesus' ministry.
- God's infinite love is never ending, inexhaustible, and sacrificial. In particular "Gods love" is very appealing to the unchurched. It does not sound churchy or religous or stuffy. It's what they've been looking for.
This sets a very positive "atmosphere" for all we intend to do in the next five years.
IV. Three Areas of Focus
A. We suggest that the work of our church can be well-expressed in three key words:
- Upward
- Inward
- Outward
B. It is crucial that our church move forward in all three areas each year.
C. We suggest adding the word "Reaching" to our three areas of focus and placing it before these three key words as a description of what our church is all about:
- Reaching Upward in worship, praise and prayer.
- Reaching Inward in caring relationships, accountability, and spiritual growth.
- Reaching Outward in community service, evangelism, and world missions.
V. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
A. Our mission statement: As God's family we dedicat ourselves to share God's infinite love; nurture each other; accept our differences and witness to our faith through Jesus Christ our Lord.
B. Our slogan: "Reaching People and Sharing God's Infinite Love"
C. Our Three-fold Thrust - Upward, Inward, Outward
D. What we will exhibit: Holiness, Compassion, and Zeal
- We are a community of Believers dedicated to:
- Fulfilling the Great Commission
- Reaching People with Gods Love
- Through . . .Action Focused Result
- Worship/Upward Holiness/Honoring God through praise, prayer and obedience.
- Discipleship/Inward Compassion/Growing in our relationship with God and other believers.
- Evangelism/Outward Zeal/Sharing God's love through word and deed.
VI. A Plan for the Next Five Years
A. Having said that our church must always move forward in all three areas (Upward, Inward, and Outward), we believe it is wise to emphasize each area in turn.
B. We suggest adopting a plan for our church that emphasizes these aspects in a three-year cycle.
C. We would hope the church is united in its conviction that the place to begin (i.e., Newberry's greatest current need) is with the inward look. People are returning to the church and we are blessed to have numerous first time guests attend worship. However, we are confronted with the challenge of retaining new guests and members, as well as genuinely incorporating some of the returnees. A family atmosphere is evident, but this atmosphere must increase with the majority of our worshippers. Therefore, since we want our growth to continue, we must take some intentional steps to assimilate our members and guests into the spiritual life of the church.
D. This perspective (that we should first emphasize the inward look) stems from observations about our church, which we have made, as well as the following societal conditions:
- As we are now well into the second decade of the 21st century, American society has become more fragmented, more pressured and less cohesive.
- While we recognize the downfall of the traditional family, our church will be a "caring place" where people will find a sense of family.
E. As a result, our church will experience growth as people in the community discover that we are a family built on God's love.
VII. Major tasks for the Next 5 Years
- 2015
Introduce Method for Prayer, Growth and Discipleship (January)
Start Monthly Newsletter (January)
Develop Website (January)
Creation of Small Group Gatherings (January)
Phone Blast (January)
Engage a Church Planner/Engineer to Develop a Building
Renovation/Expansion Plan (January)
Monthly New Member Orientation (February)
Create a Church Brochure (February)
Establish Dinner Groups (February)
Continue to Develop Partnerships with Public Schools/Welcome Back
Teacher/Faculty & Staff Luncheon (August)
Establish 2nd Sunday Contemporary Worship Service (September)
Hire a Part-Time Director of Children's Ministry (September)
Conduct Leadership Seminars (quarterly)
Christian Entertainment (bi-annual)
Continue Alpha Omega Book Review (bi-annual)
Special Sunday Services:
Friendship Sunday - January & October
Homecoming - March
Pack-a-Pew - April
Children's Sunday - May
Back to Church Sunday - September
2016
- Conduct a Lay Witness Mission (March)
- Hire Director of Youth Ministries Part-time (September)
- Appoint a Coordinator of Small Group Ministries (June)
- Power lunches - lunches provided during the noon hour with motivational and inspirational themes
2017
Plan and Execute Mission Trips
2018
Re-evaluate and Measure 5 Year Plan
2019
Develop a Plan for Future Growth and Development
VIII. Expected Results of this Five-Year Plan
A. Intangible Results
- Much deeper "family spirit"
- Many more trained and active spiritual leaders
- Entire church body will be participants in the process of making disciples
- Effective leadership training program in place
- Wide range of small groups available
- Better retention of guests (visitors)
- Known in community as a caring, need-meeting church
- Wider cross-section of people in congregation
- More people involved in actual ministry
- Vibrant services of worship and praise
- Deeper knowledge of God and his Word
B. Measurable Results
- 200 in our church family one or more persons (62 currently)
- 300 in our worship attendance (80 currently)
- 15 small groups (5 currently)
- 75% of adult attenders in a small group
- 80% of adult members involved in regular ministry
- $300,000 budget ($120,000 currently)
IX. Advantages of this Approach
- Three-year cycle covers all major aspects of church life.
- Cycle can be extended indefinitely.
- Allows us to highlight all the ministries of the church over a 3-5 year period.
- Cycle can be adjusted at any time to allow for new opportunities that arise or new challenges we face.
- Allows us to make orderly plans concerning the budget, program expansion, staff expansion, and building needs.
- Offers a basic flow or pattern to church life that gives us a sense of purpose and direction.
X. In Summary:
The members of CORE Planning/Visioning Group would like for the church to know our time spent together has been rewarding in every way.
Our purpose for meeting over the past six months has been to evaluate the present condition of Newberry UMC and to develop a strategic plan of spiritual and numerical growth for the next 5 years.
We made every effort to be guided by the Holy Spirit, Christ's mandate for the Church, and our own Mission Statement.
After carefully reviewing our rich history, our present condition, our resources, and our current and future possibilities, we believe we have developed a plan that is practical and challenging, yet, by faith and God's provision is certainly possible for implementation. We believe these proposals can only strengthen the church, resulting in both quantitative and qualitative growth.
It is our hope and prayer that as you read through this plan and give it strong consideration that you will have impressed upon you Solomon's words which he penned in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Likewise, we appeal to you that you embrace this plan, as we have, that each of us and all of us will "own it" and hold ourselves accountable, in order to realize its fulfillment.
It has been a joy and privilege, and sacrifice, for us to serve as members of this group, a sacrifice, however, which we have been glad to make. Members of CORE have become much better acquainted and spiritually bonded in ways that may never have occurred otherwise. As a small group we have prayed together, laughed together, wept together, debated, and changed. In short, our time together has enriched us as disciples of Christ and made us even more appreciative to be a part of our great church.
We believe the Lord has wonderful things in store for our future ministry together. We also believe the possibility of the church's progress is enormous. We hope you will join us in this vision and work with us toward its realization.
Respectfully submitted,
CORE Planning/Visioning Group
1. Barbara Cottingham/352-222-7214
2. Joy Glanzer/352-665-3534
3. Doug Johnson/813-362-6829
4. Mary Nelson/352-474-6445
5. Jan Stillman/352-339-3966
6. Jeanne Williams/352-318-3558
7. Pastor Gary/813-967-5046
