| A Note From The Pastor |
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Worship Arts Pastor, Cindy Selph, has been with St. John’s since May 2001. She has blessed our community and has helped us experience God through music and the arts. We are going to miss her. With a lot of praying and seeking the Lord, Cindy is sensing God’s tug into another direction. She and her husband Steve are starting a new business and looking forward to spending a little more time together. Wherever there is an end, there is a beginning. Her ministry will end here at St. John’s, but she will experience a new beginning. Likewise, there will be a new beginning for someone coming to St. John’s. We will honor Cindy appropriately at a later date.
Eloise United Methodist Church is discontinued as a charter church effective July 1, 2007. District Superintendent Bert Blomquist recommended to the Eloise congregation to contact St. John’s United Methodist Church of Winter Haven to see if we would consider working with the Eloise church. I shared an idea and vision with the Eloise leaders and part of the congregation of becoming a satellite church of St. John’s rather than a mission. I shared the idea and vision with the staff of St. John’s as well as a few leaders and a couple committees of the church with favorable response. With all groups we prayed and encouraged prayer for how God is working in this. On Monday, June 11th, the Eloise congregation called me, Rev. Kent Crow, and asked to unite with us as a satellite church of St. John’s United Methodist Church. This would not be a mission, but an extension of St. John’s, and there would be minimal financial and staff impact. We are in dialogue.
Purpose
1. To make fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ in the Eloise and surrounding community.
2. To build a church community who experience the transforming power of God by living life like Jesus would if He were we.
Objectives
1. We will embrace the existing Eloise United Methodist Church Community and accept them as a satellite church of St. John’s. “St. John’s United Methodist Church-Eloise”
2. We will transfer the membership from Eloise UMC to St. John’s UMC. (St. John’s Winter Haven and St. John’s-Eloise are one and the same concerning membership, attendance, etc…)
3. We will inspire, train, equip, and deploy members of St. John’s UMC–Eloise in ministry to the community and in witness for Jesus Christ.
4. We will grow St. John’s UMC-Eloise into a vital, active, transformational church.
5. We will increase membership and attendance of St. John’s United Methodist Church as a whole.
St. John’s gets Annual Conference recognition in three areas. 2006 Most Professions of Faith, 23rd on the list - 32 professions of faith. 2006 Greatest Increase of Professions of Faith, 5th on the list – an increase of 16 over 2005. Highest $$ difference 2005-2006 Apportionments, 6th on the list by paying $28,252 more than the year before. (This was a 100% year for us!!). St. John’s is about making fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. Way to go church!!
ATTENDANCE PUSH – THE LORD NEEDS YOU HERE. Recently I had several conversations that were almost identical. They went something like this, “If you miss one Sunday, it’s easy to miss two. If you miss two in a row, it’s easy to miss three or four. If you miss three or four, it’s easy to drift away from your commitment as a member to ‘faithfully participate with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service. Uncle Sam says, “I need you!” The Lord needs you even more.
May grace and peace be yours today,
Pastor Kent
