The Wilderness Way #14

The Weatherford District is a joy! Cutting horse country opens up as verdant and enticing. Yet, here lies great challenge for us as a church. One part of the district is engulfed in suburban change and new life. Another part of the district remains fixed in small town and open country appointments. Both aspects are critical and important. Both face the possibility of a strong new future. Both face the challenges of a post-Christendom environment.

Acton United Methodist Church is a burgeoning ministry open to new ideas and reaching out to a changing and challenging community. In a pattern that shows up often in strong large churches, they exhibit great missional outreach with Habitat for Humanity, mission work in Kenya and Mexico, etc.

The Sunday I was there six were baptized and 10 joined, a number on profession of faith. Like many growing large churches, facilities and parking are a challenge. Similar reports can be given to a number of other congregations in the district.

Granbury reports a core value of missions and giving. It is wrestling with larger outreach to a new generation and staffing for growth. Bible study is strong. Aledo and Couts Memorial UMCs are exciting communities of faith with strong evangelical outreach to a new generation. First in Weatherford has a proud past (151 years, if I remember correctly) and a challenge, like many downtown churches, to embrace a future of change.

While others could be added to that list, contrast these larger churches with a number of vibrant smaller community churches. Olney and Newcastle UMCs are exciting churches, deeply engaged in their communities.

Glen Rose is a potential powerhouse that already has a number of strong ministries. Mineral Wells is a historic vital church. Like many churches in this category, they have strong lay leadership. It was there that someone posed a significant question for the group. Where is the next generation of leaders coming from? The common elements of strong missional outreach, both in the community and beyond, were everywhere present. The challenge of rediscovering how to do evangelism is apparent across the category.

A special word must be said for First United Methodist Church in Graham. Both First Graham and First Mineral Wells are providing area-wide leadership. They have stepped up to the challenge and opportunity of being faith leaders for their communities. At Graham I was particularly impressed with how many people had come out of the church into ordained ministry or dedicated Christian service. There is in the character, the DNA, of the church a genuine sense of leadership. They described themselves as blessed to be a blessing.

In the midst of this strength, there are a number of churches dealing with declining communities and the loss of the younger generation. Their future is problematic. Central in Mineral Wells, Salem-Crestview, Calvary, Graford and others fall into this category. They are made up of wonderful, dedicated people, but the very existence of the church is on the line. They know the wilderness life in a post-Christian world.

Included among those challenged by drastically changing communities are a clutch of more rural churches that the city is now reaching out to. Annetta and Godley UMCs are great examples. The future has prospects, but it will be different from the past and change must be embraced to reach out to the next generation. Bethesda is a wonderful example of a church that is embracing a new future. It is involved in the local community, missionally active and wrestling with its own unique calling.

I feel like Macro Polo. There is far more to be said. For those churches I have failed to mention, I ask your mercy and understanding. Hopefully, the above gives an accurate flavoring for the Weatherford District. We are engaged in a new day of “being church.” It is not easy or simple, but the promise of the Great Commission still holds. The Risen Christ can still be heard saying, “I will be with you always, even to the close of the age.”

By: Bishop Mike Lowry On 5/29/2009

Topics: Bishop Columns