After nearly eighteen months of prayer, study, work, and a lot of good food along the way, we want to share the vision that God is calling the people of First United Methodist Church to live out.  This vision is still a draft - something for us to pray over, think about, and really decide if we can and will commit ourselves to living it out.  Please read it, interact with it, share your thoughts on our vision wall at the church, and if you are ready.... say “YES” to God’s vision.

By the abundant grace of God, we are named as His children and have been formed into the body of Christ.  In grateful response, we choose each and every day to offer our ordinary lives to our Lord. As Romans 12:3 reminds us: “The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” Christ is the light of the world and our church is called to reflect that light to everyone we meet.

We are called to spend time in the light
“Thy Word is a lamp” and only by spending time with the word can we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ in this world. We are faithful in our presence at worship.  We take the time in prayer to listen.  We go deeper with one another in our study of the scriptures. With our attention fixed on God, we are transformed and we are quick to respond to God’s will. (Romans 12:2)

We are called to be a church on fire for God
Connected to Jesus Christ and this community, we will be energized and inspired to live out our faith every day.  The time that we spend together helps to keep our flames fueled and burning strong. (Romans 12:11) We are eager to serve, eager to respond, eager to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in this world.  Deep within our hearts, we desire to love and serve God.  We want to walk as children of the light – Shine in our hearts, Lord Jesus!

We are called to be a beacon in our community
We are not perfect, but within this church we have found a place of safety and acceptance. We are learning how to forgive and how to change our ways through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.  We may come into this church as strangers but we leave with a sense of togetherness and unity. Like the city on the hill, this good news will shine out so that all may see it and find shelter, acceptance, and love within these walls.  There are many in our community who live in darkness, loneliness, pain and grief.  We feel especially called to let our light shine towards the youth of our community and the unchurched we minister to during funerals. 

We are called to pass it on
We have experienced and accepted God’s love and now we can’t help but pass it on.  In our ordinary, everyday lives, we will reflect the love of God to others. We are challenged by Paul’s words to the Romans in chapter 12 and seek to love from the center of who we are.  We will help and build relationships with those in need.  We will feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty – even if they are our enemies.

We are called to let our lights shine
Each one of us – no matter our age or our ability – has something to offer back to God. We strive to empower one another and to create opportunities for people to grow in their faith and their service to God.  We celebrate the different types of light and gifts that each of us bring, knowing that together, our light and our witness is stronger.  We may not be a large church – but we are going to let our little lights shine.

We had an amazing morning of worship and fellowship as we celebrated what God is doing in our church and in the world around us.

This celebration is a part of our “Come to the Table” journey to discern God’s vision and mission for our church.

As we focused ourselves on the task at hand, these three videos guided our work.

First, an overview of the entire Come to the Table journey:

Second, a glance at some of the realities that face us… the mission field that surrounds us:

And third, some of the strengths of our congregation:

Just a few initial pictures from our Celebration of the Past on October 31, 2010.  This event is a part of our “Come to the Table” vision and mission discernment process.

Talking over the history of our church

Browsing through artifacts

Listening

Letting go of old hurts

A bountiful feast!  Come to the table!

Old and young joining together in song. 

In the first phase of our “Come to the Table” journey, we spent time discovering what God has already done in our lives and in the world.

In Sunday School, we studied these actions of God from the first chapters of Genesis all the way to the vision of the new creation in Revelation.

But, since our journey is also about food, we turned our bible study into a five course progressive dinner.  At each course, we were reminded of ways God acted through human history and we talked about how our lives are different because of that. We hosted these dinners on two separate occasions and over 20 people participated in this unique opportunity.

A group of 11 met at the church for hors d’oerves provided by Mary Knock Sunday, Sept. 26. The Bible study began there and continued after each of five courses. The second course, Iowa Machine Shed potato soup, was served at Larry and Nancy Beyer’s home. We remembered that before God began creating, earth was a soup of nothingness (The Message). During the first round of meals, the soup course was hosted by Bud and Karen Vulysteke.

Charlotte Brecht was hostess for the third course, a delicious apple salad, in the community room at Prime Timers. With the apples we were reminded of our temptation to sin and our fall from grace. During the first round of meals, the salad course was hosted by Ron and Rosalie Shaull.

Janet Findlater prepared the main entree’, stuffed manicotti and garlic toast. As we shared in the meal, we remembered how Christ came to save us. During the first round of meals, the entree was hosted by Bob and Loy Walker.

The group study concluded at the church with sherbet and cookies provided by Julia Foster.

A lively discussion at each venue extended the time allotted but all agreed it was a fun and enlightening evening.