Vision for Ministry

One of the four areas of focus of the United Methodist Church is "developing principled Christian leaders." In the final words of Matthew Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

In my words: the purpose of the local church is to invite, develop, and deploy radical disciples of Jesus Christ. Everything that we do should be for this purpose - to follow our Lord (King, Leader, Owner, Commander, Master) into the new life (Kingdom of God, Heaven, New Day, Salvation, Resurrection) which he promises us.

I have been working to refine a vision for youth ministry in the local church in this context, and have come up with the following. I would welcome your thoughts and reactions as well.

Marks of Radical Discipleship in Youth:

- Asks, what would God have me do today?

- Understands the meaning of service and generosity

- Commits to accountability and support with others in the Christian community

- Asks, what would God have me do with my life (active vocational discernment)?

- Shares their faith with others, through invitation, witness, worship leadership, etc.

- Maintains spiritual disciplines (e.g. prayer, journaling, searching the scriptures)

- Makes participation in weekly worship and youth activities a priority

- Strives for perfection in love in this life

- Names injustice

- Seeks reconciliation

- Forgives others

- Faithfully participates in the ministries of the Church by their prayers, presence, witness, gifts, and service

- Characterized by commitment, intentionality, integrity, authenticity

Confirmation Sunday - April 25th

At the 8:30 service on April 25th we will celebrate the 10 newest full members of Ames First United Methodist Church. The confirmation class of 2010 has been engaged in study and group work for the past year as we explored together the meaning of Christian discipleship. We covered topics like Who are United Methodists? How do we read to the Bible? What to United Methodists believe? and What do United Methodists do?

Now this class has completed their confirmation preparation and is ready to step into full membership at First UMC. We rejoice with them in this commitment and are ready to walk the next steps of their faith journey with them. This year's class includes:

Hannah Bengston
Abby Bergquist
Alye Bodholdt
Ashlynn Cakerice
Jenny Campbell
Brian Emmerson
Haley Kerns
Katie Reed
Maddy Schmidt
Brandon Van Pelt

I hope that you will keep these young people in your prayers and will join in celebrating their confirmation on April 25th.