Our mission is to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
JUNE 2015
I'm Not a Christian but I'm Coming
to Your Church This Sunday
by Thomas Weaver
I’m not a Christian, but I’ve finally made the decision
to come to your church this Sunday. Here's what you
need to know about me.
Okay, I’m not a Christian, but I’ve finally made the
decision to come to your church this Sunday. Don’t
expect much from me though. If something comes
up, I might not, but right now, I’m planning on it. I
feel like I need to go, but I’m not sure why. I want
to tell you a few things about myself before you
meet me.
1. I’m not going to understand religious
language or phrases so be aware of that when
we talk. I don’t understand slain in the spirit, God
is moving in me, covered in the blood, I need to die
to self, you just need to be in the Word, what you
need is a new life, etc. If we have conversation
filled with religious talk, I’m probably not going to
understand half of the words...and maybe think
you’re a little crazy.
2. When you ask me how I’m doing, know
that I don’t trust you. I’m probably going to lie
and tell you I’m fine. It’s not that I don’t want to tell
you; it’s just that I come from some pain and am
not sure if I trust you yet. How about you tell me
your story first? If I like you and get the vibe that
you’re not trying to capture my soul or anything, I’ll
tell you mine.
3. I’ve got pretty rough language, and I can
be bitter and angry about some things. If I
sense in you a mindset of superiority, I’m out. If
you are just waiting for your turn to talk instead of
truly listening to me, I’m not going to be interested.
Don’t expect me to be exactly like you.
4. Don’t make a big deal of introducing me to
everyone you know. I understand a couple of
people, but please; don’t set up a welcoming line.
I’m just there to check it out; I need a bit of space.
5. I’m going to be looking for genuine interest
in me. I don’t want to feel like your personal
salvation project or be a notch on your “I saved
one” belt. If this Jesus is who you say he is, then
I’m looking forward to seeing him in you. That’s
how it works, right?
6. I’m going to have questions. I need truth,
not your preferences or your religion, so can you
just tell me what the Bible says?
7. I need to feel welcome. Is there a time limit
or something on my visit before I’m supposed to
feel unwelcome? I mean, I’ve been to other
churches, and there seemed to be a push for me to
make up my mind or something. How long until I’m
unwelcome?
Thanks for hearing me out. I’m pretty sure I’m
going to come this Sunday. But I might not.
Reprinted from ChurchLeaders.com
Our vision is to be united with Christ, to actively and personally teach, reach, enrich and empower all people.
Healthy Church Initiative is progressing
When we, as a congregation, accepted the challenge of fulfilling the changes prescribed by the Healthy Church Initiative team we knew it would be a process
that would take months to design and implement. We have made great strides towards completing this process. The first stage of the journey is complete. Our
Vision and Discipleship Teams have developed a solid vision and discipleship path that will help the church make and mature disciples of Jesus. The illustration
below shows our vision, the Discipleship path and the measurable milestones and how they integrate to help people growing and maturing in Christ. The next
step is for each of us to identify where we are and do what God is calling us to do as a part of His church. Each of us is somewhere in this continuous line you
may be exploring what it means to know Jesus or you may be someone called by God to reach those searching to know Him. It is scary to think what might
happen if we all started living our faith to its full potential it is even more frightening of what will happen if we don’t.
Vision
What we do
Discipleship Pathway
Reach
Teach
Searching Exploring
Beginning Growing
Maturing
Know Jesus
Grow in Jesus
Go on mission with Jesus
Sow into
others
Discipleship path study group
Small groups relationships
seminars/Bible studies/Spiritual gifts
Empowerment
Team
Training to come
along side others as
mentors and
coaches
Empower
How we do it
Discipleship Milestones
How we know
The Church
How we fit in
Mission/Outreach
Living out our faith
Having bold meaningful Christian
conversations
Inviting other to join you in the
journey
Enrichment through worship
Where we celebrate, connect, and welcome
Our mission: To make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Our vision: united with Christ, to actively and personally reach, teach, empower, and enrich all people God places in our path.
Tree of Life Preschool Has New Director
The New Director
We reported on Sunday, May 3, that the
Administrative Council with much discussion and
with heavy hearts had chosen to close the
preschool upon the resignation of the director.
The council believed there was little choice but to
close the school unless someone would make the
preschool their Christian Ministry. With that in
mind they chose to announce the closing on
Sunday while waiting three days before making
the decision final in hopes that someone would
come forward to take the directorship as their
mission. Immediately after the announcement,
Elizabeth Spry, a member, came forward to ask
to be named director of the preschool. She
accepts the directorship as a ministry of the
church. Subsequently, Liz met with the Preschool
Board and the SPR and shared her plan to
revitalize the Tree of Life Preschool as a ministry
of the church as it was intended. After the
meeting both SPR and the Preschool Board
recommended to Administrative Council that it
consider endorsing Mrs. Spry’s plan. On Sunday
May 24th Mrs. Elizabeth Spry was commissioned
as director of the Tree of Life Preschool. As the
body of Christ and members of the Doylestown
United Methodist Church we all need to make
every effort to support her in this ministry. Please
spread the word that the Tree of Life Preschool is
now enrolling students for the 2015-16 school
year and anyone interested in enrolling their child
may contact the ministry office. Pastor Dale
I am so excited for the upcoming school year! I
know God has led me to this opportunity to be
the new director for the Tree of Life Preschool. I
have a degree in Early Childhood Education from
Kent State University. I have worked many
years in a variety of early childhood settings and
I can’t wait to bring everything I have learned
from my experiences to help our preschool grow.
I have also been blown away by the dedication
and love coming from our teachers. They both
truly have a heart for teaching young children!
Believe it or not, but preparations for the
2015/2016 school year have already begun.
Enrollment is now taking place and I would love
to see every spot filled! We have the opportunity
to reach 26 families through our preschool. Help
us get the word out that the Tree of Life
Preschool is on its way to become the best
preschool around. Call and leave us a message
for any questions and enrollment inquiries (330658-2224). Also, like our new page on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/treeoflifedumc). We thank
you for all of your support!
With Love,
Elizabeth Spry, Director, Tree of Life Preschool
Sermons for June
June 7
A new way of thinking
Hebrews 4:12
Bible moment: 1 Peter 2:2
June 14
In my name
John 14:13-14
Bible moment: Acts 2:38
June 21
Guest Speaker
Colossians 3:17
June 28
Mission in a New Millennium
Acts 1:1-9
Bible moment: John 14:6
Sobering Truth: Study Indicates U.S.
Christianity is Declining
At the time I write this article, a new Pew
Research study has just been released in the
article “America’s Changing Religious Landscape”
which indicates an 8% decline in the last 7 years
in those who affiliate with Christianity (from
78.4% to 70.6%) and a 6% percent increase who
affiliate with no religion (from 16.1% to 22.8%).
Have you heard the buzz about it on the news,
radio, or Facebook?? Here are some thoughtprovoking highlights from this research (stay
tuned for thoughts of hope):
In the U.S. from 2007 to 2014, in terms of actual
numbers…
• Those who identify themselves as
Christians dropped about 5 million people.
• Mainline Protestants declined by about 5
million people.
• Catholics declined by about 3 million
people.
• Evangelicals increased by about 2 million
people.
• Non-religious increased by about 19
million.
Keep in mind that you have to account for margin
of error with these numbers. But even still, it
definitely shows that people are leaving the
church. Many of those leaving are in my
generation (the Millennials). But we knew this
already. Many studies by Christian researchers
such as Lifeway and Barna have been telling us
this sobering truth for years. How do you feel
about this? Where is hope in all this?
Source:
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americaschanging-religious-landscape/
Provoking Hope: Thoughts on Study and the
UMC
Where does the United Methodist Church fit into
this study? Well, Mainline Protestants. (Wait for
the hope part.) At a recent meeting with area
pastors, repeating a message he gave at Annual
Conference, Bishop John Hopkins indicated that
the Church began as a movement but has
evolved into an institution, and that it needs to
get back to a movement. Could his thoughts here
begin to unlock some of the truth to the decline
of the church? I think so. More people today are
longing for a REAL and
POWERFUL faith. Notice
Evangelicals, who mostly
function as a movement
that emphasizes personal
relationship with Jesus
and sharing the Gospel,
have INCREASED in
number while segments
of Christianity who have
evolved into mostly
emphasizing institutional forms of religion have
decreased. There is hope here! If we live as
Christians value real and powerful faith in a real
and powerful, risen Savior revealed in a real and
powerful story (the Gospel), then we need not
worry about the “decline of Christianity in
America.” And just to be clear, I’m not knocking
the UMC. I am actually trying to provoke us to
begin getting back to our roots. My prayer and
hope is also that some of the new things we are
doing as a church, such as our Vision, the
EMPOWER Team, and the Discipleship Pathway,
will help us take some more steps in being a
church that is a movement, with a real and
powerful faith!
For some other thought-provoking Christian
responses to this research, please see
Christianity Today articles: “The ‘Christian Sky is
(NOT) Falling’ ”and “Nominals to Nones” by
Stetzer (christianitytoday.org).
News
Middle & High School Ministries This Summer
For our middle and high school students, we have
made a couple of changes. First, we will be
meeting consistently but, in light of students’ and
leaders’ schedules, not weekly throughout the
summer. A schedule of meetings and events will
be sent and available by the time this article is
published. Second, our students have begun a
youth worship band and are inviting others to
join who have some music skills and are
interested! Practices will also be throughout the
summer and are included in the schedule.
More News
Kids Ministries-Everest VBS
VBS is just around the corner. This year it will be
held August 2-6 and have the theme Everest! It’s
not too late to sign up to invest in the faith of
kids in our community by helping with behind the
scenes, a specific station, or with a small group
of kids. If you are interested in more info or
signing up, please contact Jen Skala, Kristie
Dulin, or Curtis Dooley. You can also contact the
church (658-2224 or [email protected])
Come make a difference with us this year at VBS!
Upcoming Events
Youth Annual Conference 12th-14th
VBS Leaders Meeting 15th @ 7pm
East Ohio UMC Annual Conference 15th-18th
ASP Mission Trip 21st-27th
Doylestown Community Food Cupboard
The Trustees of the
Doylestown United
Methodist Church met with
the two Boy Scouts (Josh
Spach and Andrew
McNutt) on Monday, May
18, 2015. The scouts
presented the
drawings/plans for an
addition to DUMC’s existing garage. The addition
space would house the Doylestown Community
Food Cupboard. At this time the Trustees agreed
to allow the scouts to begin the process of
building the addition. The Trustees have given
the Scouts instructions on what they are looking
for as far as specifics regarding the building and
the building process. Once the details are ironed
out and building permit is secured, the Trustees
will give then their final approval for the Scouts
to begin the addition.
For clarification: The proposed addition is 24 feet
onto the front of the existing garage; same
height and wide. The existing garage door will be
moved forward to the new front. The existing
front wall will be moved back 8 feet. This will
make the garage the same size that it is now (32
feet long) and the back part of the building that
will house the food cupboard (24 feet long).
We are very excited about this Eagle Scout
Project! Josh and Andrew have taken on an
incredibly ambitious project that has the potential
to help and benefit this community far into the
future. What an amazing accomplishment this
will be.
Thank You From the Bell Choir Director
Thank you to the bell choir for the gift cards &
yummy Daffin’s chocolates! I appreciate your
thoughtfulness & especially the love & fellowship
that we share as we work together to glorify God.
May you be blessed with a summer of rest &
recreation! See you in the fall. Love, Julie
June 21 – One Worship Service
There will be one service on Father's Day, June
21 at 10am. Since the service is at 10am, there
will be no Sunday school classes (all age groups)
Also please note that Celebration Corner
childcare for 2-5 year old children will still be
provided.
ASP Note
On June 14th @ 2:00 PM, we will have our last
meeting before our trip back to Jonesville. We
will meet for safety training @ Gerald and
Marlene Lindeman’s home at 13701 Hametown
Rd. Doylestown, Ohio 44230. This is the last of
our mandatory meetings. We will also have info
on leaving on June 21st , so please be prepared
to attend. All volunteer med forms should have
been collected at our last meeting 5/17.
We would also like to send out an invitation to
the greater Church. Each year a donation is made
to ASP to help fund a large project they may lack
sufficient funds to complete. There have been
septic tanks, electrical component replacements
etc. that we help with. Our May noisy offering will
go to this but if anyone would care to make
additional donations to this effort through the
church, these would also be greatly appreciated
and put to direct use. Just put a check in the
offering clearly marked ASP. Thanks, Bob Mac
Soprema Senior Center in Wadsworth
Sleeping Mats for the Homeless
Monday, June 22 at 1:00 pm
Learn how to crochet plastic grocery bags into
lightweight mats that protect from the cold and
damp. This simple project is suitable for
beginners and experienced crocheters! Please
bring 10 ordinary plastic grocery bags, scissors
and size K, L, or M crochet hook (if you have
one—we have some!)
Please call the Center to RSVP by June 17 at 330335-1513.
Volunteer Needed
The American Legion Post generates a LOT of
cardboard and they will let us recycle it in our
bins, but we need someone to pick it up every
other day and bring it to the church. Our
cardboard recycling brings in over $100 a month
for the Mission Fund. If you would like to make
this your ministry, call Earl at 330-658-6342.
2015 Scholarship Application
The Permanent Endowment Fund
of the United Methodist Church of Doylestown
153 Church Street, Doylestown, OH 44230
The Permanent Endowment Fund provides funds for Doylestown United Methodist Church to expand or
start new ministry opportunities to reach all generations for Jesus Christ.
The Educational Grant Fund provides for scholarship assistance to students from our church seeking
advanced degrees in accredited colleges and universities.
NAME:
HOME ADDRESS
CELL PHONE:
HOME PHONE:
Email Address:
YEAR you joined as a member of the Doylestown United Methodist Church:
I am enrolled for Fall Semester
COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY Enrolled:
School Address:
Degree Pursuing:
Major: __________________________
Present Status (freshman, junior, graduate work, etc):
On a separate sheet of paper please submit a typed response: How has the church
helped you in your faith walk, your future plans, and how this scholarship will help you
in these plans.
SIGNED: _________________________________________ DATE:___________________________
Please return this scholarship application to the church ministry office by no later than July 15, 2015.
Revised 5/15