Grace, Peace, and Blessings to you!
I greet you as your District Superintendent (DS). To each family and individual, I want to thank God for you. I want to thank God for our new clergy families who have come to join us on the Rappahannock and York River Districts, respectively. I pray that the gifts and graces you bring will bless each of us.
I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to each of you for your dedication and commitment to the work of the church during the past conference year. Through your support, we persevered through a season of unusual proportions. As we begin this new conference year, I call upon each of us to exercise the same commitment, dedication, and support. In so doing, I extend an invitation to begin this conference year with a great expectation to win more souls to Christ.
We are commanded to win souls for Christ (Matthew 28). However, each church responds to this command differently because of our contextual ministry setting. As your DS, I have formulated a goal for us to make disciples, but we must unite in determining the actions to achieve our goal. The gift and graces each of us brings are noteworthy, and they can contribute to the success of our shared ministry of winning more souls for Christ.
Our conference and denomination continue to have an exponential decline in membership. I believe that we can be the catalyst for change, and thus change this downward trend. I believe we can if each member commits to bringing just one soul to Christ by the end of the conference year (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022). Let us make this our commitment today.
As we begin this conference year in our shared ministry of making disciples, we will use the acronym SMART to order the ministries of our two districts. First, our goal of making disciples for the transformation of the world is sustainable. Second, it is measurable. Third, it is attainable. Fourth, it is realistic. And lastly, it will be time-based (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022).
Friends, we are different, and we have different ideas as well as diverse gifts. We have the knowledge, skills, abilities, and capabilities to accomplish this goal. However, there is nothing more tragic than allowing our theological differences to subvert the missional objective of the church. I believe that the things that divide and separate us are far less than those that unite us. So, let us dare to be different from the unchurched. Let us set aside our differences and unite as children of God. Let us do what we have been commanded to do – to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
I am looking forward to being in your churches. I am looking forward to listening and having a conversation with you. And so, I want to thank you in advance for the work already done. Thanks for your support of me as I superintend the two districts. I am asking you to help hold up my hands so that together our work will glorify God and edify those we are called to serve.
Blessings to you!
Charles
