Vision statements carry weight. They should be powerful, life-directing proclamations that we strive toward. The United Methodist Church’s new vision statement, which we all strive to fulfill through our daily efforts, is to “form disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.”

It’s that simple, yet so profound. But just how do we do that? How do we break that down into digestible, measurable, daily steps? Our denomination helps us do just that.

Earlier this month, Rev. Mark Ehrmantraut attended an annual leadership event hosted by Discipleship Ministries in Columbus, Ohio, called SCD. The focus of the event was to equip leaders with an understanding of how to help their congregations create disciples in today’s world.

This major event, formerly the School of Congregational Development, now known as SCD, brought together over 500 pastors and laity from across the denomination. SCD now stands for See, Create, Disciple.

Pastor Mark shared an overview. “There was a lot in the four days about discipleship. It isn't necessarily a program or a method. It's about relationships. It happens over time, and we need to be intentional about doing that.”

Sunday night started with worship and speakers. Then on Monday, the theme of the full day was love boldly. Tuesday was all serve joyfully. Wednesday was lead courageously.

The event’s keynote speaker was well-known author and faith leader Carey Nieuwhof.

Rev. Carey Nieuwhof

Rev. Ehrmantraut summarized Rev. Nieuwhof’s keynote messages. He understood that “the reality is, if everything we're doing isn't based out of the way we love God and love the people, we will still wrestle and struggle, because the reality is we're not doing it for the right reason.”

Nieuwhof continued on the second day with part two of his message. Ehrmantraut said, “The second day he [spoke about] all the stuff that's going on around AI. There's just so much happening at such breakneck speeds. The research is telling us that people are turning to AI for companionship and for counseling, and that has implications for the church. Because people are still human beings and we need authenticity. And we need community. And the reality is, who is better positioned for that than the church, if we are loving God and loving neighbor, with everything we have?”

Pastor Mark shared a deeper message of the event– that although we can quote the six words of the mission statement, we need to pay close attention to the preceding words in the vision statement to fully grasp the intention. Our intention is to form disciples of Jesus Christ, but to do that, we need to be formed ourselves, to spend time in prayer, in worship, in study, to form ourselves so that we can share the Good News worldwide.

The last portion of the vision statement shows where we are to form disciples:  “in local communities and worldwide connections.”

Bismarck Calvary UMC "practicing" for Dinner Church kickoff.

Ehrmantraut’s church, Bismarck Calvary UMC, is reaching out to their local community by launching a new effort to love boldly and serve joyfully. They are intentionally inviting neighbors to “Wonderfully Made Dinner Church,” which begins on Tuesday, September 1. The evening of fellowship begins with Crafts for Kids (and adults), followed by dinner at 6 pm, and a Jesus Story at 6:30 pm.

The Calvary members prepared for their kickoff event by inviting church members to a “practice event” earlier this month. They made crafts with each other and served each other dinner, followed by a Jesus story. The event was well-attended and gave them a sense of confidence for the actual kickoff event. They feel ready to begin this new outreach to share their faith through fun, food, and fellowship.

Rev. Ehrmantraut is also leading his congregation’s “Renew” worship service, a recovery ministry that gathers on Saturday evenings at Bismarck Calvary UMC. Both events are an effort to reach out and meet people who wouldn’t normally come through the church’s doors.

“So, the UMC vision statement, the first part of the statement is about formation. The United Methodist Church forms disciples. And we can get caught in ‘love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously,’ and just focus on that. But the reality is, we begin with forming disciples. Forming people isn't just running programs. Forming people requires time. It happens in community, and it demands intentional effort. I mean, our faith is a faith of relationships.”

In closing, Ehrmantraut said, “The whole SCD was about discipling, caring for people and reaching new people, but it all starts with: we have to have our own house in order. And when we have our own house in order, within, we are people of Acts 2.”

As Bismarck Calvary UMC reaches out to form disciples, Ehrmantraut will also be reaching out to continue forming disciples within his church, and helping those disciples to reach out themselves, forming disciples currently outside their congregation, in their “local community, and in worldwide connections.”

https://www.resourceumc.org/en/umc-resources/vision-of-the-umc