Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31.
This past weekend the North West District hosted its annual gathering and training event. We were blessed to have Scott Hughes and Bryan Tener from the Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church lead us through the topic of “Radical Hospitality.”
During the presentation, we were challenged to embrace a “missionary mindset” of living outside the walls of our church buildings. This has been precisely the challenge for the church as we have lived through our current pandemic. For the most part, our church buildings have sat empty and each congregation has had to figure out ways to reach out to members and to those seeking Christ.
We have been challenged to embrace our mission “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” in a digital format. The pandemic has forced us to use multiple platforms to reach others for Christ – providing connection, love, and support from a distance.
As we plan for a post-pandemic worship and church programming, our new challenge will be to continue incorporating what we have been working on this past year into our plans. The reality is that we will be returning to a different world, so the church must be prepared to be invitational, intentional, and integrous (to the Gospel).
I place before us the Scripture from 1 Corinthians 10:31, in prayer and hope, “Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” Amen.