The Vision

The Vision First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge

TRANSFORM

ENGAGE

CELEBRATE

SHARE

Transforming Lives by Engaging Our Members to Celebrate and Share the Love of Jesus Christ

TO MY BROTHERS & SISTERS IN CHRIST, In May 2013, our congregation began a process to develop a more focused vision of our future together as a church. Having completed a congregation-wide survey, multiple focus groups, and several leadership retreats, I am pleased to say our Church Council has discerned what I believe to be an exciting, meaningful, and Christ-honoring vision for the future.

In developing this vision and plan one of the things we were attentive to was the rich history of First United Methodist Church. For nearly 180 years, our congregation has celebrated and shared Christ’s love through worship, Christian education, care for our members, and service in our community. You will see, in reading the core values we affirm, that none of that has changed.

At the same time, you will see that our vision challenges us to both improve and develop new ways of sharing God’s love in the Baton Rouge community. These are ways that will engage more of our members in the life-changing work of Christ and that will enable our church to continue to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Most of all, I hope you see yourself in this vision. I hope you see something that excites and inspires you. I hope you hear God calling you to commit – through prayer, service, and financial sacrifice – to making this vision a reality. If you do, I am confident that as we seek to transform lives by sharing Christ’s love with others, one of the lives that will be transformed will be your own.

As for me? I’m all in.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Brady Whitton Senior Pastor

Offering Servant Leadership in Baton Rouge and United Methodism

Glorifying God Through Worship and Music

Growing Disciples Through Study and Practice

Our Core Values Serving and Standing with Those in Need Beyond Our Church Family

Caring for and Uplifting Our Church Family

Connecting Children and Youth to Christ

Celebrating Our Past While Looking Toward the Future

Our Vision

TRANSFORM While life is a beautiful gift, we also recognize that our lives, relationships, and community are full of broken places. We are a church that believes the love of Jesus Christ is the remedy we all need. As we celebrate and share Christ’s love we will see individual hearts and lives healed, relationships restored and mended, and our community become a healthier and happier place for all to live.

ENGAGE The work of God belongs to all of God’s people. We are a church where we invite and encourage our members to discover and use their God-given talents to serve, care, teach, and lead, and where people are equipped and empowered to do so.

CELEBRATE Life is hard; the last thing we need is something else to knock us down.

We are a church that worships God in celebratory, uplifting and inspiring ways and that offers preaching, teaching and community life that is grounded in the good news of the love of Jesus Christ.

SHARE The love of Jesus Christ is simply too big for us to keep to ourselves.

We are a church that shares Christ’s love by caring for one another through times of trial and struggle, that helps those in our community through service and mission, and that is excited about sharing God’s love with others.

Our Plan WE WILL CREATE TEAMS OF CHURCH LEADERS TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT THE FOLLOWING NEW INITIATIVES:

Expand Worship Venues On and Off Campus

Develop an Intentional Plan or Path for Discipleship

Church attendance nationwide is down from its peak in the 1950s. The way people communicate, create community, and process information has changed.

We want people to learn about Christ’s love but often expect them to figure it out as they go.

To reach out to people “where they are” we will expand worship to include one or more of the following: a “mobile church” for soccer field / sports / post-game RV lot services, on location services in Spanish Town, Port Allen, or Brulee, a new or “adopt-a-church” campus, or an online worshiping community. We will also find ways to improve our already strong worship opportunities.

We will develop an intentional plan for discipleship that will teach the Christian faith and practice from a Methodist perspective, increase Biblical literacy, and connect people with a group to nurture them on the path of discipleship.

Develop a Follow-Up System for Member Engagement and Care

Establish an after-school student enrichment center

Create a center for urban mission to recruit, train and deploy people in Baton Rouge

The Church is the people, plain and simple. We want our members to be engaged in every aspect of the life of the church, from worship to teaching, to serving and leading.

There are as many as 13,000 single parent families within a six-mile radius of our church. Many students in our community need help with basic education and life skills. They also need something constructive to do after school.

We often send teams to other states and countries for medical, construction, and educational mission. The question is often asked, “Why don’t we serve the same needs in our own backyard?”

We will create a system and team to follow-up and care for members who are seeking to connect more fully within the life of the church and/or who have become disengaged.

We will create an after-school student enrichment center that will offer tutoring, music lessons, art, sports, and nutrition and will also engage the talents of our church members and make fuller use of our available facilities.

We will create a center for urban missions that will invite our members and people from around the country to serve on a mission team right here in Baton Rouge.

Whether doing home repair blocks from the church or volunteering at a local charity, people will experience life in downtown Baton Rouge and touch people’s lives while doing it.

Our Timeline

Expand Worship Venues On and Off Campus

Develop an Intentional Plan or Path for Discipleship

Good-to-great sanctuary worship team formed by April 2014

Discipleship team formed by April 2014

New opportunity team formed by July 2014 First new opportunity launched by January 2015 Possible new staff positions: 0-1

Children’s team formed by July 2014 Youth/College team formed by July 2014 Adult team formed by July 2014 Research, curriculum development, and leader training in August - December 2014 First adult pilot-groups formed by January 2015 Youth/College re-launch formed by January 2015 Children’s re-launch formed by January 2015

Goals

Possible new staff positions: 1-2

Increase worship attendance 25% and lay leadership 50% by the end of 2016

Increase group participation and lay leadership 25% by the end of 2016

Develop a Follow-Up System for Member Engagement and Care

Establish an after-school student enrichment center

Create a center for urban mission to recruit, train and deploy people in Baton Rouge

Member engagement team formed by April 2014

Enrichment center team formed by April 2014

Urban mission center team formed by May 2014

System in place by August 2014

Pilot program launched August 2014

First teams spring 2015

Possible new staff positions: 0-1

Support other areas in reaching their participation goals

Possible new staff positions: 0-1

Possible new staff positions: Interns

60 children and 30 in lay leadership by the end of 2016

30 teams a year with 75 in lay leadership by the end of 2016

Inviting & Welcoming $300,198 Music & Worship $443,976

Administrative $453,640

Education & Formation $870,624

Proposed 2014 Missional Budget $3,915,055 Building & Grounds $760,482

Cong. Care & Fellowship $454,888 Mission & Outreach $631,247

CD WILL BE HERE (DO NOT PRINT)

First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge 930 North Blvd. | Baton Rouge, LA 70802 www.firstmethodist.org | 225-383-4777