EMPOWERING NEXT GENERATION LEADERS

Raising up the next generation of Christian leaders is essential to the vitality, mission and future of the church. If we’re not careful, we can easily believe the grim statistics about young people’s wavering faith in God and become fearful about the future of the church. It seems that every week I read another article about how Generation Z is leaving organized religion.

But here at The Woodlands Methodist Church, our NextGen Ministries is thriving, and I believe that is in part because we believe in empowering next generation leaders. Pastor Mark Swayze, our Executive Pastor of NextGen Ministries, often says, “If they’re not leading, they’re leaving.” He has implemented incredible opportunities in our student ministry to ensure that students know they are loved and valued, not just as the leaders of tomorrow

When I look back at my own life and ministry, I am grateful for the many opportunities I was given at a young age to lead. I felt called to ministry at a young age, and the leaders around me saw the importance of raising me up in Christian ministry. In high school, I was empowered to preach to my peers. At Texas A&M, I was hired on the staff of a large, thriving congregation. And in the summer of 2013, just before I graduated college, I had the opportunity to serve as a Pastoral Intern at a Methodist church in Richmond, Texas. That summer, I participated in weddings and funerals, helped with hospital visits, experienced planning meetings, led Bible studies, and saw firsthand the

My pastoral internship experience solidified my calling to the pastoral ministry. It had such an impact on me that I wanted to bring a similar program to The Woodlands Methodist Church. This desire aligned perfectly with Pastor Mark Sorensen’s vision to RAISE UP 1,000 next-generation Christian leaders, so this summer we are so excited to have Caleb Bigler as our first College Pastoral Intern.

Caleb grew up in our congregation and served in various leadership positions as a high school student. He is currently a student at Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he is double majoring in Religion and Rhetoric and Media. Caleb also runs on the track and cross-country teams at Hillsdale. He has a clear call to ministry and will be a blessing to our church this summer and beyond.

Caleb will have an opportunity to preach, assist in worship, shadow our pastors, and develop his gifts and graces for ministry. He will also participate in discipleship opportunities with our Bristol House Residents and Youth Interns. I hope you get a chance to meet Caleb and the rest of our amazing residents and interns and make them feel welcome this summer.

Our church takes seriously the call to raise up next generation leaders. At a time when so many people are fearful about the future of the church, I’m grateful that The Woodlands Methodist Church is doing its part to invest in young people. They are the church of tomorrow — and the church of today.

During the summer of 2023, we’re talking about the General Rules of John Wesley:

• Do No Harm.

• Do Good.

• Adhere to All the Ordinances of God.

July brings to us the next rule: Do Good.

In today’s climate people are constantly trying to stretch the bounds of “truth.” While our minds can provide an endless stream of pluralism, relativism and moral therapeutic deism, the ideas will consistently fall short of a life-transforming encounter with Jesus proclaiming, “Everyone is loved and everyone is a sinner in need of God’s amazing grace.”

The challenge with the call to “Do Good” is that you must know what “good” is.

If I see a sandbag flying towards my head, catch it before it hits my face, set it on the ground, and move on with my day, I will have saved myself from a concussion. But what if I just interrupted a sandbag line constructing a levee to hold back flooding? I would have saved myself from harm (rule one), but I would have failed to “do good” on behalf of my neighbor and failed to “do no harm” to them as well.

Jesus calls for us to “be holy as my Father in heaven is holy.” (1 Peter 1:15) In order for us to do this, we must engage Scripture and have a robust theology that applies to “the world” and “the One” simultaneously. Then we can live into the call of Paul in Galatians 6:9: “Never grow tired of doing good.”

Late Morning Start

Rev. Luann Riley offered a beautiful devotional and Bob Smiley tickled our funny bone at Late Morning Start in May. Lunch was provided by Jason’s Deli. This group is taking a summer break and will start back up in September.

May Prime Timers

Our May gathering was a Backyard Barbecue theme. The Hot Shots trio — Aaron, Ben and Eli — played some toe-tapping tunes on their ukuleles. Prime Timers is taking a summer break and will resume in September.

Mah Jongg Mah Jongg

Our Mah Jongg group is going strong! The group meets at The Woodlands Campus on the first and third Thursdays of the month. There are all levels of players.

Good News

In May, we had a Good News social at Bernhardt Winery to see a Beatles tribute band. We had a groovy time!