Photo by: Sheron C. Patterson
Here are Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe’s suggestions for vitalizing congregations:
Be who God has created you to be. We in The United Methodist Church must determine who we are as a denomination and who we are not. We as pastors and leaders need to avoid the trap of comparing ourselves or our ministries with others!
Embrace the crisis experience. Know that for God to do a great work in our church, we will need to go through some changes to learn something new.
See God’s greater vision beyond crises. Not only can we learn from crises, we can connect with new people. Get to know not only the people in your congregations. but also outside the church walls.
On-site learning locations
The 12 NTC churches that served as models for vital congregations are:
- Casa Linda
- Christ’s Foundry
- Faith (Corinth)
- First UMC Dallas
- Grace Avenue
- Highland Park
- Korean Central
- Lovers Lane
- Munger Place
- Oak Cliff
- St. Luke “Community”
- St. Luke “Community” South Campus
