Vincentown United Methodist Church
1/13 - CHURCH IS CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, December, 2018
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I give thanks to God for all of you. So many of you have answered God’s call to get involved in the ministry of the Church! Because of that, we were able to celebrate a fruitful year at Charge Conference. Charge Conference was held on Saturday, November 17th at the Calvary Korean United Methodist Church in East Brunswick. Together with over 60 other churches we worshiped, received inspiring messages, reconnected with old friends and made connections with new friends. At the end, those of us representing the Vincentown United Methodist Church gathered in one room for the business session of the conference. We passed and received reports and did the necessary business work. But we also got many opportunities to praise God for the fruitfulness that we have seen in 2018.
In 2018, we added 14 new disciples into the life of this church through profession of faith, regular Sunday School attendance, transfer from other churches and baptism. Speaking of baptisms, we have celebrated Holy Baptism five times in 2018! For the first time in my career, we have seen more baptisms than funerals this year. We are a growing church, but growth is not just measured in church attendance or membership records. Those are simply not enough. To be a growing church also means growing in discipleship, mission, Christian education and service. With your help, 2018 saw growth in all of those areas as well. The Food Pantry, Christian Caring Center, natural disasters and UMCOR have given us increased opportunities to get involved, and you certainly did! Every time a need came up, you all responded generously. Thank you! Some of our Sunday School students are ready for Confirmation. Beginning in January, we will be holding a Confirmation Class to teach our young disciples what it means to be full members of Christ’s Church. They will be confirmed on Pentecost in May. And some of our Youth/Teenage disciples are taking steps forward in their faith. They attend and lead worship regularly and they even helped create what is now known as Prayer and Praise Time. And one of our teenagers has been elected as the Youth Representative with voice and vote on the Church Council.
The Youth are not the only ones among us who are answering the call to get involved. The Nominations Committee nominated, and the Charge Conference approved 11 disciples to new positions for 2019, 6 of whom had not been on the Nominations report at all since I started here in 2016. 5 of those 6 have become members just within the last three years. So, the Vincentown United Methodist Church is a growing church not just because membership and new disciples have grown, but because the members themselves have grown in faith and in discipleship. The next 12 months are sure to offer even more opportunities for growth. The calendar year starts in January, but the church liturgical year begins now; at Advent. Happy New Year, VUMC! The new opportunities start right away. There are two different opportunities for Bible Study this Advent; Tuesday mornings at 10:30 at the Church and Wednesday afternoons at 2:00 in Leisuretowne. All of you are invited to grow through these Bible Studies. IF you can’t make it to them, no worries! The books and topics covered at those meetings will be the inspiration for the sermons on Sunday mornings!
If you are reading this and you do not currently attend our church, I just want to say hello! We are happy that our message is reaching out to you. Please know that all of us here in Vincentown are praying for you. We would love to have our sanctuary beautified with your presence. If you are feeling called to worship with us, we begin our Sunday mornings with Adult and Upper Room Prayer at 9:45 and Children's Sunday School at 10:00. At 10:15 we prepare for worship with an interactive Bible Study and Praise Music. Finally, at 11:00 we all come together as one church family for worship. But our church doesn’t end after worship on Sunday. It continues throughout the whole week with Youth Group, Choir, Bible Study and missions. Please feel free to reach out to me any time for more information!
Grace and Peace,
Reverend Dave
Sunday Schedule
9:45 Adult Sunday School
Upper Room Prayer
10:00 Sunday School for prek-12th grade
10:15-10:45 Prayer and Praise Time
11:00 Worship Service
Other Weekly/Monthly Offerings
Wednesday
Bible Study - 2pm
Choir Practice - 7pm
Youth Group - 7pm
Thursday
Confirmation Class - 7pm (starting 1/17)
FOOD PANTRY
1st Saturday of every month! All are welcome!
97 Main St., Vincentown, NJ 08088
Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Everyone Is Welcome!