Dear Church,

Thank you for all of those that came out on Sunday afternoon for the Church Conference at 4pm. God’s presence was felt as we prayed and dreamed together, as we heard voices that were passionate and energized and as we ultimately voted on the alternative motion that the Pastoral Team and Lay Leaders brought before us. God has big plans for this church and we feel that we are strategically positioned in this season to make some big changes and ultimately to expand the Kingdom of God in the greater Boca Raton community. We hope that God continues to move in your hearts and minds as we move through this process together over the next year.

In a concerted effort to be transparent and open, there are three things happening right away that we need to communicate to the church body.

First, the Church Action Plan that was voted on and approved by the majority of the body can be found here. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, please do so immediately as this is our plan for action moving forward.

Second, as one church moving forward, we will need gifted and passionate servants to volunteer on two committees for the next year. First is the Ministries Reassessment Task Force that will look at every ministry we are doing, evaluate it, and make recommendations to Leadership Council about ways to improve and build up the ministries that most closely align with our vision. Second is the Strategic Planning Task Force which will be charged with planning out-of-the-box ways for reaching the greater Boca community and for expanding the Kingdom of God in new ways. Both Task Forces are short term commitments and will be led by a Pastor and at least one member of the Leadership Council for the next year. If you have interest in being considered a good fit as one of these Task Force members and are ready and willing to be interviewed for this role, please email our Director of Connections, Jill Haire and we will be in touch.

Lastly, as one church we have agreed to support the missional outreach opportunities of this church together. Every year, at the beginning of the year, a team is formed to run the Pumpkin Patch. We are behind schedule and will not be able to successfully have a Pumpkin Patch this year unless volunteers step up by June 1, 2018,  to lead, organize and man the Pumpkin Patch. If you are interested in being a leader or a high-capacity volunteer for this year’s Pumpkin Patch, please email Pastor Tom.

We believe that God is leading us through a time of evaluation, pruning and edifying this body of Christ so that it can be growing and expanding the Kingdom of God in the greater Boca Raton community and we believe God has called us to do more than talk about it, but begin bold actions to make it happen. We hope that you will join us in this exciting time of change, transition and growth. Please continue to pray for our church community that God will unify us and make us one so that our neighbors can know the love and grace of Jesus Christ through First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton.

We believe that God is leading us through a time of evaluation, pruning and edifying this body of Christ so that it can be growing and expanding the Kingdom of God in the greater Boca Raton community and we believe God has called us to do more than talk about it, but begin bold actions to make it happen. We hope that you will join us in this exciting time of change, transition and growth. Please continue to pray for our church community that God will unify us and make us one so that our neighbors can know the love and grace of Jesus Christ through First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton.