Dear North American Readers
I seldom do posts other than my reflections on the lectionary, however my wife who works at First United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon, recently learned of an independent research project commissioned by the United Methodist Church (UMC) demonination regarding vital North American UMC congregations. Knowing of my passion for this kind of effort and information and my desire to see my denomination's congregations become effective and vital to their communities, she told me about the UMC "Call to Action" study. So I have eagerly researched the project.
One telling statistic of the independent research is that of 32,228 North American UMC congregations studied, only 4,961 (or 15%) congregations were rated by the independent researchers as having a "high-vitality" index score. As a result of the study's findings, UMC Bishop Gregory Palmer of the "Call to Action" project steering group shares some frank thoughts about UMC congregations ceasing defeating and ineffective behaviors and ending ways of being that are disconnected from addressing the larger issues and needs of our times in North America. He urges congregations to embrace information and behavior and principles that will aid connectedness and meaningful relationship with their communities. Below are some links that readers may wish to explore:
YouTube - UMC Call to Action - Intro/Research - Bishop Gregory Palmer
Keys to Building Vital Congregations - UMC.org
UMC "Call to Action" PDF presentation
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