Building the Road to Our Future
I went for a long lunch yesterday with Shawn, Susan and Kim. It was a follow up lunch from our trip to Kansas City for the church leadership conference at the Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist Church in the US. It was an awesome conference!
We returned from the church conference about a week ago and I wanted to spend sometime talking about the things we learned and visioning about what we should and could implement right now for Wright’s Chapel? We also asked, what are some things that we might want to consider in 6 months or a year from now in our ministry? Finally we asked what did we learn that we should be aiming to put in place 2-4 years from now? We had all sorts of ideas that we had come away with. We pondered those questions so that we, as a church, can be more effective at making disciple of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world?
Some of the changes and new ministry ideas that we’ve made the last few years have come from that conference. Our ministry with children with special needs came out of that conference a few years ago. The new program, Building Better Moms, which Susan just started and already has more than 50 moms participating came out of last year’s conference. We are currently in a process where we are looking at doing our congregational care ministry differently, trying to make sure we do a better job of caring for those going through difficult times.
Our Administrative Council has done some of this visioning recently as well. The future VDOT expansion of Ladysmith Rd to four lanes and the adding of a median in front of our church entrance precipitated this process. The raised median will make turning into and out of the church difficult and in most cases we will be required to make u-turns at Rt 1 or near I-95 to get where we want to go.
In response to VDOT, The Church Council approved a capital campaign in order for us to try and purchase property adjacent to the church (behind the Timbers) which will give us a safer/easier entrance and exit to our building.
I met with a few folks this past week who agreed to help us organize for the capital campaign. We are naming the campaign “Building the Road to our Future.” You be hearing more about the campaign in the weeks ahead and throughout November. We cannot allow VDOT and their road expansion to stop us from the life changing ministry that God calls us as Wright’s Chapel to do. We must build the road to our future. Wright’s Chapel does so much ministry in and for our community that safe and easy access to our building is essential for us to continue our ministry of making disciples. This two year, $150,000 capital campaign will allow us purchase the property so that we can build the road necessary to keep our future ministries going.
I had an email this afternoon from the Caroline County School Board Office. One of the leaders of the special education department who I know wrote me. “Rev Charles,” she wrote, “There is a mother who is really struggling with her special needs child. She needs help and she needs some respite and she needs some support. Can you and your church help her she asked?” I was so glad to be able to say, we would love to try!
Proverbs 29:18 says “where there is no vision the people perish.” I’m glad to be a part of a church where God is giving people a vision of what can be, a vision of ministry where lives are changed and disciples of Jesus are made and the world becomes a different and better place.
Building the Road to Our Future- I hope you’ll plan to join the campaign and that you’ll join us on the journey that God has in store for us.
Peace Charles