Here is a Q&A sheet about the opportunity.
St. Peter UMC
Q&A Packet
St. Peter UMC
in Blue Springs has closed, primarily due to lack of finances and a decline in
attendance. The Conference Office has
asked our church to consider stepping in to help.
St. Peter is
located on the south end of Blue Springs, which is rapidly expanding. Hundreds of homes have been built over the
past few years, with plans for many more to built in the area. The Conference Office wants to keep a
Methodist presence along 7 Highway, as they know this is a prime mission field
for the United Methodist Church.
Rather than
start a brand new Methodist church in the building, the Conference Office has
asked Woods Chapel Church to start a third campus, thus creating Woods Chapel
Church – Blue Springs Campus. This
strategy of asking growing, vibrant churches to create additional campuses has
been successful in Missouri and in other states, and the Conference plans to
continue this strategy in the future.
1.
What does this mean in the near future?
The St. Peter
congregation, with advice from the Conference Office, voted to close their
church but continue holding a heritage worship service each Sunday in their
building until a new church is started in the building. WCC will begin holding the heritage service
on Sunday, June 28 and will continue this service each Sunday morning as long
as attendance is approximately 20 or more and giving is regular. If attendance dips below that threshold for
several weeks in a row, or giving stops, we will look at discontinuing the
service and asking the church attendees to attend one of our services at WCC.
2.
What does a heritage service look like?
WCC will provide a pre-recorded
sermon. We will provide musicians, a sound
technician, and hospitality. Services
will have the same format as WCC 9:05 sanctuary worship. The music at St. Peter has been contemporary
using a piano and instruments, and this will continue. The time of the service has not been
determined. Services at St. Peter were
previously held at 10:00 am.
3.
How will we advertise the heritage
service to the community?
We will not advertise this service to
the community or invite others to join us.
This heritage service is strictly for the current St. Peter members who
do not want to leave their church building and are waiting for a new church to
be started there. We are simply helping
out during this time period and are not trying to grow the service.
4.
When will we officially start the new
Woods Chapel Church – Blue Springs Campus?
The timetable is very tentative at
this point. The Conference Office has
suggested the following:
·
Hold
the heritage service for nine months to build trust with the attendees.
·
Appoint
a campus pastor for the Blue Springs Campus with a tentative start date of
January 2016.
·
Discontinue
the heritage service in the summer of 2016.
·
Launch
the new Woods Chapel Church – Blue Springs Campus in October 2016.
5.
Who owns the building, land, and
assets now that St. Peter has closed?
All assets now belong to the
Conference Office. Transfer of ownership
to WCC would take place effective January 1, 2016.
6.
What is the financial status?
The church does not have any
money. The total debt is $200,000. A parsonage will be sold for approximately
$150,000, leaving $50,000 of remaining debt.
7.
What is the size of the property?
The church owns approximately 6.8
acres. In addition to the land the
building sits on, the church owns the empty land behind the church and eight-tenths
of an acre along 7 Highway to the south of the church.
8.
What is the condition of the building?
The building is in great
condition. Paint and décor has been
updated. The church has a commercial
kitchen, a large fellowship area, and a sanctuary which seats approximately 250.
9.
Who maintains the building and grounds
during the heritage service period?
WCC staff and a team of WCC members
will maintain the property, with service and maintenance bills being paid by
the Conference Office until January 1, 2016.
10.
Who pays the utility bills during the
heritage service period?
The Conference Office will pay the
utility bills until January 1, 2016.
11.
Who pays the speakers and musicians
during the heritage service period?
The Conference Office will pay until
January 1, 2016.
12.
Will an offering be received at
heritage services?
Yes, an offering will be received, and
the money will help pay for utility bills.
13.
Will there be any Sunday school
classes or weekday programming at the building during the heritage service period?
No.
We will invite heritage service attendees to attend programming at WCC
during the week. We will provide a copy
of our bulletin each Sunday so that they can hear about the various opportunities.
We will not print any separate publications for the heritage service.
14.
Who will provide pastoral care for the
heritage service attendees?
Pastoral care will be provided by our
team at WCC. The heritage service
attendees will call the main WCC phone number for pastoral care.
15.
Will the conference help with finances
in 2016?
Yes, the conference will provide
$300,000 for the new campus, with $125,000 the first year, $100,000 the second
year, and $75, 000 the third year. This
grant is intended to be used for ministry and music staff, and facilities and
maintenance costs.
16.
How will a campus pastor be chosen for
Blue Springs?
The conference will work closely with
WCC to determine the best fit for a campus pastor. It may be a current pastor from WCC or a new
appointee.
17.
What is the role of the campus pastor
from January until the new church launch?
Beginning immediately, the campus pastor would work to build interest at
the main campus and make connections in the community. This could be done
at the main campus by inviting interested parties to cook outs, bible studies,
social hours and such. This could be done in the community by getting
involved and known in the community via Rotary, Chamber and the local schools.
18.
What is the role of the campus pastor
after the launch?
The campus pastor will be onsite most
Sundays, leading the worship. We
envision this campus being a video venue, meaning the sermons will be brought
by the Senior Pastor via video approximately three Sundays a month. The campus pastor will preach 9-12 times per
year at the satellite campus and several times a year at the main campus. The campus pastor will provide pastoral care
and officiate funerals, weddings, and baptisms.
19.
What will happen during the summer of
2016?
The summer of 2016 will be a quiet
period, meaning there will not be any worship services or programming at the
Blue Springs campus. This time will be
used to make changes to the building so that it looks and feels like WCC.
20.
What renovations will be needed?
The signage will need to be
changed. Minor façade changes may be
made to give the building more curb appeal.
Interior decorating changes will be made to mimic the feel of WCC’s main
campus.
21.
What programming will there be for
children and students after the launch?
Children’s Sunday
school and nursery will be held each Sunday. We are also exploring a
parent’s day out.
22.
How will we invite people to the new
church?
The first step will be identifying our
current WCC attendees that live in the mission field around the Blue Springs
campus. We will gather this group
together and gauge their interest in becoming missionaries in their own
neighborhood by attending the new campus.
This ‘launch team’ will be crucial to the success of the new launch by
inviting their neighbors and friends to the new church. In addition to the campus pastor’s efforts to
engrain him/herself in the community, we anticipate mailers, events, small
groups, and missions efforts.
23.
What recommendations have we received
from the Conference Office for the new church launch?
a)
Choose
the right campus pastor who is engaged with the community.
b)
Maintain
communication with the main campus so that all campuses are working together
for the common mission.
24.
When will we have to start paying
apportionments for the new campus?
Apportionments
would be paid beginning in 2020.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, don't be afraid of change, and don't be afraid of being stretched. God is with us - be sure to see the good.
No comments:
Post a Comment