Fall is just around the corner

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, summer is almost over.  The church year is about to begin and prayerfully we, you and me, us, FUMC will turn the world upside down in this community for the glory of God in the precious and mighty name of Jesus Christ.  First United Methodist Church of Irwin is a busy church.  We like to have fun while doing lots of outreach ministries(meaning we help a lot of people both spiritually and physically), making disciples of Jesus Christ(through Sunday School, Bible Studies, book studies, worship, Scripture memorization, fellowship), and fellowshipping over food, activities, music, etc.  Church is the body of Christ, the gathering of the Saints (us Christians) and it is not confined to the church building.  We like to thing outside of the box and can always use more help and ideas on how to do that for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus certainly did not confine His ministry, teaching, and preaching to the synagogue.  Most of it was done in the highways and byways of life especially to those living on the fringes of society.  So we too want to reach out in love to those whom the world considers unlovable, different, and on the fringes of society.  Oh, to be sure, we will not always agree on things.  That is just life and belonging to a family.  We may not see eye to eye biblically, but that should not, will not prevent us from loving one another.  Just letting it rip here: we are not the agent of change so we will not withhold our love, the love of God from anyone just because we may not agree with their lifestyle or looks or attitude or you get the idea.  God did not withhold HIS love from us even though we were sinners when HE sent HIS son Jesus to die for us.  Nope, the agent of change is the Holy Spirit of the Lord God Almighty and we just want to introduce you to Jesus through what we say and do.  We do not expect everyone to be made the same.  How boring that would be, right?  We just expect everyone to be faithful and to be held accountable in love.  Mmm, I got off track or did I?  Here at FUMC we have 3 services: Saturday night contemporary style with musicians, big screen television, jeans and tee shirts attire if you wish, and desserts afterwards; Sundays at 8:15 and 10:45 we have a more traditional leaning toward blended services with lots of music, biblical and sometimes interactive preaching, engaging children’s chats, and a standing invitation to the altar rail.  We strongly believe in the power of intercessory prayer and quite often will stop the service to pray for someone who is in need of a special touch.  Sunday school for all ages at 9:30 and during the summer we only have a one room Sunday school once a month for the children.  There are support groups such as grief support meetings, depression and anxiety support group meetings, monthly healing service, NA, TOPS, etc.  Our full size gymnasium is utilized by the community for many different events throughout the year.  Our youth pastor is full of wonderful and innovative ideas for the youth of the community.  The office staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful as are our custodians.  Come and see the beautiful sanctuary that can hold up to 650 people.  It is truly breathtaking, but we do not want to get caught up worshipping the created when it is the Creator of all things who alone is worthy of our praise.  There is much more to our church and we hope and pray that you will consider checking us out and perhaps becoming a part of our family as we journey through life together spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and turning the world upside down.  Even though ministry calls for sacrifice and hard work we find the challenges fun because we know how it all turns out in the end, amen?  Come have fun with us.

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Bruce

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