Saturday Sunset Service
"I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." 3 John 1:2. We have been up to our Father's business of proclaiming the incorruptible Word of God on Saturday evenings. This service is geared toward teaching the inspired Word of God on a series style basis. Our first series of study is "The Way the Truth and the Life regarding the Love of God." Eight weeks into the series, hearts have already been convicted and minds renewed.
A strong intrusive thought from God bombarded me to begin with the "love" series because it occurred to me that every Christian knows that we must love one another, but yet the love of God is not being practiced as it should. The Love of God is the most important issue in the Bible and is the most important subject in our lives. As such, we must study the love of God and meditate on the love of God enough to where we have developed a consciousness. Love is the foundation for every spiritual law. In other words, love meets all of the old and new testament requirements for your faith to produce, for your prayers to be answered, for joy and peace and prosperity to be manifested in your life. Without love, there is no foundation to support the glory of God.
Simply put, the love of God is that unconditional, unselfish, committed agape force whereby God pours in us his love so that we can share it with our brethren. Love goes beyond the point of return and is always kept alive, even when others fail to abide by it. A true Christian is identified by his love walk and he loves others without requiring them to earn it.
The worship participants of the Saturday evening services are well on their way to developing a love consciousness. We have approximately three more sessions on love before we move on to explore other topics such as the Holy Spirit, faith, finances, debt elimination, peace, boldness, healing, and a host of other biblical laws and topics.
In addition to the inspired word, we have praise and worship through music and confessions. The participants also have an opportunity to sow a financial seed into the Kingdom. The service begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. Please invite someone who does not have a relationship with God to join us.
Timothy Howard, Lay Leader
United Methodists plan 3 new metro congregations
The Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church is hoping to attract new believers by planting three new churches in the Jackson-metro area.
"It's been documented that new churches are much more successful at bringing people to Christ than existing churches," said the Rev. Embra Jackson, who is leading the conference's effort.
Two of the churches will be "daughter" congregations of existing churches. Anderson United Methodist Church in northwest Jackson will start Anderson South in south Jackson. First United Methodist Church in Brandon will launch The Pointe in Brandon. The third will be an independent group located in Rankin County's Lakeland Drive area.
"All of the district superintendents agreed this was the place to plant because of all of the growth," Jackson said of the new locations. "And with all of the people leaving Jackson there needed to be a ministry to people staying in Jackson."
The initiative aims to grow the United Methodist church, which like other mainline denominations faces a shrinking membership.
This year the Mississippi Conference closed eight mostly rural churches with dwindling or inactive congregations.
The three new churches expect to be up and running within six months to a year, Jackson said, and each will cost about $300,000 to get fully launched. The conference will supply some seed money, but most funding will come from sponsoring congregations, United Methodist districts and members of the new churches, Jackson said.
Anderson United Methodist Church member Tim Howard, a Madison lawyer, is in charge of planting Anderson South.
"The reason why we're interested in going to south Jackson is in some ways it's an economically depressed area," said Howard, 36, who is studying to be a church leader. "We want to teach the word of God and empower people."
Specific locations of the new churches have not been selected but may include storefronts or space rented from a school, church or commercial building.
"Our target is for this to be for folks who have not been part of a church community," said the Rev. Jim Taylor, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Brandon, who is in charge of launching The Pointe. "Traditional church really is irrelevant to them."
The Pointe aims to create a casual atmosphere in which people feel comfortable in their shorts and flip-flops, Taylor said.
"The whole premise behind that is Christ meets us where we are," he said.
The Rev. John Hugh Tate will lead the Lakeland Drive-area church, now called Metro Jackson.
He plans to drum up support for the new congregation through word of mouth and by speaking at other United Methodist churches.
Like Anderson South and The Pointe, the Metro Jackson church will be nontraditional.
"We're not going to wear robes," Tate said of the clergy. "We won't have pews... a steeple and an altar."
Though Tate, 32, admits starting a church takes the same work as opening a new business, the challenge appeals to him.
"This is a unique time," he said. "We don't have to do church as it's always been done."
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