Marshallton UMC

From the Desk of the Pastor…
“Are we making disciples of Jesus Christ?”

This is the question I have been wrestling with recently. I have attended various trainings through the United Methodist Church and I continue to hear the mission statement “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World” and I keep wondering, “How are we doing at this?” So, are we making disciples of Jesus Christ?
I know we are tempted to answer this question by looking at membership records, or looking at attendance figures, but these only tell part of the tale. Because the mission statement is not, “Making Members of the Church”, or even “Making Attenders of Worship.” While those are vital numbers, numbers that the UMC wants us to continue to track and weekly report to the district in the coming years, those numbers do not necessarily answer the question, “Are we making disciples?”
Before we can answer the question, we have to ask a different one, “What does a disciple of Christ look like?” How will we know when we have made some? This is a little more difficult than simply tracking attendance. And there are no strict definitions within the UMC, so it is up to us to determine what a disciple is, but I think there are some clear concepts from the Bible that reveal what qualities are evident in disciples.

1. Desired to spend time with Jesus. They left their jobs, careers, families, etc to follow Jesus, and learn from Him. For us this may mean we put a priority on Bible Study, on getting to know and understand the teachings of Jesus through personal and corporate devotions, as well as being joining with others to worship as often as possible.

2. Put their faith into action. As Jesus taught and modeled, they were asked to go and do likewise. They were sent out to pray, to heal and to bring the gospel of peace. They did not let Jesus do all the ministry, or rather Jesus empowered them to do the ministry. As Disciples, they were expected to minister.

3. Put their full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It is important to note that the disciples did not believe in Jesus as the Christ in the beginning, but through the process of discipleship, and their continual journey of faith, they came to understand and believe that Jesus truly was the Christ. So too, being a disciple literally means being a learner, someone who is in process of faith, and who eventually finds it.

4. Filled with the power of the Spirit. Once they put their faith in Jesus, the disciples were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. This gave them boldness to step out and speak out, knowing they were speaking with the power of God. So too, when we as disciples come to complete faith, we will receive the Holy Spirit and one or more gifts of the spirit to accomplish the ministry.

5. Desired to reach the world. The last feature of the disciples was that they became apostles. They could not simply keep this knowledge of Jesus to themselves, they were compelled to share this gospel with others, to go and tell the good news. In other words, they began to make new disciples.

So, if we are making disciples, we will be making people who love to study the Bible, who put their faith into action, who depend completely on faith in Christ, who are filled with Holy Spirit and have gifts for ministry, and who teach others these same things. In other words, if we are making disciples, we will continue to make disciples.
Now that we know what we are looking for, the question still remains, “Are we making disciples of Jesus Christ?” Or perhaps, “How could we do better at making disciples for Jesus Christ?”
This is the reason we have launched life groups. Life groups are a discipleship tool, to help each of us to develop a hunger for God as we learn to live our lives for Jesus together. This is also one of the reasons we are planning the mission trip, so that we can put our faith into action. No matter where you are in your discipleship journey, you are welcome to join us in these two endeavors. For more information, please call the office, or talk to me.
Each of us are on a journey of discipleship, but none of us have arrived yet, so let us covenant to help each other on the way. Then we can definitively declare, “We are making disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Journeying together,

Pastor Hayden

125 years of serving Christ. 125 years of proclaiming Jesus. 125 years of making disciples. 125 years of opening up the gates of heaven and shutting the doors on the gates of hell. 125 years of leading people to eternal life through Jesus Christ, of giving hope and reason for living. 125 years of making a difference in this community. That is something worth celebrating!

Sometimes we need a celebration to help us remember what our purpose is, why we are here. Some might include other things, like 125 years of worship services, or 125 years of Sunday School, and while those things are important, it is the 125 years of serving Christ
that makes all the difference. It is the ministry and people who have been blessed by God and experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus that is to be celebrated. Or else the years mean nothing.

But for the last 125 years in this community people have found God by coming to this Church. People like you and me. Many have been baptized, married, and buried. We have been to Sunday School, revivals, dinners and bazaars. We have watched movies, and plays, joined the youth group or gone to the school. We have sang in the choir, rang the bells, and walked up and down the aisles for various occasions. We have met friends, made families, and most importantly encountered God.

Marshallton UMC has been more than a building for 125 years, it has been a life changing station. As we look back over the last 125 years (for most of us it is a much shorter time), hopefully we can all say with fondness, “I remember the time I was at the church and…”.
For some of us it may have been quite a while since we have been back, quite a while since we entertained those fond memories. We want to invite you to rekindle that spark that was birthed or fanned here at Marshallton.

As we celebrate 125 years, we know it is only because of each of you that we have a story to tell. It is not the story of the building, but the story of the people God has made here at Marshallton. Come and share your story. Come and tell your tale, for you are a part of the history of Marshallton UMC, part of what makes 125 years possible. We could not do it without you. And we don’t want to. We truly look forward to seeing you here for our 125th celebration weekend.

The weekend starts with a Pancake Breakfast by the youth on Saturday Oct 15th at 8:00, followed by a day of fun for the children, music for all ages, crafts, pony rides, etc.

On Sunday October 16th we will have our two worship services at 8:30 and 11:00 with a fellowship time between.  Then the weekend will culminate with a special 4:00PM worship service where Bishop Peggy Johnson will preach, we will enjoy special music, and commune together as we meet with God and each other, just as has been done for 125 years. 

Following the service we will have a special time of fellowship with the bishop, where we will be able to reconnect, share our stories, and celebrate the ministry of Marshallton Church in our lives.

We truly hope to see you there.
Serving the Lord for years to come,

Rev. Vaughan R. Hayden