by Dr. Alyssa Fisher, Cal-Pac Director of Communications
Last week while gathered in Chicago, the Council of Bishops announced a new vision for The United Methodist Church:
The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.
This vision complements our well-known mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by identifying three ways and two places we will work together to embody God’s dream for our kin-dom. A world where every person encounters the transformative grace of Jesus Christ, where communities flourish, and where all creation is made whole. This work begins and continues in our local congregations and has impact worldwide.
The three actions of disciples identified in this new vision are:
- Love Boldly: We passionately love God and, like Jesus, embrace and include people of every age, nation, race, gender, and walk of life. [Matthew 22:37-39 | John 13:34-35]
- Serve Joyfully: With the heart of Christ, we journey alongside the most vulnerable among us, offering care and compassion with joy. [Psalm 100:1 | Nehemiah 8:10 | John 13:14-15 | 1 Peter 4:10]
- Lead Courageously: Following Jesus’ example, we seek to resist and dismantle all systems of evil, injustice, and oppression, striving for peace, justice, and reconciliation. [Joshua 1:9 | Ephesians 6:10]
This vision is a result of a multi-year close collaboration between the Connectional Table and the Council of Bishops, guided by a desire to remember the roots of our faith and imagine a hope-filled future. The group shared that their process of discernment was guided by the concept of Sankofa, a West African word and image that means to ‘go back and fetch it and bring it forward.’ The Sankofa bird symbolizes that one must remember where they have come from to move forward. An image of the bird is included below:
The vision, as it is laid out, provides us with a clear, Christ-centered framework for missional unity and collaboration across our worldwide connection. It also reminds us that a vision is just a starting place. As this vision is embodied in our local church, our conference, our jurisdiction, and our denomination, resources will be shared by the Council of Bishops, the Connectional Table, and the General Agencies to support bringing this vision to reality. The first of these resources, a reference guide for local churches, is now available online at www.resourceumc.org/vision.
This vision is another guiding statement for our denomination, just as our mission drives our purpose and our promise of “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.” sets expectations for our congregations and organizations. As a call to action, our vision guides us where we are going and identifies how to live into our mission.
Bishop Escobedo-Frank expressed her excitement about this vision: “We embrace this new vision as a focus of ministry in our world and in our local context. Together, we work for a better future through the love of Jesus Christ.”
Learn more about the newly announced vision in this video:
