Rev. Ronnies Remarks
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus!

It is difficult to realize we are winding down our year of 2011 here at Allendale United Methodist Church (UM).  Because of the change in pastoral leadership, this has been a year of many transitions.

What I want you to do right now is take out your calendar, or cell phone/I-Phone or your PC and put a huge red circle around Saturday, January 21, 2012.  That will be the date set for our “Visioning Planning” session. 

I found this definition from Bob Logan of (NCD), Natural Church Development: Vision is the capacity to create a compelling picture of the desired state of affairs that inspires people to respond; that which is desirable, which could be, should be; that which is attainable.  A godly vision promotes faith rather than fear.  A godly vision motivates people to action.  A godly vision requires risk-taking. A godly vision glorifies God, not people.


Visioning means projecting a planned course of action into the future.  We cannot afford to sit back on our haunches and simply react to situations.   We must come together and in unity seek the direction of the Holy spirit for Allendale UMC.  I cannot overemphasize this process too much.  From http:www.churchleaders.com I found an article entitled, 8 reasons Why Some Churches Never Grow.  They list the following:
The Vision is Not Clear.
The focus is on trying to please everyone.
Passionless Leadership.
Manufacturing Energy.
Lack of prayer.
Unwillingness to take Risks.
Disobedience to the Scriptures.
Selfish Attitudes.

I believe we are at the point we have to point toward the Kingdom with the vision our Lord Jesus has given for guidance and reference. 
I believe we must consider how and where God is blessing and join in where God is moving.  I believe, thirdly, we must move forward and no longer look backward waiting for: things to be the way they used to be. I do not believe Christ ever expected his disciples to remain in one place, stagnant or marking time.

Visioning is looking forward and casting a vision for the future.  The pioneers  who stepped out in faith to build a place of worship and for learning and growing on this property looked forward with a vision for the future with a dream of what could be rather than what used to be.  We have to move forward with God.

As we approve our annual budget for 2012, we will have to find ways to clarify our operational costs in terms of our mission of making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  The E.S.S. which stands for Enjoy Stewardship Solutions, is a subsidiary of Enjoy, a company founded by John Maxwell, gives the five (5) reasons people give:

They see a need.
They believe in the vision.
They have a relationship.
They are taught how to do it.
They want to obey God’s Word.

One final thought: as we cast a vision for Allendale UMC, it must be more than just words on a sheet of paper and struggling through a process. We must buy into the vision and determine goals and plan to move toward our objectives we set.

Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Please plan to be there!  Where? In the Family Life Center on Saturday, January 21, 2012 approximately 9:30 am.

I’ll see you there.

Pastor Ronnie