about
Journey
When the Church of Jesus Christ is living the Mission well, the primary beneficiary is the community around the congregations. Missionally healthy congregations are actively working toward partnering with those around them to experience the movement of God’s Spirit to develop flourishing communities.
What is a flourishing community? This is a community where love, mercy, and grace are the daily living experience by the people in a community. Justice and equity are not aspirations, rather it is a lived reality. These are communities where poverty is cared for with dignity. Racism is eliminated. There is no longer a divide because of gender. People are known first as beloved children of God and persons of worth.
As people partnering with God to live toward flourishing communities, there is no one thing that will accomplish this glorious work. It begins with a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ, however loving Jesus more is not the total solution. During this season of the Church, United Methodists of Upper New York are invited to join in a journey of loving, learning, and leading to equip leaders in local congregations to develop the missional pathways for the growth of flourishing communities.
The journey will be engaged through many opportunities to give attention to the key pathways that will help create an environment where lives and communities are transformed so that all people may experience the flourishing of God. Some of the earliest pathways available will be:
- Growing a Healthy Team
- Becoming Culturally Competent Leaders and Congregations
- Developing a Missionally Healthy Congregation
- Being a Good Neighbor through Assets Based Community Development
- Becoming a Community of Racial Justice and Equity
Bookmark this page, and come back often as new pathways are regularly being developed. The initial pathways will be ready for use in September 2023. Look here, or be watching for announcements through all the Conference news outlets.
For questions, please reach out to the Missional Excellence Office by email at colleenboyea@unyumc.org or by phone at (315) 898-2000 ext. 2013.