The Journey to the Manger- December 2014

Dear Church Family,     

      As I write this Decembers Towers article, I have good news—November isn’t over yet.   This coming week is Thanksgiving.  I want to challenge you to look back over the blessings of this year.  Consider all that God has done for you and be thankful.  As we prepare to enter into the last month of 2014, I enjoy looking back at the blessings and looking forward to my hopes for the coming year.  As a church, we certainly have a great deal to be thankful for.  Perhaps even more exciting is that we have great hopes for what God has in store for our future in 2015.

      Speaking of Thanksgiving, we will be joining the Milton Union Council of Churches for a Thanksgiving service hosted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Wednesday, November 26^th at 7 PM. Hoffman is always has one of the largest represented churches at these services.  We hope that you will join us for that special evening as we worship with our brother and sisters from many of the churches in our community.

      As we finish up our Treasure series where we have looked at how you can invest your treasure in the things you treasure, we enter in to our Advent series entitled The Journey to the Manger.  For those of you who were with us during Lent, this series will be similar in that it will give me the opportunity to share some images and stories with you from my trip to the Holy Land this past February.  We had the opportunity to travel to the several of the locations mentioned in the Christmas story, like Bethlehem and Nazareth.  I hope to be able to bring new light to this familiar story as we look at it through the lens of the Holy Land.  I hope that you will join us for this series that will begin on November 30^th and culminate on Christmas Eve.

      Speaking of Christmas Eve, Christmas is right around the corner, which means we have some exciting events on the calendar.  I have been invited to participate in the David Wion and Friends Holiday Concert this year.  The concert will be held at the Dayton Art Institute on Sunday, November 30 at 2 PM.  Our Church Christmas Party will be on December 6^th at 6 PM.  Come with a covered dish to share.  On December 14^th at 12:30, the Future Seekers class will be hosting a Pasta Luncheon with a dessert/gift auction to raise money for Helping Hands.  On December 21^st, the children’s choir will be doing their Christmas performance during the Sunday School hour at 10:15. 

      We will also be having two services on Christmas Eve.  Our 7 o’clock service provides the opportunity for families with children to worship and be home early.  Our 7 o’clock service will also feature our Praise Team from the Open Door Service.  Our 10 o’clock candlelight service is a traditional service with the choir providing a musical Christmas celebration.  Then, we will finish up the Christmas Season with our Service of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December, 28^th.

      This month we talked about the importance of generosity.  As we move into the month of December, we enter into the season where we remember God’s generosity to us.  He gave us the gift of Jesus.  God became one of us to show us his love.  May we respond to that generosity by continuing to be generous to God and others this Christmas season. Find a way this month to share your time, energy and money in a way that glorifies God and shares with others. 

     Yours in Christ’s Service,

      Pastor Justin

Grateful for Your Generosity- November 2014

Dear Church Family,

      November is here already, which means Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I certainly have a great deal of to be thankful for. I want to thank all of you for your gifts, cards, and words of encouragement during Pastor Appreciation Month.  Your support and encouragement mean more to me than you know.  I am thankful for the staff that I get to work with at Hoffman.  It makes the work of our church so much easier.  I am thankful for each one of you and what you do to make Hoffman UMC what it is today.

      I am thankful for our growing family.  Chanda is doing well with her pregnancy.  The January 16th due date is coming very quickly, and we have so much to do before then…pick out a name, paint and decorate a nursery, re-baby proof our house, etc.  It is an exciting time!  While Wesley is full of energy and learning more and more each day, we cannot imagine what it will be like with two little boys running around, but we know it will be an adventure!

      Last month was a busy one.  We had the Fall Festival of Praise, Activity Center Dedication, Charge Conference, Crop Walk, Trunk or Treat, and much more.  You would think that things might slow down a bit, but we have a great deal planned for November as well.  We will be hosting our Annual Election Day Dinner (November 4^th) and Craft Show (November 22^rd).  In addition, we will be participating in the Milton Union Council of Churches Thanksgiving service on Wednesday, November 26^th at 7 PM.  Since December is a busy month, I thought you would like to put the date of our church Christmas Party on your calendar for December 6^th.  We will also have our two Christmas Eve Services at 7 and 10.   

      In November we are doing a sermon series on Matthew 6 entitled Treasure.  The study will be based on Jesus’ words, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).  In addition to a daily devotional book that goes with the series, there will be several small groups that you can take part in. Over a period of four weeks, we will look at the many ways that our treasure (time, energy, money) affects our hearts. We will consider how financial challenges in our personal lives affect our relationships with people and with God. We will see how giving helps to determine the way we feel and act. If you have stress related to money or feel there may be more that God is calling you to do with your resources, this will be a helpful series.  We look forward to an exciting month considering our treasure and God’s treasure. Here is what you have to look forward to this month:

· Where Is Your Treasure? (Matthew 6:19-21)                

· Week 2: The Problem with Two Masters (Matthew 6:24

· Week 3: Giving Your Treasure Back to God (Matthew 6:1-6)

· Week 4: Don’t Worry ’Bout a Thing (Matthew 6:25-34)

      As I mentioned earlier, we had our annual church charge conference on October 15^th.   During this charge conference, we approved our new structure for 2015.  I took the opportunity to share a little of the rationale behind this new structure during our sermon series in October.  We are eager to move into this new structure at Hoffman Methodist Church because we believe it will  maximize our mission and ministry.  The main administrative body of the church will now be called the Church Board, and the model we used for developing this new structure is called the accountable leadership model.  One of our goals for 2015 is to make sure that everything we do as a church connects with our mission and ministry. We are excited about being creative as we try to make these connections happen.

      As we move into November and prepare for our time of talking about stewardship, I always like to spend some time to reflect on how we are doing financially as a church.   First of all, we have reason to celebrate.  We paid off our Activity Center this year.  We are now a debt free church.  Your generosity and commitment made this possible.  As I mentioned at the dedication, this is a building that has been utilized by our church and our community a great deal over the past 11 years.  I am grateful for your generosity to this project. 

      For 2014, our budget required an income of $246,175.50.  As you may remember, we celebrated the fact that we met our budget goal in 2012 and 2013.  As of September 30, 2014, we are $7,042.32 behind our YTD budget goal.  While our church has experienced growth in membership this year, our giving has gone down when compared to YTD last year.  This is partially due to the winter weather that fell on Sundays to start the year off.  In March of this year, I reported to you that average attendance for the year was 148 and that giving had been significantly impacted.  We never really came out of that slump.  While I am not convinced that 2014 will be a year that we meet our budget goal (remember faith is not one of my top 3 gifts), I know and trust that God will continue to work through our church to do miraculous things as God has done in 2014. 

      Through your generosity this year, the church has continued to reach more and more people in our community.  So far, we have had an average worship attendance of 178.  We have also had 11 baptisms and 15 new members.  We sent a mission team to Haiti, and donated significantly to the Imagine No Malaria and other missional efforts.  We have a developed a vibrant youth ministry, and our Bible Studies and Sunday School classes are reaching more people.

      On November 23^rd, as we finish up our series on Treasure, we are going to give you the opportunity to make a commitment to giving to the ministries of Hoffman.  We invite you to do so by filling out a Commitment Card (attached at the bottom).   The cards will also be available on Sunday mornings.  These commitments help us be responsible stewards of what you give.  With these cards we can establish an estimated income for the coming year.  We can better discover how 2015 will become a year where we meet our budget as we did the last two years.  Last year, we only had 46 commitment cards submitted; however, this year, we are hoping to receive at least 60.  I hope that you will prayerfully consider filling out a commitment card and bringing it to church with you on Sunday, November 23^rd or mailing it to the church to the attention of Joy Paulus, our financial secretary.

      We hope that you will join us in making 2015 one of the most fruitful years in the history of Hoffman United Methodist Church!
Yours in Christ’s Service,

    Pastor Justin

 

 

A Season to Celebrate- October 2014

Dear Church Family,

      Fall is officially here, and things certainly are not slowing down at Hoffman UMC.  We have a lot planned this month and hope that you will find opportunities to join us in several ways.  It is a season of celebration!

      Things are going well in the Williams household.  We certainly enjoyed our recent vacation to Myrtle Beach.  It was a wonderful to get away and spend time with family.  We are preparing for the birth of our new son in January.  Chanda is doing well.  Wesley is still not quite realizing what his promotion entails.  We are getting excited and anxious. 

      While we did not reach our goal for Back to Church Sunday, we had a wonderful worship service in which God’s presence was evident.  We had 215 in attendance for that day.  Thanks to everyone who invited your friends, family, and neighbors to join us for that day.  While that is the one day each year that we focus on inviting others, we hope that you will make it habit to welcome others to “come and see” what God has in store for them at Hoffman UMC.

      We are planning a Fall Festival of Praise for Sunday, October 5^th at 6:30 PM in the Activity Center.  It will be an evening featuring our Open Door Praise Team.  We hope that you will join us for a time of praise.  The youth will be offering concessions as a fundraiser.  We have lots of great music planned, and you will get to know the praise team members better as they share.

      I am also excited to share with you some great news.  We are now a debt free church!  After 11 years, our Activity Center is finally paid off.  There has been a great deal of sacrifice and generosity on your part to make that happen.   In celebration of that fact, we are going to have a meal together on October 19^th at 12:30.  The event is a celebration of paying the debt, but also a time of thanksgiving to each of you who contributed to help us reach this goal.  Our new District Superintendent Jocelyn Roper will join us for this celebration.  We hope this will be a time for folks from the first and second service to mingle together and build community.  I hope that you will join us to make this time even more special. 

      We have much more going on in October.  World Communion Sunday is on October 5^th.  We are having a Church Work Day on October 11^th.  The CROP Walk (October 12) will gather at Hoffman at 2 PM.  Then, we will end the month with Trunk or Treat.  Details of all of these events can be found on the back of this page.

      In addition to the events, we will be having worship every Sunday! With that, we are starting a new sermon series entitled “Together We Can.”  During this series we are going to be looking at how we are better together and how our involvement in the mission and ministry of the church can help us accomplish even more kingdom work in the world.  I hope you will join us for this series that will also give me the opportunity to share with you some of the changes that will take place with our new governance structure in 2015.  We will also give each of you the opportunity to explore what your spiritual gifts are.

       Our Annual Charge Conference is on October 15th. Several people have asked questions about Charge Conference recently.  Charge Conference is basically our annual church business meeting.  During the meeting we approve the budget and nominations for the coming year.  Please be in prayer for our Administrative Council members as they care for the important work of the Charge Conference. 

      As always, I am very grateful to serve as your pastor at Hoffman United Methodist Church.  Your prayers, support, and encouragement mean a great deal to me.  Thank you for the way in which you care for you pastor!                        

 Yours in Christ’s Service,

 Pastor Justin

Back to Church Sunday- September 2014

Dear Church Family,

      Hoffman is a church on the go!  The summer certainly did not slow us down.  We had 11 baptisms and 8 new members join this summer!  That is definitely something worth celebrating.  I never cease to be amazed at all that God is doing through the mission and ministry of Hoffman UMC. 

      This summer has proven to be a busy time for me personally.  With Annual Conference, Mission u, and a Crucible training event, I am getting tired of being on the go.  However, I am also feeling like I need a break.  So, we are looking forward to our family vacation in September.  While I am away, the youth group will be taking over the worship services under Chris Miller’s direction.  They have lots of exciting things planned for you.  You will NOT want to miss being at church on September 14^th!

       As summer ends and school starts, people tend to make their way back to church.  Vacations are over and it is time to get back into a rhythm of life.  It is the perfect time to invite your friends and neighbors back to church.  On Sunday, September 21, Hoffman is celebrating Back To Church Sunday – a special day where we will invite people in our community who are not attending church to come give church a try! Many of you come to church every Sunday.  You find this to be a place where you can connect with God and others.  This is a special day to invite others to come and join us.  On this Sunday, we will be having a special service to welcome these guests and make them feel comfortable. Invite all your friends and neighbors to join you at church on that special day! We have plenty of postcards to help you invite others!

      Many of you will remember that Rev. Tim and I did a rap a couple of years ago when we you exceeded the goal of having 235 people in church on Back to Church Sunday.  This year we are raising the bar a little bit.  Our combined goal between our two services on September 21^st will be (drum roll) 260!  I am hearing a lot of requests for a return of Pastor J-dubbs and Dr. Donut (our rap names from 2012).  We are working with our agent now; however, it is safe to say if you get the people here on September 21^st, we can make a rap happen on the 28^th.

      On Sunday, September 28^th, we have scheduled our next Pizza with the Pastor event at 12:30 PM.  This is an excellent way for new folks to get to know a little more about me and the church.  You can also meet a few others who are starting their journey at Hoffman.  Be sure to sign up at the Welcome Center if you are interested in taking part in this luncheon. Also, the details of a Fall Event on Sunday, October 5^th are being worked out.  We want to make sure that you plan to be with us that evening.

      Many of you have begun asking me questions about our Governance restructure for 2015.  One of the big concerns has been that it seems like there will be less people involved.  On the Governance side of things, this may be true.  However, we are trying to be more efficient and effective with our governance  so that we do not have meetings with very little purpose.  My goal through this entire process has been to move people out of administration meetings and into mission and ministry teams.  

 

      The heart of our new model is really the development of new teams that will be deployed to begin doing more mission and ministry through our church.  We are very excited to be launching some new teams and strengthening our current ones.  Each team will have a clear job description and expectations.  The work is still being done with this; however, once it is completed, I trust that we will have many more people involved in the mission and ministry of Hoffman than before.  Please plan to be in worship in October as I will be taking some time to share all of these adjustments with you during worship.                                 

 Yours in Christ’s Service,

 Pastor Justin

Blessed to Serve- August 2014

Dear Church Family,

     I hope that you all realize what a blessing it is to serve as the pastor of Hoffman United Methodist Church.  August 1st marks the beginning of my 5th year at Hoffman.  I am so thankful that this is where God has called me to serve, and it is all because of you.  The people of this church are what makes it a great place to serve.  You make Hoffman what it is through your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.  I just want each of you know how much my family and I appreciate each of you.

     As you may have heard, Chanda has recently accepted a job at Milton Union Medical Center.  She will be working there 2 days each week.   As our family moves into this new schedule, my day off may fluctuate between Monday and Friday.  However, if you need me, I plan to be in the office Tuesday-Thursday each week.  In July, I found a new hobby that quickly became a spiritual practice for me. I began running every morning.  It has become a time of prayer for me.  As I run I pray for our church, the needs of our community, specific prayer requests, and whatever else comes to mind.  I had been running daily until I had some issues with my back.  I am praying that I can get these resolved soon so that I can get back to running.

     July was a great month for Hoffman UMC.  The Art Show was a huge success.  Our pictorial directories arrived.  A group went to see a Dayton Dragons game together.  Then, of course, we talked about Water.  We didn't just talk about it, but we had the opportunity to witness several baptisms this past month.  We had 3 baptisms during our worship services.  Then, we concluded our time focusing on water down at the river this past Sunday with 8 more baptisms.  It is amazing to see God at work in the lives of so many who are part of our church. 

     This coming Sunday (August 3rd) will be Membership Sunday.  We have several people who are looking forward to joining the church on that day.  Then, after church, we are going to gather at the water again for our Annual Church Picnic at Wendy and Marty Black's home.  Swimming will begin at 2:30. The dinner will start at 5:30.  This is an excellent time for people from our two worship services to mingle together.  Please join us for this special day and make sure that you talk to some folks that you do not know while you are there. 

     In August, we are going to be starting a new sermon series looking at the book of Galatians.  Through our sermons and daily scripture readings, we are going to study the entire book together.  The book of Galatians tells  about the gospel of grace. I am excited about what God is going to teach us as we explore this book together.

     August also marks the time when everyone is going back to school.  That tends to mark the end of summer for most of us.  So, as we get back into a routine, we want to be sure to invite people to include church into their routine.  So, we are going to participate in Back to Church Sunday on September 21st, where we will invite everyone to come back to church.  Prepare to invite your friends for that special day.

     This past month our Maximizing Mission and Ministry Team and Nominations Committee have been working diligently to prepare for our new structure in 2015.  I am getting very excited about the work that we have been able to accomplish so far.  If anyone has specific questions about this new structure, please let me know.  I am more than happy to share with you.  It is something that I truly believe will allow us to maximize our mission and ministry, but we are going to need your help to make that happen.  Please continue to be in prayer as our new Church Board is formed and we make this important transition.

                                 Yours in Christ’s Service,

                                  Pastor Justin

Freedom In Christ- July 2014

Dear Church Family,

       July is a time when we remember the freedom we have.  I always think it is helpful for us to remember that we are not only free as Americans, but we are also free as Christians.  We have been set free from the law of sin and death.  We are set free from our sin and that is certainly something worth celebrating.  As we celebrate Independence Day, may we remember our freedom in Christ and our dependence on God!  

       We had a great time at the West Ohio Annual Conference this year.  There were over 2500 people gathered to care for the work of the annual conference.  We took up the offering for Imagine No Malaria and received $263,479.84. Hoffman was proud to contribute $1500 towards that offering.   As a conference we gave over $2.5 million to missions!  In addition, our conference gave $1.1 million to disaster relief. Our district was the top contributor.  It was great to have a large delegation from Hoffman UMC this year.  One of our delegates—Julia Circle—received third place in the 5K at conference.  We enjoyed our time being together at conference.

       We are going to have a new sermon series in July focusing on a very important element in the Bible—Water.  Our new series will focus on four key passages of the Bible where water plays an important role.  As we discuss water, we will also be celebrating baptism.  We have baptisms planned on July 6^th and July 27^th.  On July 20^th, we will have a time of baptism remembrance during our worship services.  If you are interested in baptism and you have not been baptized before, this would be an excellent time for you to consider it.  If you are interested, please let me know.  

       July will be bringing many more fun events to Hoffman.  We are going to have a float in the July 4^th parade.  We will be going to the Dayton Dragons game on July 12^th.  Kids Club and Lunch Bunch are going strong.  The Art Show Committee have been planning a great Art Show for July 18^th-20^th.  It is going to be a great month.

         This summer, I have been asked to return as the Music Director for Mission u.  This conference will be held at Ohio Northern University from July 6-July 13.  The Praise Team from Hoffman will be joining me for the opening worship service on July 7^th. If anyone is interested in more details about Mission u, please let me know.  I am looking forward to being a part of the team again this year.

       We are half-way through the year now.  I thought it would be a good time to give you a financial update.  At the end of May, we were $3,944.11 away from meeting our year-to-date budget goal.  The rough winter weather not only affected our attendance, but it also affected our giving.  So, while we are not there yet, I am still confident that we can meet our goal by the end of the year.  However, something that we can certainly celebrate is that our loan on the Activity Center is down to $13,263.91 as of June 2^nd.  At the pace we are going, we will have no problem paying this loan off by the end of the year.  Thanks for your continued generosity.

       Our Maximizing Mission and Ministry Team is well on its way to solidifying the details for our new Governance Structure.  Our team has met 7 times in the past 6 months.   We are going to be transitioning to a Church Leadership Board that will take the responsibilities of SPRC, Finance, Administrative Council, and Nominations.  We are very excited about this transition.  Another component of the restructure is establishing mission and ministry teams.  We are very excited to get everyone plugged into a mission and ministry team. Please continue to keep us in your prayers through this time of transition.

                                 Yours in Christ’s Service,

                                    Pastor Justin