How Do We Get There?
Christ Church is in the midst of the discernment process. This means that we are listening for the Lord to guide us toward what is best for the future of this church.
There are several places Christ Church could end up. We could stay UMC, align with Global Methodists, Free Methodists, Wesleyan Methodists, or even become non-denominational. For more information on these options, please scroll through our LEARN page.
You may be asking yourself, “Well, how will we decide?”
Professing members can vote on our denominational affiliation on September 20th. Our time of official discernment will be 40 days. Throughout the entire process, we are posting daily prayers that we strongly encourage you to follow along with. Leading up to the vote, the discernment team will host several events to ensure each member feels confident in their decisions. Those events are as follows.
Learn the Basics:
Sunday, August 7th at 4 pm and Tuesday, August 9th at 6 pm. These 1-hour educational presentations will be held in our Sanctuary and offer an abundance of information on this discernment process and why we are in it.
These events have already passed, but you can watch them by clicking here.
District-wide meeting with Bishop Scott Jones
Saturday, August 13th at 2:30 pm. The district meeting will include three speakers. One will discuss the future of the UMC, another will discuss the Global Methodist Church (GMC), and a third can discuss other options, including Free Methodist, Congregational Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Evangelical Methodist and Christian Methodist Churches.
Meeting at the Table
Tuesday, August 16th from 12 pm to 2 pm. We will be having a come-and-go lunch at four different locations. You can choose from Christ Church (youth room, brown bag), Rudy’s, Coopers BBQ, or Longhorn Tavern. This is a great time to be in conversation with members of the discernment team and fellow professing members. We ask that you let us know where you will join us! (CLICK HERE FOR RSVP)
Panel Discussions
Wednesday, August 24th at 6:30 pm (Sanctuary), Sunday, August 28th at 5:30 pm (Sanctuary), and Tuesday, August 30th at 6 pm (Sanctuary). These events will be your opportunity to hear a brief presentation with some answers to the questions we have received during this process. We will be opening up the floor for a moderated Q&A time. We want this dialog to be fruitful for our congregation and help process through this discernment period. In the next update, we will be providing an outline for us to have a “Christian conversation.” This will include an outline of topics and logistics around our Q&A time. We encourage you to submit your questions under the “Panel Discussions” on our “ACT” page of the discernment website (https://www.christchurchcs.org/discernment-act/)
Pastors Panel
Tuesday, September 6th at 6 pm in the Sanctuary. You will get to hear from our Pastoral Staff! This discussion will center around the theology of Christ Church. You can pre-submit your questions (SUBMIT QUESTIONS HERE).
After all these events, we will vote. This process was approved by our district superintendent and is being handled with care by the discernment team.
It’s of the utmost importance that we base our decision on prayer and education. We will leave this time of discernment with a new vigor for our beliefs and solidified unity as a congregation.