On January 1st, we entered a new season of ministry as we became The Water’s Edge United Methodist Church. The possibilities in front of us are unlimited. God has already blessed us and has blessed others through us in our short history together.
We gather weekly at The Water’s Edge. Just like the crowd standing shoulder to shoulder at the water’s edge listening to Jesus, we crowd in a high school commons area to hear a word from God. Saints and sinners, broken and blessed, young and old. We gather. And we have a much bigger crowd today than we did a few years ago. We are one of the fastest growing United Methodist Churches in the country and we imagine greater things are still to come!
We connect with each other. More people are in small groups than ever before. More people are serving alongside each other than ever before. New friendships are being forged everyday.
We serve our city and the world. No church in Omaha collects as much food as we collect for hungry people right here in our city. In the last year we have sent teams and tens of thousands of dollars to places like Africa, Belize, rural South Dakota, and Joplin, Missouri.
We commit to raising children, developing youth and creating strong families. We commit to resourcing the vision God has given us. We commit to each other and to God that we will live as fully devoted followers.
Just over a year ago we started a 9:00 worship experience to open up some chairs at our 10:30 worship experience. The plan worked, but a year later we find ourselves in a similar position. The 9:00 worship experience has doubled in size and the 10:30 worship experience is again crowded, if not full. Not to mention the kids: our children’s ministry has tripled in size in the last three years. The fact is that we will soon outgrow the high school where we worship God and develop children.
So now we imagine. We imagine out of necessity and we imagine because we know God’s dream is that our best days are in front of us. We imagine a place for gathering, connecting, serving, and committing. A place where God’s vision becomes our mission. A place not just for us, but a place we share with our community and invite them to follow Jesus with us.
This is our church. The time is now. This morning I will be sharing about prayer. We have done nothing on our own to this point and we are not going to be doing anything on our own anytime soon. It all starts with God: His vision, His grace, His power, His resources, and His provision. I invite you today to begin praying for the WE Imagine campaign and ask for God’s guidance in how you might join the vision.
The best is yet to come…
Craig Finnestad
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