New Church Start in South St. Petersburg

Beginning last month, the Gulf Central District has a new church start, Serenity United Methodist Church, housed at the old Albright UMC site across from St. Petersburg High School on N. 5th Avenue. Rev. Jodi Hopkins, a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, has been appointed pastor. She is married to Don.  Jodi has served as associate pastor of Morrison UMC of Leesburg and pastor of Citra UMC.

The new church will be unique among new United Methodist Churches in America in that it will use a "recovery model", targeting people involved in, or in need of 12-step recovery. Psychologist Gerald May, in his book, Addiction and Grace, said that he believes everyone has some addiction issues. If that is true, perhaps everyone is in need of working the 12-steps of spiritual recovery, in some fashion in their lives. Let us pray for Jodi and for this new exciting ministry. Jodi is available to speak to groups and to preach, as the actual launch of the church, with worship and full program, will be several months away. Call the District office for contact info.

THE METHODIST WAY
It has become axiomatic in organizational change literature that, “You can’t hit a target you can’t see.” As our connection of congregations increasingly seeks to improve the eroding effectiveness of our ministries among the people of Florida, it is important that we are crystal clear what “good ministry” means. Some say we have too long defined “success” institutionally – even bureaucratically: paying apportionments, showing up at district meetings and getting our completed forms in on time. Others have said that Christ’s mission is for us to “make disciples,” which is certainly better, but leaves most of us wondering what that really means.

“The Methodist Way” with its five core practices is one practical way to describe what “making disciples” really looks like in action. It provides us with a much needed common language by which we can encourage and hold one another accountable for fulfilling our Kingdom potential, in hopes that one day Christ can greet each of us saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

ReFOCUSING NETWORKS
reFocusing is a two-phase revitalization process that integrates the personal renewal of leaders with the revitalization of their churches. The backbone of the process is the pastors' network: a learning community led by a trained facilitator that typically meets for 18-24 months.

reFocusing networks develop missional leaders with the

• Character
• Calling
• Competency, and
• Courage

to lead their ministries through change and into the harvest.

NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT (NCD)
Natural Church Development is all about releasing the potential that God has already implanted in our lives. Based on more than 40,000 churches on all six continents, NCD describes universal .principles that are applicable regardless of culture or spiritual style.

FIRST: NCD focuses on increasing the quality of a church rather than on numerical growth goals. This emphasis on Church health has proven to be the key to ongoing growth and multiplication.

SECOND: The center of NCD is the "all by itself" principle that can be observed in healthy churches around the globe. All NCD principles are answers to the question: How can this God-given growth potential be released?

THIRD: On all levels of church life, NCD encourages creativity, authenticity, and diversity. Rather than selling a specific church model, NCD helps Christians and churches to discover and develop their individuality.

FOURTH: NCD assists believers in rediscovering central Biblical concepts and relating then to their everyday lives. Only those success factors that pass the "Bible check" are incorporated into the NCD tools.

FIFTH: It works. Churches that have done three or more NCD Surveys, have increased their average growth rate by 51% between the first and the third survey. We plant. we water. God gives the increase.