Chapel Hill Family,
We announced on the Sunday before last that Idalia’s role has changed with CHUMC at the start of 2020. She is still serving as our minister of families and children. However, she is no longer serving as an indigenous church planter seeking to plant a new worshipping community within CHUMC. As we shared this, we explained Idalia has discerned she is not called to be a church planter and that the families she had made the deepest connection with had been through Project Transformation which will continue at CHUMC.
What that means for us is that to reach our community is going to need to be an intentional team effort. This was the case before, but it is even more important now. For example, as we consider best practices for social services that make disciples, Owen Ross, the North Texas Conference director of the Center for Church Development, explains a social service such as Project Transformation will only be a disciple-making ministry if the congregation is deeply involved in a relational way. If the relational side of the ministry is left to contracted PT staff and church staff, such a service will be just a service that other community partners could and may provide. It will fall short of introducing people to the wonderful grace of God.
With this in mind, you will be hearing from Idalia and me about ways you can connect with new people such as the families whose children attend Project Transformation in relational ways. Many will be simple, yet meaningful, ways that we can share God’s love with our neighbors. This is missional work to which we are all called and I hope you will prayerfully consider how you can be a part of that mission.
Grace and peace,
Rev. J.D. Allen
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