Dear CHUMC Family,
As I give thanks for the grace of God at work in us through Christ Jesus, I wanted to share some news. This news comes on the heels of months of work by the CHUMC Discipleship Team which was made up of a combination of members of our Children’s and Youth Councils along with a few others. Their work resulted in a pathway of discipleship, a simple plan for us to follow as we seek the intentional faith development of everyone who is a part of, or will become a part of, our faith community.
In response to this work, we have undergone a restructure of our staff that will help us engage new people on the pathway of discipleship and tend to the nurture of discipleship of all those who are already a part of our faith community at CHUMC. This restructure has been approved by your Staff-Parish Relations Committee and is in the process of being implemented. The job has been posted and is being spread by word of mouth and we hope to be meeting with applicants soon.
As part of the restructure, the youth and children’s minister position will be combined into a single position called the Minister to Families. You have likely noticed that the number of children and youth is not what it once was at CHUMC. That being the case, it is logical to combine these roles and allow one staff person to facilitate the relationships and process needed to ensure the faith development of children from birth to 12th grade. You will note the role title is the same as it was when Idalia Luna was on our staff. Now, however, the role does not include Project Transformation and church planting while it expands to include our middle schoolers and high schoolers.
The second open position in our restructure is a position called Community Liaison. This staff person will serve as CHUMC’s Site Supervisor and facilitate our relationship building/evangelism efforts in the community, including, but not exclusive to, leading CHUMC in building relationships with the families involved in Project Transformation. As we seek to connect with new people in our community, it is important for us to acknowledge that existing as a church is no longer the draw it once was. Engaging with new people and making disciples for the transformation of the world requires us to do most of that work off campus. The Community Liaison will help shape those off campus connections alongside the people of CHUMC.
As we staff our positions, it is also important to recognize that the goals these roles are crafted to achieve are a team effort that relies on not just the pastor and staff, but on CHUMC as a whole. With that in mind I ask you to pray and seek God’s leading in how you can be involved. CHUMC has an important role to play in our community in this time and place. Yet in order for us to see an impact and see that impact sustained, it will take all of us at CHUMC giving ourselves to the mission at hand.
I look forward to what God sets before us as we walk together on this journey.
Grace and peace,
Rev. J.D. Allen
Senior Pastor