Many friends of the members of the Jonesboro Task Force to bring a Global Methodist Church to our town have asked us, “What is going on with your group. Well, I will give you a rundown of some of things that have happened in the last couple of weeks.
The task force is now working to establish Christ Global Methodist Church. The Church Council of the new Christ GMC chose that name from a list of twenty or so names suggested for consideration. I think it is a wonderful name! This was one of the first steps we had to take to begin the incorporation process for the new GMC community. The next wonderful piece of news is that we have nearly completed Jesus Questioning by J.D. Walt. This Lenten study has shed light on many topics of faith and how to develop a personal relationship with Christ. I am convinced that every Christian church should find the time to study this excellent guide to growing one’s faith. I don’t think it should be limited to just this time of year, but I know we have laid a beautiful foundation for Easter.
The Church Council developed a list of ten items that we must complete before we can hold our first worship service. One-by-one those things are being done. The paperwork to establish our 501(c)(3) tax-free status is now in process. We are blessed to be working with a team of people recommended by the Trinity GMC conference. They will not only prepare the paperwork for the tax-free status, but they will aid us in finalizing our by-laws and developing our church’s policies. We, of course, will follow the Discipline of the Global Methodist Church.
We are working to become full members of the Trinity GMC Conference that represents Arkansas, Louisiana, and the eastern part of Texas. Our delegation will be recognized during the Annual Conferences at Texas Station, Texas, in early June. We remain in contact with both Jason Burnham, Trinity Conference Superintendent, and Jeff Warrick, the Presiding Elder for Arkansas. Both of these Godly men have been so open to answering our questions and leading us forward in this process.
Last weekend at our weekly meeting after our Lenten study, we approved our first year’s budget, which has been fully funded by gifts and pledges. This is a critical step in bringing forth our vision of a Global Methodist Church for Jonesboro. Christ GMC elected our first officers for the Church Council. These faithful people have been working from day 1, but they were officially put in place last week. That was again a necessary part of the incorporation process. Having this slate of people will also allow us to open a local bank account soon, making our tithing and giving so much easier.
We also welcomed four new members, Richard Baker, Stanley Burdyshaw, Nancy Quinn, and Jim Quinn to service on the Church Council. That is wonderful. Truthfully, our group is small now, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we know we will grow. One point in Christ GMC’s Statement of Faith is aimed at that point….Christ GMC will provide a place of welcome to all people, presently churched or unchurched, who want to know Jesus Christ.
All our Church Council firmly believe the focus will be toward families, youth, and children. We want to help each person who becomes a part of this church to learn not only what to believe but why to believe. This effort, we believe, will help to curb the disturbing statistics of so many people from college age to their mid-thirties who are leaving behind Christianity because they know the stories of the Bible, but fail to understand the lessons of why faith is real and meaningful in our modern world.
Of course, we won’t finish our Statement of Faith until we have a pastor in place. And that was the best news we have received in the past few days. Christ GMC may have our new pastor in place this year before school begins in the fall. When we learned that, we optimistically set the launch date for our first worship service as Easter Sunday, 2027. Can you think of a more wonderful day to celebrate a new church than the day all Christians celebrate the rebirth we were given with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? Hallelujah!
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