By now, most of you know that our congregation is about to take on the challenge of launching a new United Methodist congregation in the Parker / Lone Tree area. We have all seen the growth that is taking place on the west side of Parker. Homes are being built and commercial properties are being developed to provide space for the people who are moving to our area. It is a challenging time as the community moves through yet another building boom.
The plan involves the development of another congregation that would be designed to meet the needs of our growing community. We believe that our Methodist message of grace is an ongoing gift to those families that we have not yet met.
Our New Church Development group in our Annual Conference area (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana) is very excited about becoming partners with us in this ministry. In fact, they believe in it so much that they will be investing $150,000 in the project over the next two years. Our own Church Council endorsed the plan at the January meeting and on Thursday February 19th our congregation provided a strong positive commitment to move the project forward.
The new congregation will come to life under the leadership of Rev. Pat Bell. Pat and Jen will be supported by a strong launch team and broad gathering of support from within our congregation and beyond. Ultimately, the Tapestry United Methodist Church will be born out of the love of the Parker United Methodist congregation.
Many people are already praying about being a part of the launch team. That group will provide leadership for the early stages of the project. But you do not need to be a part of the launch team to support the effort. We will need a large and growing number of prayer supporters as the ministry moves forward. We will need experts in several areas who will be willing to provide insight and expertise as the timeline unfolds.
It will take some time for everything to take shape. The first shift will happen in July when the launch team will come together and Pat’s responsibilities here at PUMC will transition to this new work of the Lord. We are praying that worship services might begin by Christmas of this year.
These are exciting and challenging times. The Lord has been very good to us and we are thankful.
Now it is time to step out in faith to open some new doors for new people. In the end, everything grows and the name of God is honored. I want to invite you to begin to pray now for the Tapestry United Methodist Church. It is just an embryo today, but soon we will give birth and new life will begin to take shape! It will be a joy to watch the movement of the Spirit! Let’s share the experience together!
As always, I am looking forward to seeing you on Sunday. The Lord bless you all!
Randy Jessen
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