Our mission
statement: “We are a church of Jesus Christ, in which all
people are welcome, every member is a minister, the world is our
responsibility, disciple-making is our goal, and worship is our
duty and delight.”
In keeping with
our mission statement, it is our desire and goal to ensure that
all people do feel welcome. We acknowledge that there are
individuals in our community that have sensory sensitivities
that may make it challenging for them to participate as fully as
they would wish during worship and other church gatherings.
Although these issues may be invisible, they are real and
important. In order for us to become more adaptable and
accommodating as a church community, please download and fill
out the
Sensory Sensitivity Inventory. If a tour of our facility
prior to worship/gatherings would be helpful, please contact us
so we may arrange a meeting time.
When visiting
FUMC-Hershey be sure to stop by our Welcome Center, which is
located in the Narthex, just outside the Sanctuary. At the Welcome
Center on Sundays, you can talk with members and learn about all
our activities. First-time visitors also receive a gift from the
church.
FUMC-HERSHEY
WELCOME CENTER
(Photo
by Bill Fraley)
NEW MEMBER SESSION
Christian formation is an
ongoing ministry for our church. For new members, this formation
begins with our “New Member Session” held at various times
during the year. Please contact the church office,
533-9668, for the next new member session.
Topics presented during the
new member session will include an
introduction to the vision, mission, ministries, programs, and
opportunities for our congregation. United Methodist beliefs
about discipleship and ministry will also be presented. The
session will include opportunities to discuss matters of
salvation common to all Christians, as well as distinctive
teaching of United Methodist Theology. The emphasis will be our
journey of faith as Christian disciples and members of the body
of Christ.
WE
ARE A PEOPLE WITH A PURPOSE
We
at First United Methodist Church of Hershey are a people of
purpose! Everything we do together is part of our mission, given
to us by Jesus, and explained in the scriptures.
Take a look at our Mission Statement:
“We
are a Church of Jesus Christ, In which... All people are welcome,
Every member is a minister, The world is our responsibility,
Disciple-making is our goal, And worship is our duty and delight.
This
statement is based on two very important scriptures, The Great
Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew
28:19-20). Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Church,
uses these two scriptures to identify five Biblical Purposes
for God's Church: Fellowship, Evangelism, Ministry,
Discipleship, and
Worship.
These
purposes are the reasons God created the Church. They are also the
foundational purposes for our individual lives as Christians.
Let's take a closer look at these scriptures and purposes.
The
Great Commandment - "Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind...And love your neighbor as yourself."
The
Great Commission -
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you..."
Fellowship -
In Baptism we become a part of something larger than ourselves.
God is building a new community, and wants to connect us with
other believers. This is what The Church is all about.
Evangelism
- The Good News of Jesus is for all people on earth. Jesus has
commanded us to spread that Good News so that others can
experience it for themselves and come to believe.
Ministry
- Ministry is the million
different ways that we love our neighbor by responding to the
needs of others.
Discipleship
- As new infant Christians
saved by grace through faith, we need to grow. The process of
discipleship is a journey in which we grow to look more and more
like Jesus Christ. We deepen our faith, grow in holiness, discover
our spiritual gifts, hear our call to ministry, and serve.
Worship
- Worship is the act of loving
God in every possible way. In worship we celebrate God's Presence
and honor; God with our lives.
Here
at FUMC-Hershey, everything we do is organized to accomplish these
purposes. You are now becoming a part of our church, our mission,
and our purpose. As we take a closer look at these purposes, we
are beginning to help you find your place and purpose among us.
ORGANIZED
FOR MINISTRY
Our
congregation's ministry is organized into a series of teams who
sit together at our Church Council roundtable. The purpose of this
council is to discern God's will for our future, promote the
mission of our church, and recruit as many persons as possible to
discover God through meaningful, life enhancing ministries. Of all
the phrases found in our mission statement, none are as important
to our council as "Every member is a Minister." Each
team is responsible for recruiting and guiding people into new
opportunities of service in their respective ministry areas,
fulfilling all five biblical purposes in their work.
Click here for a listing of our current leadership.
While the list of
ministries and opportunities in each area is constantly growing
and changing, our
administrative ministries handle three important resources:
people, property, and finances.
SPRC - The Staff Parish
Relations Committee works like the Human Resources or Personnel
department in a company. They handle all details of the hiring and
evaluating paid staff, and assist our bishop with pastoral
appointments.
Lay
Leaders - These lay persons
assist the pastors by providing oversight of and support for the
lay ministries of the congregation.
Trustees - This
is a large church with a big building. The Trustees are
responsible for caring for the building, property, and equipment.
It is more than just upkeep. It is the visionary work of
anticipating our ministry needs and providing the space and
equipment necessary to meet God's mission.
Stewardship
and Finance - The
work of this group is more than just money. In addition to leading
us to be good stewards through collecting, budgeting, and managing
our offerings, this group also takes the lead in teaching about
the spiritual discipline of giving through yearly commitment
campaigns and our offering envelope system. It also oversees our Financial
Ministry.
NURTURE
MINISTRIES
Nurture Ministries have a lot to
do with Disciple-making. It is the group of ministries through
which people grow. We divide this work area into two sections:
Worship and Education.
Worship
- As shared above, we offer a
variety of worship
opportunities on Sunday morning, and soon will be offering
other services at other days and times.
Education
- We offer a wide variety of
Christian education opportunities throughout the week. Here are
just a few:
- Sunday
School - At 9:30 a.m., we offer classes for every age
group. Children and youth classes are divided by age. Adult
classes are divided by age, interest, subject matter, and
class format. You can choose a lecture format, discussion
class, straight bible study, or even a class on theology.
- Pastors'
Bible Studies - Occur at various times throughout the
year.
- Disciple
Bible Study Series - Disciple is a 34-week study of the
bible that strives to connect scripture to daily Christian
living.
Special
Classes and Events - Short-term
classes and groups on various topics start all the time, such us spiritual gifts, strengthening marriage and
relationships, as well as premarital preparation classes. See our
Adult Ministry
page for a current listing.
OUTREACH
MINISTRIES
As an introduction, here
are just a few of the service opportunities from our Outreach
Ministries:
Derry Twp. Social Ministry -
Provides food, clothing, and financial assistance to families
in need.
Heifer Project - A global hunger
relief effort that sends live animals to families in need.
Habitat for Humanity - Hands on
work of building and restoring houses for needy families.
Bethesda Mission - Harrisburg
mission that provides for the poor and homeless.
Neighborhood Center - A United
Methodist center that cares for families and children in inner
city Harrisburg.
Stephen Ministry - Lay people
trained to care for other lay people in times of crisis or
distress.
WITNESS
MINISTRIES
This
work area began as our Evangelism Committee, which oversaw efforts
to reach out into the community, connect with unchurched people
and introduce them to Jesus Christ. As this ministry area
develops, it will continue to offer programs such as Alpha Course,
which safely walks doubters and nonbelievers through the basics of
Christian faith,
Witness
Ministries will also strive to teach the congregation to share our
faith in Christ with others. We are not experts in Christ, but as
those saved by His blood, we can bear witness to what we have
experienced. In
addition to reaching out and connecting people with Jesus Christ,
Witness Ministries will be working in the process of connecting
people to the Church in membership.
You may have noticed a series
of television commercials highlighting the United Methodist
Church. This is the Igniting
Ministry campaign in which we may participate further.
AGE
LEVEL MINISTRIES
Nursery
- We provide paid, trained
nursery care during most church events. Infants have their own
section of the nursery.
Toddlers, ages 2-4 have their own area as well.
Seeds
- As part of our Children's
Ministry, Seeds is a children's discipleship group for
students in grades K-2. Seeds meet on Sunday evenings.
Sprouts
- Sprouts is the next level of
Seeds for grades 3-5. They also meet on Sunday evenings in
rotation with Seeds.
Vacation
Bible School - One week every
summer that can last a lifetime! This is open to children from
nursery to 5th grade and draws children from all over the
community. We are always looking for adult helpers for teaching,
crafts, snacks, etc.
Scouts
- We enjoy a long history with
the scouting. We offer all levels of boy scouts and now offer
several levels of girl scouts as well.
Students
- The
Student
Ministry offers fellowship for grades 6-8 and 9-12.
Young Adults -
Liquid
Life Group exists to serve the 20 and 30 somethings.
Age
Level Music Ministries - Under
our Music
Ministry, We offer voice and bell choirs for all ages, as well
as a summer Music Camp called the "Music Factory".
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