Mosinee UMC, the Community Center, and other local churches prepared a free-will Thanksgiving dinner for community people in 2011. We served 160 people!
“And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47 NLT)
The mission of The United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs” (The Book of Discipline 2008, page 87).
We often celebrate what our local church here in Mosinee accomplishes: making new disciples and encouraging old ones, building the kingdom of God and the Christian community here in our town, and supporting a variety of missions locally (the Community Center, the Attic crew, pet missions, Carpenters for Christ, and more!).
But by supporting our church, you are also part of the great fellowship of Methodist believers around the world! According to the most recent statistics, the United Methodist Church has grown to over 12 million believers in 125 countries worldwide. Some decline in the United States has been more than matched by explosive growth in Africa and the Philippines. Add in other Methodist denominations, and the World Methodist Council tallies 70 million believers!
United Methodists often talk about apportionments. These are simply a modern version of the ancient church community described in Acts 2. Each member and each church supports the work of the whole by sharing a portion of their wealth. Our church’s apportionments work out to about $107 per member that we share with the Wisconsin Conference and with the global UMC. Last year, unfortunately, Mosinee UMC was only able to pay about half of our apportionments. Our goal is to work back to 100% over the next few years.
Where does the money go? It supports missions in our state and around the world. Our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is one of the most respected and active emergency-response organizations, sacred or secular, globally. Our apportionments help support hospitals, schools, shelters, and missions. Apportionments pay for scholarships for Methodist students, and help with the education of pastors and missionaries. Apportionments are used for evangelism and outreach, encouraging new people to believe in Jesus Christ.
Most of your offering each Sunday stays here in Mosinee. But some of it goes around the world, our portion of the great work of the Church, “while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”
Pastor Park