2020 VISION
Dayspring UMC is a church that aspires to live into God’s dream for the world. Through inspiring worship and social justice advocacy and action, we are a healthy church that seeks to fulfill our mission of creating disciples of Jesus Christ who touch and inspire people through an open and diverse community. In 2017, we celebrated 50 years of God’s work in our community and began to wonder what God might have in store for us for the next 50 years.
Dreaming Possibilities
At a staff meeting in March 2018, Pastor Joel shared a prayer concern that some of our United Methodist Churches were struggling and their future was uncertain. We prayed and asked for God’s direction and wisdom, especially for the pastors of these churches. Last April, staff members began to wonder how Dayspring might possibly adopt and revitalize an existing congregation in Phoenix. Many conversations with church leaders and conference staff ensued, and Dayspring leaders were excited to explore possibilities. Pastor Jeff shared the vision with our district superintendent, Rev. Susan Brims, who mentioned that Rev. Tom Kiracofe would be ending his part-time appointment at Aldersgate UMC in Phoenix and that they would need pastoral support. Pastor Jeff began to wonder if Aldersgate might serve as a satellite for Dayspring’s mission and message. Pastor Tom invited Pastors Jeff and Joel, along with SPRC chair David Barnhouse, to dream possibilities. Pastor Tom shared the story of Aldersgate and its current situation. We learned that the people of Aldersgate are a small but committed group of primarily 70-90 year-olds who desire to leave a legacy and want to be part of a greater vision.
Rev. Brims convened an “Elijah Team” with members from both churches to begin visioning in earnest. Dayspring Covenant Council chair Ed Johnson, along with outgoing lay leader Amy Notbohm and incoming lay leader Regina Walker, as well as David Barnhouse and Pastors Joel and Jeff have been meeting regularly (sometimes weekly) this year with leaders from Aldersgate and Rev. Brims. Like John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience, our hearts have been strangely warmed and we are excited to share this vision with our congregations.
VISION: Dayspring Arcadia
To create a vibrant United Methodist presence in the Arcadia area by extending Dayspring’s ministry of radical hospitality, inspired worship and justice work to the Aldersgate campus.
LOGISTICS
Multi-sites vary in pastoral and staffing strategies. We recognize that an existing faith community is present at Aldersgate and celebrate their willingness to welcome a new strategy for vitality. We would embrace this community using their gifts and talents and explore with them what this would be like in this new model of ministry. In this model, Dayspring clergy will be sharing the vision and mission in various ways, and the Dayspring clergy and lay leadership will have complete worship/missional/programming oversight.
Aldersgate would retain trusteeship and responsibility of the Aldersgate campus and foundation for a transitional period (TBD) with Dayspring representation, and existing Aldersgate members would be welcome to serve on Dayspring’s administrative teams. The annual conference would provide significant financial support to ensure a smooth transition.
In order to be successful in this journey there will need to be a dedicated staff person who has the leadership skills to assist the clergy in “listening” to the Aldersgate community and the Arcadia neighborhood – and to develop a process that will help build relationships within the church and broader community. Moreover, we believe we have identified a person well suited for this role: Amy Notbohm. Amy has served as Dayspring’s lay leader for three years and co-chaired our last capital campaign. Before coming to Dayspring, she was part of the new church start in Chandler called Jacob’s Well. She brings a wealth of understanding and experience to this vision of ministry and will graduate from the Claremont School of Theology in May 2019 with an MDiv. Plus, she’s excited about the prospect!
We hope you will attend a congregational meeting to learn more. We have scheduled two informational meetings to take place on Sunday, March 31 at 11:45am in the fellowship hall and Monday at 6:30pm in the sanctuary. If you are unable to attend either of these meetings, Pastor Joel will be coordinating an additional informational meeting, please contact him at joel@dayspring-umc.org.
Pastors Jeff & Joel