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BISHOP'S OFFICE

District Strategy Teams to Revitalize and Create New Faith Communities

“See, I am doing a new thing!” – Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

In every generation, the Church has faced the challenge of renewal. In Ohio today, we are living through one of those defining seasons. Some may see the building of new faith communities as competing with our existing congregations. But that is not our intention, nor our calling.

As I work with new District Strategy Teams in the East and West Ohio Conferences, I am refocusing how we lead together in our common journey as followers of Jesus. This is also our common prayer for our mission and ministry.

We believe the Spirit is leading us into a movement of new and fresh expressions – 100 new faith communities in Ohio by 2029. This new movement will strengthen our traditional churches, not threaten them. When new communities are planted, vitality and creativity ripple outward. Established congregations are encouraged to reimagine their mission, deepen their discipleship, and engage new people in new ways.

Across Ohio Land, Latina and Hispanic communities are growing in strength and vibrancy. African immigrant families are arriving with deep faith and a longing to belong. Asian immigrant communities, particularly those in the creative class, are bringing fresh energy, cultural gifts, and entrepreneurial spirit to our neighborhoods. Mission fields that once seemed “far away” are now right in our own towns, schools, and workplaces. The Global South is here among us – God’s Spirit is bringing the nations to our doorstep.

This reality challenges us to move from a mindset of maintenance to one of new birthing. It calls us to a daring outreach that embraces diversity, nurtures fresh communities, and welcomes those who bring new languages, cultures, and gifts into the body of Christ.

The question is not “old versus new,” but how can we renew mission and ministry together? By planting new expressions of church, we do not abandon our traditional congregations; we enhance them. By welcoming new peoples, we are not losing identity; we are living more fully into God’s vision of a diverse, Spirit-filled Church. Every church needs to examine, “how we do invite new people in our own communities?”

This is what we might call a dynamic, divine-sized dream for Ohio: a United Methodist witness that is not small or defensive, but bold, Spirit-filled, and inclusive of every nation and generation.

This new movement in Ohio is how we can each live into the vision statement of our denomination: “The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.”

As Isaiah declares: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

This is our concrete call: to build a new culture of renewal, to embrace diversity, and to extend heartfelt love through every community we plant and every church we revitalize. God is doing a new thing in Ohio Land. Let us strengthen what is rooted, dare what is new, and trust that in both, Christ is bringing life for the healing of the world.