Over the past several months, the Vision Team has spent many hours meeting together, studying our community, and listening to you. We sent out a church-wide survey and hosted in-home listening sessions with members of our congregation, representing every age group, ministry area, and worship service. We heard what you love about this church, where you’ve seen God move in powerful ways, and where you feel we can grow. We prayed together before, during, and after these conversations. We read Scripture. We asked God to help us see not just what we might want to do, but what God wants us to do. And slowly, through those prayers and conversations, a clear picture began to emerge.

Here are the six things that we discerned.

Our Mission and Vision

First, we agreed that the mission of our congregation should be the same as the mission of the United Methodist Church as a whole.

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This is a simple change, and it not only connects us to our tradition but it simplifies why we do the things we do. It also keeps us from having to redefine our why every few years. We are United Methodist, and this is the mission of our denomination. It’s not new—it’s the same mission that’s been guiding faithful Christians for generations—but it’s just as vital today as it’s ever been.

But mission alone doesn’t capture our unique personality as a church or the way we live that mission out here in Spanish Fort. If the mission is the why, then vision is the how. So we prayed for a vision statement that would fit who we are in this season and where God is calling us—a sentence that could guide our ministries and help everyone know what we’re aiming for.

And we discerned that God is calling us,

“To be a home connecting all people through worship, service, fellowship, and discipleship, guided by Christ’s love.”

That phrase home connecting all is important. In Scripture, the people of God are often described as a household or a family. A home is more than a building—it’s a place where you are welcomed, where you belong, where you’re known and loved. We want to be that kind of church. Not just an organization that hosts events, but a spiritual home where anyone can walk in and feel, “I belong here.”

To live into that vision, we’ve identified four ministry values that will guide everything we do: Worship, Serve, Connect, and Grow.

Worship

The first was the quickest for us to identify and is the one that isn’t changing that much. We are blessed to have two distinct worship services—one traditional and one contemporary. Each has its own personality, music, and rhythm, and both help people connect with God.

The question I have been asked the most since I began as a pastor here is whether or not we are going to combine our services permanently. The Vision Team prayed about this, and we asked about it in our various forums, and the definitive answer for this season is no.

We can’t predict the future and have no idea what other seasons will hold. I won’t promise there will never be changes to our worship services. But we heard over and over that our church values both services, and that each is an important part of who we are.

So our worship services are going to remain the same. However, we did hear that people really like it when we offer combined services. We might not want it all the time, because most of us don’t want to be without our preferred style permanently. But we do enjoy seeing people from other services, and the feeling of community when the whole sanctuary is full on combined Sundays.

Currently, we offer six combined services a year, but they are typically on holidays or Sundays, when more people are out of town. Moving forward, we want to create occasional combined worship services on days when we are all in town and can come together as one body, not just because attendance is going to be low.

And when we do combine, we want to make it a true celebration. There will be some Sundays that we will have a shared meal after worship, so we can stay and enjoy life together around the table.

Serve

We also heard just how important service is to our church. We have a rich history of serving God and our community. Many years ago, we started the Prodisee Pantry and the uniform closet. Once, we hosted the entire elementary school for almost an entire spring semester. We still have incredible partners like Baldwin Family Village, Kidz Eatz, and Family Promise, to name a few.

But one of the most exciting things to come out of our Vision Team is that we’ll be launching something called Dinner Church. This will be a regular gathering where people who need it the most can come here and share a meal together, no strings attached. After dinner, there will be opportunities for people to attend groups and classes that meet real needs—things like Grief Share, AA, financial planning, parenting support, and more. And because we know family life can be hectic, we’ll provide childcare so parents can fully participate.

In addition to Dinner Church, we’ll also be creating a bi-annual thrift store. Twice a year, we will invite the church and community to donate items for the sale. Before the doors open to the public, people in need will be able to come and take what they need at little to no cost. Then, when the sale opens to everyone, the proceeds will go directly to support our missions ministry.

Connect

So we’ve talked about Worship and Service, let’s talk a bit about how we are all called to connect and grow.

The quick answer is that from now on, everything we offer is called groups. We are not doing away with any of our current ministries, but streamlining all our adult offerings under one umbrella.

We believe relationships matter. We need to connect to one another—not just in worship, but in everyday life. That’s why we’re creating Fellowship Groups. These gatherings are designed for connection: things like supper clubs, and affinity groups around shared interests like woodworking or crafting, your group could center around game night, or knitting. If you are looking for your people, and a place to connect, a fellowship group is a great place to start.

Grow

The other type of groups are Discipleship Groups— traditionally, we’ve called these things like Sunday school classes, Bible studies, pastor-led classes, and small groups. But from now on, they are all called Discipleship Groups. Some discipleship groups meet on Sunday mornings at 10:00, some meet for six weeks and are taught by a pastor on Sunday nights or Wednesday afternoons. Regardless of the time, place, or structure, this realignment makes it clear that no matter the format, the purpose is the same: to help people grow as followers of Jesus. In the months ahead, we’ll be launching new groups and encouraging every member to take a next step in their spiritual growth.

Physical Campus

The last thing I want to share is something that is very far from a final plan, but the seeds of a new hope. One thing we heard over and over in every setting was a general dissatisfaction with the current layout of our physical campus. As such, in adopting this vision, the Church Council has directed the Trustees to form a building committee to explore how we might reimagine the use of our facilities. The Vision Team gave instructions that the committee should explore the possibility of consolidating our campus to create a premier full-day child care program on our main campus. Currently, we have a wonderful preschool that meets half the day. However, we heard many times that childcare is a huge need in our area, and the options are limited. So in an ideal scenario, we would come up with a plan that allows us to consolidate our campuses, provide a service to the community that also generates revenue for the church, and has additional components that can be used by the congregation.

We do not expect this part of the vision to go quickly. We imagine it will take between 12 and 18 months just to generate a plan for our church to consider, let alone the time it will take to execute. Also, we are not promising anything. We aren’t going to make any hasty or rushed decisions about our campus, and we aren’t going to limit the scope of what the committee can explore. I am not telling you today, I know exactly what the future holds for our physical campus. Whether we reconfigure what we have or create something new, we trust the building committee will spend a lot of time praying and studying all possibilities of how to best utilize the resources God has given us and will bring that recommendation to the church.

The Love of Christ

The last part of our vision statement puts a firm ending on our driving motivation. There are a lot of people and organizations that do good work in the world. And we like partnering with those groups. But we are not a secular non-profit. We are the church, and we are guided by the love of Jesus Christ.

As the old hymn goes, they will know we are Christians by our love.

1 John says God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…We love because he first loved us.

Above anything else, we want people to know that we are compelled by and transformed by the love of God,

and that love is available to everyone. Anyone who calls this their church home can find that love here. Everything we do here, from worship, to our service, to the groups we offer, is guided by Christ’s love.

A Few More Things…

Outside the work of the building committee, most of the initiatives from our Vision Team will launch in the first quarter of 2026, but we aren’t waiting until January to begin. We’re already taking steps to prepare, to organize, and to invite people to get involved.

We are relaunching our website, which has been redesigned around this vision. You will find pages for all these things and information about what we currently offer and what’s coming. There is still a little work left to do on it, but it is up and running. We also have a tab on there called “I’m New.” This will be the Landing Page for our QR codes, and it will be the page you are taken to when we install our new Tap Dots around campus. If you are ever trying to find something on the website or want to share about your church with someone, just tell them to go to the website and click the I’m New button or go to spanishfortumc.org/welcome.

One other really cool thing Summerlyn set up for us is our new Online Store. You can go there and order some cool SFUMC gear with our new logo and branding on it. We are adding new products as we go, but there is already some really cool gear on there that I can’t wait to start seeing around town.

Conclusion

Let me say one more time, we believe this is God’s vision for us. It’s not just a plan we came up with—it’s the result of months of prayer, conversation, and listening for the Spirit’s guidance. And as we step into this next season, we will keep praying, keep listening, and keep seeking God’s direction together.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll have the opportunity to make a commitment—to recommit yourself to the life and mission of this church, not only with your finances, but with your prayers, your presence, your service, and your witness. I hope you will pray about what that commitment means to you and your family.

Friends, I believe God is calling Spanish Fort UMC to an incredible future. Just as God has done incredible things in our past. God is calling us to be a home where all people can find connection and purpose. Most importantly, where everyone can encounter the love of Christ. And if you’re new here today, or if you are wondering if there is a place for you, please know that there’s always room in this house.

All are welcome, and all are loved by Jesus. This isn’t just our house; this is the Lord’s. And it’s the Holy Spirit and all the people here who make this house our home.

SFUMC Vision Team