Celebrate Kickoff Weekend with Us!

DEAR FIRST FAMILY,

For many of you, this has been a week of “back-to-school” routines and schedules. Along with “back to school,” many experience “back to church” during this season as well.

Whether they have stepped back from attending church for a long period of time, or have had a very sporadic summer of church attendance, we find that people find themselves with the desire to go back to church in the fall.

This weekend, we are hosting a Kick-Off Weekend where we are inviting all to come to worship wearing their favorite sports jersey/shirt as we gather together. Our ministry departments have a Ministry Open House set up in our atrium, where you can meet our staff and hear about all they have planned for this fall.

In addition to the Ministry Open House, we also have photo opportunities for you and your family, as well as some fun giveaways.

We hope that those who have a desire to attend church again, or even for their first time, find First Methodist Mansfield this weekend.

Last week I shared with you:

From the moment anyone arrives on our campus, we want them to experience the kind of welcome that says, “we’ve made room for you,” and today I want to share several ways you can be a part of that as we begin moving into our fall season.

First, welcome those you know while always on the lookout for those you don’t. I invite you to join us in that, and by the way, it’s fine if you discover a person you don’t know has been a member here for 40 years! It’s not uncommon for people who have both attended here for a long time to meet for the first time because they attend different services or sit on the opposite side of the sanctuary.

Secondly, we’d love for you to consider joining our welcome team and specifically the new team we are forming to welcome our guests in the parking lot as soon as they arrive. Now, it’s August. That may not sound like the most timely ask, but it is one of the most meaningful ways we can welcome and help those who are brand new find their way around our campus.

If you would like to serve on our welcome team, simply reply to this email and let me know. I will get you connected to this essential ministry.

Finally, for those who don’t know, we have an additional 221 parking spots right across Pleasant Ridge Drive in our remote parking lot, and we now have a more comfortable and convenient way to bring you from your car door to the front door.

Meet what we are affectionately calling, The Holy Roller.

So here’s what I want to encourage you to consider adopting as a new habit.

If you are able, we would love for you to park across the street, enjoy a nice smooth ride, and let us deliver you right to the front door.

You parking there frees up a spot for someone here who is brand new.

In addition to what I shared last week, I want to add one more thing for this week. Think about somebody you haven’t seen in church in a while, or somebody in your life who does not have a church home, and invite them to sit with you this weekend in worship.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend as we kick off the fall together, as well as start a new sermon focus: Praying in the Dark.

Pastor David