FUMC Mission Statement

ATHENS FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

MISSION:
The Great Commandment:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Matt 22:37-39)

The Great Commission:

“Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-20)

Five Instructions

1. Love the Lord your God	worship
2. Love your neighbor	service
3. Go ... make disciples	evangelism
4. Baptize them	incorporation/fellowship
5. Teach them	discipleship

VISION:
to spiritually impact the Athens Community and Ohio University by recruiting, training, and commissioning people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in the 21st century.

Athens First United Methodist Church will advance over the next five years by

1. Developing and strengthening ministries in the five instructions

fellowship
education/discipleship
service
witness/evangelism
worship

2. The church will develop and strengthen these ministries by focusing their resources on these five tasks:

staff to provide leadership for the congregation in each of these tasks
building and space oriented and equipped to enable these tasks to be done
finances for resources and materials appropriate for effectiveness in these areas

VALUES:

A. We value a Christ-centered ministry in the Wesleyan tradition

that centers on God’s revelation in Jesus Christ.
that builds on our Wesleyan Methodist heritage.

B. We value a World Class Ministry

that has a world-wide vision for outreach.
that is relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s world.
that seeks excellence in all programs.
that is inclusive, while we recognize that we are uniquely positioned to reach the university and professional community.