(Pastor Victoria Scofield) - 3 Rivers UMC is a new church designed to reach the generations not engaging in church. The design of 3 Rivers is to build community in a table fellowship environment. What will that look like? It will be very much like the early church. After Jesus left His followers behind, they were left in an environment unfriendly to the gospel's message. How did it grow? It was with the Holy Spirit leading, building a community of faith, holding each other accountable, living out their faith in every area of their lives, sharing the gospel story, and joining together in regular communion.
3 Rivers' mission will be to follow this example. The church began this summer with a core group of leaders; we met to develop a plan to start our community of faith. The first outreach was to get people to read and discuss the same book in small groups. We chose
How to Pray by Peter Greig. The groups have produced about forty people already interested in joining the mission of 3 Rivers.
The next step was finding a place to meet. We have been blessed with a 2000-square-foot building to use and are preparing it to open. It will feel like coming to your favorite friend's house. You will always be welcome in a judgment-free zone. The tables and chairs will be spaced in groups of 4-8 to build community, the furnishings will be warm and welcoming, and it will be a place people want to come and hang out and have a cup of coffee with a friend. A weekly 6:00pm Sunday worship time will begin the first Sunday of Advent. The worship service will include a meal while the gospel is shared, a conversation in small groups about the scripture, and communion will be served weekly. Local artists are being sourced to come and bring a familiar sound to the worship songs we already love.
Future goals will be to have area youth hang out after school, retirees meet for coffee in the mornings, small groups meet at times that work for their schedules, and that is in the first six months. We plan to have a large worship service under the stars at a local venue, inviting the community to join us. The biggest thing I see is excitement to share God's love with the world and enjoy building community. The things we need from the people of the conference are prayers and donations to make this space feel so inviting everyone wants to be there; there are multiple options:
-an
Amazon wish list,
-checks are always appreciated and can be mailed to 3 Rivers UMC, 6495 Blue Springs Rd, Greenwood, Fl 32443,
-or,
online here.
Stop by and visit to see how God is working. We are located at 1343 Hwy 69, Grand Ridge, FL 32442.
