2022 Lay Leader Report for Harrisville, Ohio United Methodist Church

Daniel Smallwood, Lay Leader

This year was a year of outreach, growth, joy and thoughtful prayer; we had times of great fellowship and a short time separated again by Covid.  In every season we continued to seek to grow closer to Christ and stay focused on our mission To Make and Mature Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. 

We started the year with focused additional goals based on the acronym W.A.Y.  – developing a Website, outreach to the neighboring town of Adena, and working to reach out to the Youth of our community:

·       Our website has been developed and is up and running.  We have also continued to improve our live stream on Facebook and have started live streaming on YouTube

·       We worked hard on our outreach to Adena

o   Sent out postcard mailings to let them know that we care and inviting them to our worship services and to special events

o   Had a float in the Adena Heritage Days Parade

o   Provided lunch for the teachers and staff at West Elementary

o   Participated with a table in their Halloween Walk and gave out candy and tracts

o   Sponsored a square dance in town

o   We will keep working to develop these relationships

·       We have done the following this year to reach out to the youth (and the community):

o   Reached out to several families of kids in the community by ‘Easter Egging’ them – leaving eggs filled with candy and one empty egg sharing the message of Christ’s love

o   Hosted the Red Bird Mission youth choir – the Cardinal Singers - and had a full church with most going to the Georgetown Gym for lunch and fun

o   Our first ever Back to School Bash in September was very well attended with inflatables, food, ice cream, and a movie outside on the big screen

o   Partnered with Crossroads Farm – a youth outreach in Cadiz, Ohio

o   Held a Square Dance in Adena – another great turnout, great fun, and a chance to get to know our neighbors from our church, neighboring churches, and many unchurched

o   Participated in the Adena Halloween Walk and got to meet many new kids

o   Sponsored Trunk or Treat in our parking lot with bible themed trunks, candy, tracts, and food.  We were able to spend time getting to know many families from the area that are unchurched.

o   Our kids church has been growing this year and we are developing a nursery

o   We have a few youth attending and need to stay focused on this mission

We have been excited to continue to grow and reach out to our community and beyond:

·       Sunday worship has continued to provide dynamic messages and vibrant music with friendly people

·       Our women’s bible study (partnering with Pleasant Grove) has grown in numbers and spiritually

·       Held several outdoor worship services with special music and much excitement.  We even had a Sunday service at the local Dairy Jean – a great service and outreach

·       Passed out water bottles in the Harrisville Memorial Day parade and had a float in the Harrisville Vol. Fire Co.’s 75th anniversary parade

·       Several in our church provided and served an appreciation dinner to the Harrisville Vol. Fire Co.

·       Hosted a men’s breakfast and had a great time of fellowship and worship

·       A group from our church and community went on a field trip to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum – what a great time of learning, fun, and fellowship

·       Several in our congregation participated in the Lions Club Show and Christmas Cantata and we were able to share God’s love, grace, and forgiveness at both

·       Hosted Jude Jean and his lovely wife Magdala, missionaries from Haiti, and had a great service and time of fellowship

·       A small (but mighty) band played and sang at our church, other churches in the area, and plan to sing at a local diner for both Veteran’s Day and Christmas

·       Took over the finances and are helping to sponsor funeral dinners for the town

·       Sponsored additional kids during our Compassion International Sunday

·       Supported Wellspring Pregnancy Center by filling Bottles for Babies

·       Planning to Christmas Carol around Harrisville again this year

·       Plan to sponsor several kids through the Lions Club Christmas Giving Tree, are collecting an alter full of Operational Christmas Boxes, and are collecting hats and gloves for children in need

·       Painted the outside of our church in a continued effort to be a more appealing place to visit and worship

·       We are getting excited about our mission trip to Mexico early next year.  Please pray for great outreach and safe travel.

·       We have been blessed financially and have been able to share generously both locally and around the world

The board has made a prayerful and thoughtful decision to start the process of disaffiliation from the UMC.  The District Superintendent and Bishop have been gracious and understanding thru this process.  We will continue to pray and discern God’s will for our church as we walk thru this process.

The year 2022 has been full of growth in many areas.  We look ahead to the opportunities that He will give us next year - opportunities to love our God with all our hearts, minds and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.   He has been so very good to us - and we strive to honor and worship Him in everything we do.

Kindly submitted,

Daniel Smallwood, Lay Leader,

Harrisville United Methodist Church