Our Mission
Searching for Answers
Are you searching for hope? Are you seeking answers? Do you need a friend to support you through life’s challenges? Are you interested in giving back to your community? Are you seeking a community of faith for your whole family? Wherever you are coming from, whatever you are looking for, we welcome you to Batesville UMC. Join us on our journey of knowing, loving and serving God and transforming the world.
Discipleship Pathway
God calls all people to be God's children, that they may receive God's grace, mercy and presence. To live in that grace, we are all, also called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. The word disciple means student, we follow our teacher, Jesus, and learn from him, striving to be like Jesus. In order to accomplish this, we need a plan, a map to follow, a pathway, Love, Grow, Share and Serve. This pathway is progressive but not linear, we do not simply follow one part. As we grow we discover a need to go back, to deepen our understanding and allow the Holy Spirit to continue to work within us.
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
It all begins with Love, God's LOVE for us. When we experience that love and come to recognize its depth and power we are transformed. WE want to respond, we want to learn more about it and express it in our lives.
GROW
LOVE
LOVE
After we recognize the love of God, the Holy Spirit continues its work, transforming us into the image of Christ. As this happens, we continue to learn more about God and God's call in our lives. This learning comes from the Bible, the Sacraments, conversations with others, and prayer. We Grow in grace and understanding. This growth is personal but also communal, learning and sharing in the community of faith.
Share
Share
Share
As we continue to experience the LOVE of God and GROW in our understanding of who God is and what God calls us to be as disciples, we hear the call of Jesus and the Great Commission in Matthew 28, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"
This call is not just to a select group but to all disciples, to SHARE the good news of God's love, work and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Serve
Share
Share
As we experience God's Love, Grow in understanding and follow the call of Jesus to SHARE his good news, we encounter others who are struggling and in need. Filled with the LOVE of God and having been transformed by the Holy Spirit we Love as God Love's we are filled with empathy and compassion to Serve other people in their need and hopelessness