Partners
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, had several good mottos, one of which was this: “In essentials, unity; in all else charity.”
Our Partners -
United Methodist Church in Northern Virginia
At Epicenter Church, we take that to mean that Christians will never agree on everything, but we can rally around a few core principles, and work together in a spirit of mutual respect and love in order to accomplish some really important things to bless the world around us. Foremost, we are a community that loves and follows Jesus Christ – even when the very words we would individually use to describe our love for Jesus may differ somewhat from one person to the next.
We do not seek to reinvent the wheel when it comes to great ministries already organized in the DC area – we intend to mobilize ministry teams to join in some of these projects. We also anticipate many new projects originating in the faith imagination of Epicenter members and partners.
There are several different kinds of Epicenter partners:
- Those who link up with us as part of our launch team, helping us to give birth to a weekly worship community. Helping us launch entails no long-term commitment.
- Those who choose to join Epicenter as members of our church, becoming full share-holders in our mission and work and sharing with us as committed followers of Jesus Christ. This type of partnership will be available beginning in 2008.
- Individuals from other churches or groups who join with us in particular spiritual growth experiences or efforts at community development and world impact.
- Those from beyond the Christian faith tradition, but who desire to hang out with us and serve their neighbors alongside us.
- Other churches or groups whose own sense of mission overlaps with Epicenter, who choose to join forces with us in various respects and/or to share facility space with us. Arlington Temple United Methodist Church in Rosslyn is our first such partner – offering us space to launch many of our first ministries and worship services.
- Those who have invested in us, and to whom we give account – most notably the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Members of Epicenter Church
This commitment will first involve identifying oneself as follower of Jesus Christ. Beyond this, we will promise to uphold Epicenter Church with prayers, participation, financial giving and service on one of our mission teams. We have no intent to rush persons to such commitments – and we will celebrate the presence and participation of persons who are not inclined to become members, for whatever reasons.
Partners from other faith communities
We are not exactly sure who invented the notion that a person can only be a member of one church – but it seems to be deeply ingrained in our culture. None-the-less, we freely invite people from other churches to participate in any spiritual development activity or mission-action project. We are not interested in stealing you from another church where you may already be committed. But if we are involved in something that interests you, we welcome you to come along! We will treat you like family regardless of your church background or lack thereof.
Other churches and faith communities
We anticipate partnership with several churches in the DC area. Some of these partnerships will entail sharing of facilities; others will be more about sharing people resources for various ministry projects in the city. We hope that these partnerships cut across demographic and even denominational lines.
Those from beyond the Christian faith tradition
Where we can work together with others whose values overlap with ours, we wish to do so. The DC area is an eclectic mix of faith traditions and ethnic groups with roots around the globe. EpicenterDC desires to work with our neighbors and serve them as Jesus would do, in whatever ways that are possible, respectful of our mutual – and sometimes differing - faith convictions. We celebrate the fact that our first partner church, Arlington Temple, not only has offered to share space with us, a fellow Christian church, but also provides a space for Muslims who wish to pray on Fridays.
Those who have invested in us and to whom we give account
The Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church is making a considerable investment of prayer, labor and financial resources in order that Epicenter might become a living reality in Northern Virginia and beyond. We will be a United Methodist congregation, looking forward to the day when we will be able to invest a portion of our resources in the mission of God here and around the world in partnership with The United Methodist Church. Our pastor, Paul Nixon, is appointed to us by Bishop Charlene Kammerer of the Virginia Conference.
Epicenter Church is a new Christian Faith community focused on serving the people who live in the urban expanse of greater Washington DC.