Pastor Tim Mitchell
Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior!
Our Holy Week and Easter Celebrations were very meaningful, memorable, and wonderful. God was glorified and Jesus was exalted! He is Risen!! Hallelujah!!
I reached a personal milestone on Saturday, April 26th. I graduated from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary with my Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Church Renewal and Revitalization. It has been a long seven years that began in 2018. It was set back by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Outcome of the 2020 General Conference. I want to thank the people of Dixon First. You have walked this journey with me from the beginning to the end. Encouraging and supporting my desire to finish strong as I conclude my ministry and transition into retirement. THANK YOU!
I took on this challenge because I believed I could help our church renew and revive its commitment to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with our community and the world. My dissertation title was The Integrated Holistic Visioning Process. It may be a mouthful of academic jargon, but the reality was lived out in the visioning process we started in 2020 with our Breakthrough Prayer Initiative. We prayed together our 202 Breakthrough Prayer, huddled in our homes as we sheltered in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Praying together kept us connected through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Praying together with a specific prayer allowed God to work in our hearts and spirits, molding us into the people God needed for the vision God was calling us to.
That vision began to emerge within our congregation and was revealed in our 2020 Church Assessment Tool (CAT). I will be forever grateful to Mick Kazmerski for his comment back in 2015 during the meeting to share the results of our first CAT. Mick said to me, “We keep doing these surveys and nothing ever changes.” I did my best to lead our church forward from the 2015 CAT, but I didn’t have the proper tools at that time to bring our five 2015 priorities to reality. Through my DMin coursework, I was equipped with the right tools to help Dixon First find its Beyond the Horizon Vision.
Through the God Dreams Visioning Process, our church leadership was able to bring to life God’s long-range vision for our congregation. Not only do we have our Beyond the Horizon Vision that drives our mission and ministries. We have identified our four Big Rocks of Community, Connection, Worship, and Discipleship, which provide the yearly focus for our Yearly Ministry Plan.
Many churches have never recovered from the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through our ongoing 202 Breakthrough Prayer, Dixon First has remained strong because it immerses itself in the Spiritual Respiration of our beloved Triune God. Fulfilling our Beyond the Horizon Vision remains our priority and driving force for all that we do. This has led to the reorganization of our church leadership into The One Board. We are committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ into our community and beyond.
Do we have our challenges ahead? YES!! Be we know that we can “Do all things through Christ who strengthens and leads us!”
Blessings 