Our Mission
The 17,000 wonderful souls that compose the United Methodist Church within the Tupelo District continue to shine a steady beam of light into the dark places that sometimes occur within the life of northeastern Mississippi. Many things happened during the past calendar year that are noteworthy of celebration. A few of them are listed in the following report.
We continue to be known as Kingdom builders. This year we have continued our steady increase of total membership with a net growth of 150, despite writing off almost that many persons that were identified as deceased or transferred from churches that were officially closed. (In 2002 our net increase in membership was 217 and in 2003 it was 231.) Another barometer of involvement within the district is our average attendance in principal worship services which rose by 324. This is also a consistent and continuing trend over the past few years.
As our participation has increased, our giving has also risen. For many years the Tupelo District has been a pace-setter for paying conference and district apportionments, and this year we have shown an increase in these numbers.
We are building for the future. The fourth year of the new millennium saw the Tupelo District begin a score of new buildings or renovations/restorations of existing properties. A new church building complex is will on the way for The Orchard; Tupelo First United Methodist Church has expanded their buildings by more than half, and more building is in the future; Mantachie has a beautiful new sanctuary and Palestine in Nettleton has extended the sanctuary by nearly 100 percent capacity, just to mention a few. We are looking into beginning a new church in the district within the foreseeable future.
We have an exciting ministry outlook. Plans were made during the year to strengthen the small membership churches of the district. A part of that plan was to employ a person with skills in this area as a district person. We will bring that person, Rusty Keen, on board January 1, 2005.
We celebrate able leadership. Our clergy and laity work closely and skillfully to do ministry. The clergy are will trained and highly motivated to serve the Lord in ministry. We are excited to see a growing percentage of our ministerial inquirers continue to be a priority for our district. One of the best events this year was a Stress Seminary for pastors and spouses just before appointment-making time. We also work to facilitate physical and spiritual health among clergy.
The Tupelo District is alive and well under the banner of the Living Lord!
--Report from the 2005 Annual Conference by Dr. Carl W. Grubbs, Superintendent
The districts of the Mississippi Annual Conference.
The Tupelo District spans all of Calhoun, Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lee, and Pontotoc and part of Clay and Union Counties of Northeast Mississippi. There are over 100 churches in the Tupelo District ranging in size from 4 members to over 1,300 members. Come and join us for worship in a local United Methodist congregration near you and experience the presence and power of the Blessed Redeemer! Our hearts, minds, and doors are always open.
