Will you prayerfully Join the Effort?

A Letter from Pastor Kevin Baker

Dear Friends, 

What an amazing fall it has been at Edenton Street UMC! In just a few short months since my arrival I have experienced many God-sightings that have been part of our shared life together: baptisms, weddings, new member receptions, gifted lay and staff leadership, fellowship meals, inspiring testimonies, mid-week Bible studies, and amazing children and youth ministries. A spirit of anticipation is in the air and new vision is bubbling up and guiding us forward. We give God thanks for the momentum that we’re experiencing and for the ongoing commitment of our church to remind people that we “invite all people to know, love, and serve God, each other, and the world.”

I want personally to thank you for your generosity and sacrificial giving to the mission and ministry of Edenton Street United Methodist Church! Every gift, no matter how small, goes a long way toward helping us live into our mission and reach new people for Jesus Christ. Over the past year, our church has faced fiscal and contextual challenges, yet together we have been navigating these complexities by striving to remain connected, centered, curious, and compassionate. 

Now, as your new lead pastor, I am excited to embrace this moment as an opportunity to reorganize, retool, and refine our focus. Our visioning process is not over, it is beginning in earnest as we lean forward together into God’s preferred future for ESUMC. For us to finish the year strong and implement many of the new opportunities before us, we will need a strong fourth quarter. Historically, our church has received 35% of our gifts in the last three months of the year and so these next few weeks are critical. 

Will you prayerfully consider how you might join the effort? Generosity is not just about what we give—it’s about how we give. It’s a response to the abundant grace God has poured into our lives. We give not just to cover operational ministry costs, as important as that is – we give so we can become more like our giving God. In other words, giving, like any other spiritual discipline, is about growing in holiness of heart and life. 

As we step into this new season, let’s be mindful of how our collective generosity can fuel the mission to which God has called us. I believe we are on the cusp of something beautiful and transformative. God is doing a new thing at Edenton Street! Thank you for your faithfulness, your prayers, and your commitment to this community. May we continue to grow in love, faith, and generosity as we serve Christ together.

Sharing Christ from the Heart of Raleigh with you,

Pastor Kevin Baker

Edenton Street United Methodist Church