While church doors were open when Pastors Glen Bocox and Jeremiah Thompson came to the Mahomet United Methodist Church (MUMC), the two have worked to open the hearts and minds of the congregation over their stay.
Sunday will be the last sermon for both Bocox and Thompson as they have been called by the United Methodist Church (UMC) to serve other congregations.
Bocox will lead the dwindling church and community population at the First United Methodist Church in Galesburg, IL. Over the last 10 to 20 years, major manufacturing companies have left Galesburg, spurring a dire economic situation.
While Bocox requested a transfer, Thompson will leave MUMC because the church will no longer be able to fund an associate pastor. Effective July 1 John McIntosh will serve as Senior Pastor at MUMC.
Thompson will lead the Farmer City UMC and the Weedman UMC. With declining rural populations, it is not uncommon for a UMC pastor to serve two churches.
During their stay in Mahomet, both Pastors watched Mahomet transition through a population growth spurt. Both see the opportunity to help their new congregations grow as long as the people are willing to accept the past and move forward in a new direction.
Bocox and Thompson feel their work with MUMC has helped prepare them with this outlook.
When Bocox came to MUMC eight years ago, the congregation was described to him as having the reputation of being a country club church.
“That proved to be true in the sense that the people in this church were very open to people like themselves in all ways: politics, interests, class, race,” Bocox said. “If somebody came that was like them, then they were open. They were less open to people who were not like them.”
In the last four years, the pastors have seen a real shift in the way MUMC approaches guests and their friends within the congregation.
Members of the congregation saw the Wonderful on Wednesday (WOW) program as an opportunity to invite community members to church for a meal. Congregation members even picked up others so they could attend.
Last year, congregation members spearheaded an opportunity to work with other local churches to provide free lunches for kids and seniors in Mahomet at Candlewood throughout the summer.
“Part of the conflict within people has been between being really comfortable with people who are like me and being not so comfortable with people who are not like me, which causes anxiety and fear,” Bocox said. “It’s not something we like to admit about ourselves.”
Through working with lay leaders at MUMC, Bocox and Thompson are no longer the only ones greeting guests on Sunday morning. Both Pastors said that’s not the case anymore.
Thompson heard, “People don’t want friendly churches. They want a church where they can make friends,” at E3 evangelism training.
While many people have lived in Mahomet their whole lives, the town has grown through people who move here because their job has brought them to Central Illinois.
“People for a lot of reasons are looking to build up relationships with other people,” Thompson said. “You need to have people who have space in their heart to make a few more friends.”
The Pastors hope that MUMC continues to work towards radical hospitality.
“It’s hospitality that goes the extra mile,” Bocox said. “A couple comes into the church, they are greeted by somebody, and then someone asks them if they would like to go to dinner after church. They are going that extra step, that’s really going out of their way. We aren’t there year, but we are going there.”
Because UMC Pastors are called to serve in different congregations about every 8-10 years, Bocox and Thompson have pushed MUMC lay leaders to take ownership of programs within the church.
“I wanted to build a foundation so that the church can keep going,” Thompson said. “It can’t be all about me. I do think there needs to be a congregational shift on how some congregations think and how some pastors are trained.”
The MUMC congregation will now be able to facilitate youth, discipleship and to a certain extend confirmation classes. They have also taken over the intergenerational mission trip, and have two parish nurses that will help with visitations.
The pastors have also worked to make the church accessible to the community throughout the week by having church doors open during the work week, and for community groups to meet in the evening.
Both Pastors have learned to minister through technology during their service at MUMC. With Twitter, Facebook and texting, they can reach a nationally declining group of individuals under the age of 35.
The Pastors agreed with in today’s society, the church is the only place where you can find four or five generations together.
When Thompson began a Thursday morning coffee group, only people in their 70s or 80s showed up. When people in their 20s came, all generations experienced the important of sharing life experiences.
“When you see a young woman in her 20s and a man in his 80s dying of cancer ‘loving on’ each other, that’s incredibly meaningful,” Thompson said.
Bocox and Thompson have worked to bring different lifestyles, generations and belief systems together through communication during their stay at MUMC.
Although the country is divided on polarized political topic, MUMC has remained united in worship through understanding that being republican or democrat is based on an individual’s opinion on a topic.
“As a whole we understand that no pastor, no church, no individual has a monopoly on God’s truth,” Bocox said. “In all other things live and let live. Take my hand and we will be brothers or sisters.”
In order to stay connected with the community outside the church, Thompson volunteered for the Mahomet Area Youth Club and enjoys spending time with his daughter through programs at the library or coffee shop.
Bocox served as appointed chaplain for the Cornbelt Fire Protection District. Bocox has served as a fire district chaplain since 1975.
Both Pastors have enjoyed getting to know the community through the chaplain role.
“People start talking to you about all kinds of things,” Bocox said. “That’s where I say it’s an honor and privilege because you can really help some people because we’re safe in that setting. They don’t have to look at us on Sunday mornings.”
Thompson said that preaching from vulnerability helped the congregation to connect to him.
“We’re not plastered saints up there,” he said. “When we minister from our humanity, people connect to you more. And it’s scary because you have to be vulnerable.”
Bocox and Thompson will preach their last sermons at MUMC on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.
