MAKING AN IMPACT
Centennial UMC at Ivy is a small congregation making a big impact.
Missions
Our Missions Committee and United Methodist Women organize and champion our mission efforts here at Centennial. We support our local Caring Hands Food Pantry, Bidwell Riverside food pantry and childcare, Hawthorn Hill which helps homeless families, and Shesler Hall in Sioux City which assists homeless women with chronic mental illness to gain stability and transition to permanent housing. We sponsored a winter clothing drive and hosted a giving tree to provide Christmas gifts for needy children in our community. Our Trunk-or-Treat supports UNICEF. Through our Missions Committee campaign and our VBS offerings, we have generously supported Heifer International. We support United Methodist Special Offerings which offer refuge in times of disaster, promote peace and justice, provide scholarships and student loans, reach out to the community, teach skills to encourage self-sufficiency and share the love of Jesus Christ with God’s people everywhere.
Additional ways to support our Mission efforts
- Look for opportunities to participate offered by our Missions Committee and United Methodist Women.
- Help with the Soup Supper and Bazaar. Proceeds support a variety of important missions throughout the year.
- Be eyes and ears in our community to recognize needs and share mission ideas for ways we can be of service to our neighbors.
Shared Ministry Giving • Apportionments
At Centennial UMC at Ivy our mission statement is to Know Christ and make Christ know in our community and around the world. Through our apportionment giving, we are able to extend our reach far beyond our local congregation and our local community.
Apportionments are the fundamental method the church uses to fund mission and ministry beyond the local community. The United Methodist denomination, from the beginning, has been a church that believes congregations are to fund not only their local communities but beyond, to the world parish. For the followers of John Wesley, ministry has never been about one or the other—always both.
Education
Our mission at Centennial is to Know Christ and Make Christ known. Christian Education plays a vital part in living our mission. We teach children about God’s love through True Believers, Sunday School, and VBS. We inspire Youth to dig deeper in their faith and make it their own through Youth Group and Confirmation. We encourage each other to be lifelong learners growing ever closer to Christ through our Adult small group opportunities.
Additional ways to support our education efforts:
- Invite children, families, and adults to participate in our programs.
- Participate in small group studies and Sunday School.
- Consider being a teacher or small group leader.
- Don’t see the right small group for you? Volunteer to start one!
Worship
Worship is at the center of what we do here at Centennial UMC at Ivy. We gather together to experience God’s grace through Holy Communion. We baptize. We celebrate holidays. We bring families together. This fall we have started a new worship experience on Wednesday nights called WOW (Worship on Wednesday). It has been a joy to worship God in new ways, with new people, within a
multi-generational setting.
Additional ways you can contribute to worship:
- Invite friends and neighbors to worship
- Sing with the choir
- Volunteer to offer special music
- Volunteer to be a part of our Usher team to warmly welcome to our guests
Community Outreach
What a joy it is to be a part of our greater community! This year we have made a purposeful effort to reach out into our community to make our presence known and invite our neighbors to experience God’s love through our worship, hospitality, and fellowship. We participated in the Altoona 150th parade and the Southeast Polk Homecoming Parade. We also reached out with hand-delivered invitations to homes near us for a personal touch.
