Celebrating 2 Years — City On A Hill
by Staff Writer
FEATURED ARTICLES

CITY ON A HILL, a new United Methodist Church, is celebrating its second anniversary by adding a second Worship Experience at 9 a.m. "These two years have been incredible. We started with a launch team from Hillside United Methodist and have seen phenomenal response from the East Cherokee community," said Rev. Chris Bryant, lead pastor.

The vision of CITY ON A HILL is to "Change the world one loving act at a time." Pastor Chris Bryant said, "We learn about following Jesus, not just in belief, but our congregation responds with action by being the hands and feet of Jesus in the community we worship in."

You will find CITY ON A HILL missionaries wearing yellow "Special Forces" shirts serving the community by offering free bottles of water and a kind word, or giving free gasoline to single moms on Mother’s Day, to last fall’s Home Makeover for a family in the area. "We had no money, budget or plans," Chris said, "but we did have passion and heart. In about two weeks, the church basically did a complete makeover of the home from top to bottom."

Why does CITY ON A HILL do all these things? "We do this without the emphasis of getting people to come to our church — the invitation is there of course — but again it goes back to following up our beliefs with action. There are a lot of people that say ‘Hey, God loves you!’, but it is better to show someone that love, even if it is something as small as a cold bottle of water," Chris said.

The youth and children at CITY ON A HILL are very involved; the middle and high school youth serve as ushers and participate in community missions, including a recent trip to Tennessee where they helped with home repairs for an elderly person. The elementary kids serve as acolytes and plan their own missions, such as Tokens for Turkeys, collecting $1,200 in coins to donate to MUST Ministries for Thanksgiving turkeys.

"That is the spirit of CITY ON A HILL — we are really a church moved into action." Chris said, "The people that attend are thinking people, who want a reflective kind of faith. They want to ask questions and they want to wrestle with issues. They don’t want to be told what to believe."

The upcoming series "God and Science" is an example of the thought provoking reflective faith. Creation, Evolution or Both? If you are struggling with the idea of evolution, you are encouraged to come and hear this message as Pastor Chris proposes that these may not necessarily be conflicting ideas.

To celebrate its second anniversary, CITY ON A HILL is now offering two Worship Experiences 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. with children’s programs at both. Two at Two — a celebration of growth and an invitation to join that growth at CITY ON A HILL, United Methodist Church. Lead Pastor Chris Bryant and Associate Pastor Ed Archer are available to answer any questions you may have. Please join them at Johnston Elementary School or visit cityonahillumc.org.