Who We Are
Water’s Edge United Methodist Church
Meeting at the Montessori Academy of Cincinnati
Sunday morning worship, 10:00
Jennifer Lucas, Lead Pastor
Mission/Vision
Water’s Edge United Methodist Church is an authentic church called by God, nourished by Christ, and directed by the Holy Spirit in the warmth and hospitality extended beyond any physical building into each life with which we connect. We are a Church energized and compassionate that people are drawn into a loving and friendly circle of hope, where answers are found and acceptance is plentiful.
Water’s Edge has one mission: To guide people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe this happens by being real and relevant. Water’s Edge is a Church where the broken, the blessed, the struggling, and the hopeful join together in community in order to grow, heal, study, share, serve and help each other on the journey of spiritual growth.
WE creates environments which foster social interactions and bring people together in creative, substantial and personal ways, enabling them to better know and love themselves, their families, their neighbors, and ultimately Jesus Christ.
WE believes each has much to offer the Body of Christ. We expect and equip the body to join the unending journey, moving from comforted to comforter, student to teacher, recipient to giver and follower to leader, a process which is ever shifting and moving.
Water’s Edge has a message so clear that lives are changed forever and potential is fulfilled through the power of God’s Word, the Love of Jesus Christ and the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Our Story:
2004
The Leaders at Faith Community UMC in West Chester and the congregation saw their mission: to reach out to the thousands of families moving into the region by starting another church. It was then decided to bring a pastor on staff in order to build a team that would go out in the neighboring communities to launch a new church.
2005
Pastor Jennifer Lucas was appointed to Faith Community UMC in order to launch a new congregation in a near-by community. The goal of 2005 was for Pastor Jenn to learn the DNA of Faith Community and begin to understand the community, it’s growth, and to determine the best location to launch. By the end of 2005 a small group of individuals had committed to help launch the church.
2006
This was a busy year for the church. Prayer walks were happening in the neighboring communities and after much prayer, it was determined the new church needed to head into the Mason community. The launch team continued to grow; approximately 60 adults. Out of the team of adults various ministry teams were formed: worship, children, hospitality, logistics, small groups and others. A worship site was set for The Manor House in Mason. This was a great first site as it was in a wonderful location, right in the heart of Mason.
2007
The first Sunday in January, Faith Community had a dedication service of the adults of Water’s Edge, praying for the journey they were about to embark upon. January 14th, 2007 was the beginning of the Pre-Season. This was the time for the launch team to fully prepare God’s new church for the people the Lord would send to Water’s Edge.
Water’s Edge launch celebration (Season) was March 11 – April 1, 2007. During the Launch Season we were worshipping approximately 150 children and adults. It was an exciting time for Water’s Edge. Ministries continued to grow and new faces continued to come to be a part of this electrifying new church start. We ended 2007 with a beautiful candlelight Christmas Eve service with 288 adults and children. It was celebration of the birth of Christ and the birth of the new church.
2008
We began 2008 facing a move. The Manor House, our current location was moving in new business directions and because Water’s Edge was a success it was becoming difficult to house the church. So a search team was formed and many locations were toured. We found a tremendous home, with great space at the Montessori Academy of Cincinnati. This is a new building in Mason with solid roots in the Mason Community. We held our first worship serves on March 30, the Sunday after Easter.
Water’s Edge continued real and relevant worship, seeing new faces each week. Our average worship attendance went to 150 adults each week. The children’s ministries continued to soar and a youth small group was added. By the end of the year, 15 teens were meeting in various homes for small group study and connection. The many ministry teams continued to work hard, adding new people and training new leaders. Water’s Edge ended its year with a candlelight Christmas Eve service where children and adults could hear the story of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
2009
Wow – year three! We continued to worship in our rented space at the Montessori Academy of Cincinnati (MAC). This building really was a great space for Water’s Edge as it continued to grow. They have many rooms to house our growing classes. We began an early adult class and our teens were now meeting not only in the evenings, but also on Sunday mornings.
The first Disciple Bible Study class was launched in September with 12 participants. We hope this class continues to be a tool in helping people become deeply committed Christians. Our children launched H2O – Here to Outreach. This group is comprised of kids ages 1st grade – 6th grade meeting on Friday evenings for fun, fellowship and service. All their activities have a mission element and the kids love it.
2010
From the beginning of Water’s Edge, our focus has been on getting out of the ‘church building’ and taking the message of Jesus Christ into the community. We launched our Be the Difference- Do Something campaign. The goal and purpose of this campaign is to get folks out in their community volunteering. So we began tracking our volunteer hours and by 2011 we hope that collectively as a church we reach the 3600 mark.
Along these lines of reaching out in our local community our youth went on their first mission trip, but it was a local trip. We teamed up with Awaken the City, www.awakenthecity.org, for a week long mission experience in downtown Cincinnati. The goal of the week was to look for areas of our city in need of light and where we see Christ’s light. We met wonderful people and began to build new mission partners.
As we near the end of 2010, we continue to be open to where the Lord is leading this church. We have begun a building search team and are looking for the next permanent sight for Water’s Edge.