Our Mission & Vision

 Mission Statement:

The Mission statement of the United Methodist Church is embraced by this congregation: “To Make Disciples of Jesus Christ For the Transformation of the World.”

Vision:

 We understand God’s direction for the future of Ely UMC as continuing to honor the current course of ministry to the whole person, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.  We articulate our current direction of ministry as
 
Ely United Methodist Church : A beacon of God’s Light and Love in the wilderness; serving our community today and developing our faith for the future.
 
We invite all into our community of believers and do not confine the sharing of God’s light and love to the church building.  We are a church with the community of White Pine County and the world.
 

Leadership Team:

Our leadership team  is comprised of volunteer staff and a Pastor appointed to our community by the California-Nevada Annual Conference.  We currently have leaders who have seen this congregation through  years of active ministry as well as several new faces.  God offers many of us a chance to step into new forms of leadership throughout our faith journey.  If you are feeling a call to be a part of the leadership of the church, please let us know.

James Woffinden is the Senior Pastor at Ely United Methodist Church.

Raised in Richmond, California, Pastor James served in the U.S. Air Force as a maintenance tech at Ramstein AF Base in Germany then was on duty at Hill AF Base in Utah.
 
He holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from Cal State Hayward (now CSU, East Bay), earning a Multi-Subject Teaching Credential before his work in Vallejo, Rodeo, and Fresno/Clovis Schools in California.
 
Pastor James also obtained a Master’s of Divinity degree at Golden Gate Theological Seminary, moving on to serve as Associate Minister at Rollingwood Baptist Church, then Strawberry Chapel in Mill Valley, California, after which he transferred to the United Methodist denomination.
 
In 2005, Pastor James served a dual Senior Pastor appointment at First United Methodist Church in Corcoran and Tipton United Methodist Church.  This was followed by appointment to First United Methodist Church in Porterville, California from 2014-2019 before his assignment to the Ely United Methodist Church.
 
James and his wife Lua have six children, the youngest in college.  
His hobbies are guitar playing and reading and perhaps fishing (?).
 

What we believe:   http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe