Tim Mitchell Senior Pastor

Greetings,

May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. I am looking forward with great anticipation to the time when I can share the ministry of Jesus Christ with you in person.
 
 
I hope after you check out our Website you will want to visit our church.           
      I want to begin by telling you who we believe God is calling us to be. First United Methodist Church (FUMC) where: Our mission is making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by Faithfully Uplifting the Message of Christ. FUMC is a place that wants to be known as the “Go-To” church in our community. A place where all are welcome regardless of the strength or commitment of their faith. In our people, they will find a welcoming and generous group who are committed to Gathering, Growing and Going in their relationship with Jesus Christ. By Faithfully Uplifting the Message of Christ we are joining with God to make the biggest Kingdom impact possible. The purpose of the “Church” is to share the Good News of Jesus with one person at a time so that all people in our community have the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
 
      I am a second career pastor. I worked in the printing industry before following God’s call into the ministry. My father was part of a family-owned printing company, so I literally grew up in the printing industry. Officially, I started working for my father when I was in high school. When I was little, there were many Saturday mornings that I swept and cleaned the shop while he did billing. In 1977, shortly after my father’s death, I went to college and majored in printing and industrial engineering. After 15 years with a printing company in Rochelle, Illinois, the last 8 as plant manager, I heard God’s call to enter the ordained ministry.
     In 1997, I began as a Student Local Pastor at Franklin Grove UMC while attending The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. In 2004 I was ordained as an Elder in the Northern Illinois Conference and we were appointed to Peotone UMC. In July of 2010, we starting serving at First UMC of West Chicago. I have been serving as Senior Pastor at Dixon First since 2014.    
     In 2018 I began working on my Doctor of Ministry in Church revitalization through the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.  With the foundational work of my Doctor of Ministry Studies I am currently leading our church through a Holistic Vision process to prepare our congregation for mission and ministry for the next 10 years. 
 
     Again, I am looking forward to meeting you in person. I see opportunities to share God’s amazing love with our community. I see a growing passion in more and more people wanting to grow deeper in their relationship with God. I am grateful to the Senior Pastor at Dixon First UMC and look forward to walking with you in your faith journey into a glorious future prepared by
God.
 
Blessings Rev. Timothy Mitchell