Mission, Vision and Value Statements SLOGAN: "Making Disciples & Making A Difference!" MISSION STATEMENT: To honor God by making disciples who make disciples for Jesus Christ. VISION STATEMENT: To be a healthy congregation of the United Methodist Church where every person is a minister! Southern Hills United Methodist Church is committed to being an inclusive, vital fellowship that helps persons meet their spiritual needs and equips and enables persons to follow Christ's call to become disciples and share God's love in our congregation, community and world.

Southern Hills Core Values • Passionate Worship: Equipping Christians, through the proclamation of God’s word, to follow Christ in every sphere of life. Worship here is vital, relevant and biblically based. • Radical Hospitality: Finding people where they are and shepherding them to be disciples of Jesus Christ. • Intentional Faith Development: Using spiritual gifts to create a Christian community that uses its gifts for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. • Risk-taking mission and service: We intend to be outwardly focused in order to connect people to Christ. We believe that God desires us to reach as many people as possible with Christ’s life-changing message. We pursue methods and policies that encourage numerical growth without compromising our integrity, mission, or dedication to Scripture. • Extravagant Generosity: We believe that the secret of living as Christ taught is giving. We give of our time, talents, material gifts and witness. We recognize that God calls us to return a proportionate share of all that God has given us. OUR STORY: Unchurched people with young families and spiritual needs were moving into southeast Sioux Falls in large numbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These unchurched families were moving in next to Baby Boomers who had been turned off by the churches of their childhood. So, the South Dakota Conference of The United Methodist Church saw a need to reach the unreached of our city with the Good News of Jesus Christ. In 1988 The South Dakota Conference of The United Methodist Church purchased nearly 5 acres of land and by May 1990, appointed an experienced pastor, Russ Tarver, to organize a congregation. The whole conference got behind this effort. Volunteers from 31 churches made 25,000 phone calls (back when landlines were the norm). Direct-mail pieces went to 1,400 households. Many households also received personal visits (before e-mail was widely used). More than 80 other churches contributed funds. June 1990 – Pastor Tarver starts gathering information during meetings at Prince of Peace Retirement Center. During these meetings, we chose to name our church Southern Hills United Methodist Church, attributed to the hills in the landscape here in the southern part of Sioux Falls. Sept. 23, 1990 – More than 100 people attend our first worship service, which takes place at Robert Frost Elementary School. April 7, 1991 – Southern Hills United Methodist Church is chartered as the newest church in the South Dakota Conference with 47 members and 12 special friends. Sept. 8, 1991 – Worship services move to John Harris Elementary school, across 49 th  Street from the church property. June 12, 1992 – Ground is broken for the church at the building site. Jan. 23, 1994 –We move into our new church home. Pat Johnson was hired as a part-time Administrative Assistant after performing these duties as a volunteer up to this time. Feb. 13, 1994 – Marcia Sietstra is installed as quarter-time associate pastor, responsible for Christian Education and Worship. May 15, 1994 – Bishop William B. Lewis consecrates the new building and our membership increases by 80 members in the first year Sept. 24, 1995 – David Lee Brown, professional church musician, is hired to lead a contemporary worship service once a month. July 1996 – Pastor Russ Tarver retires and Pastor Steve Ziebarth is appointed. June 1997 – Marcia Sietstra leaves Southern Hills. Sept. 1998 – Southern Hills introduces   two services: one traditional in style with hymns and one in contemporary style with a praise  band consisting of drums, guitars, keyboard and vocals, named “Friends.” September 2000 – We enter a partnership with Lutheran Social Services (LSS) to provide an After School Program for John Harris Elementary students, which begins with 6 children. March 2003 – Planning began for multi-purpose building addition. Fall of 2004 – LSS begins morning pre-school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with 10 children enrolled. Oct. 2006 – Ground is broken on our “Outreach Center,” named for our desire to use the building as God’s mission field. August 2007 – Church takes possession of phase one of the Outreach Center. January 2008 – Church takes possession of final phase of Outreach Center. July 2010 – Pastor Steve Ziebarth appointed to Canton UMC. Pastor Ross Reinhiller appointed. 2012 - Kitchen and north classrooms are completed and the LSS child care program is expanded. July 2014 – Pastor Ross Reinhiller appointed to Aberdeen First UMC. Pastor R. Duane Coates appointed. Fall of 2014, the LSS Childcare program serves 200 children, 5 days a week in infant, toddler, pre-school, after-school and summer programs through grade 5. September 2015-April 2016 – Southern Hills celebrates our 25 th  Anniversary! July, 2016 - Pastor R. Duane Coates appointed to Hettinger, ND United Methodist Church. Pastor Krista Mournet appointed.