OUR COVENANT FOR CHRIST 2015 First Methodist Houston
Because of you, First Methodist is changing lives for Christ! Each year, we invite the people who are part of the First Methodist family to help fund this important work. As we do, we want to say THANK YOU for the difference you are making for God! Over the generations, we have built a strong foundation on Christ. Because of you, our future generations will have the same foundation with which to continue believing, serving, and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and changing lives around the world.
In order to help you see how your giving is used, we’ve grouped the ministries of First Methodist into five general categories. In each, in different ways, we are loving people to Christ, growing them in the Word, and serving them for God. Please read about all you are making possible, and as you do, just think: you are helping others build their lives on a strong foundation –
Christ!
CHRIST
Worship
people like Chance, Mason, Avery, and Dina Dutton are growing closer to Christ!
facilities, a warm welcome and life-changing worship services. Our church is known for inspiring music; fellowships; and powerful, Bible-based preaching. The message topics deal with real-life relevant issues: marriage, friendship, fear, forgiveness, healing and hope, and Christ’s power. The cost of maintaining attractive and inviting facilities is sizeable, as are maintaining excellent programs. It is a challenge, but it brings hearts to Christ! This year, we have been developing a variety of worship experiences so that we can have something for everyone! Whoever you are, there is a worship service that fits your heart. At our Downtown location, the more formal or liturgical worship service is at 8:45 a.m., with our traditional service at 11:00 a.m., and our Spanish service at 11:00 a.m. The Source, a new alternative worship service, began in October at 11:11 a.m. Our Westchase location provides traditional worship at 9:15 a.m., contemporary service at 10:30 a.m., and our Spanish worship at 12:00 p.m. With your giving, the heartfelt worship of First Methodist reaches out to all with the salvation of Christ!
WORSHIP
Through your generosity, First Methodist provides beautiful
Family Ministries
the Wilson family has been blessed in the family of God! In fact, over 500 children were involved in our Vacation Bible Schools and Pine Cove Camp, and 75 accepted Christ!
First Methodist provides a spiritual home to families across the greater Houston area. We also provide resources to parents in order to nurture strong Christian families. With the improvements in our Downtown Campus and renewed focus on children’s ministry at both campuses, we’ve touched more children’s lives than we have in a decade! This includes excellent staff, facilities, supplies and events like Vacation Bible School, Parent’s Night Out, Pine Cove Summer Camps, Children’s Choirs, 4th-5th grade camp, youth retreats, special speakers, worship music, and more. Your giving makes possible vital ministries which provide our children and youth the means to grow as disciples of Jesus through healthy friendships, fun, scripture study and service.
FAMILY MINISTRIES
Through your generosity,
Adult Ministries
people from all walks of life, like Fern Moore, can enjoy the strength and fellowship of our Bible studies!
Through your generosity, First Methodist provides care and growth opportunities for adults in a variety of life situations. Through Sunday Schools, DGroups, Bible studies, a wide variety of caring and support ministries, leadership training, counseling ministry, pre-marital many other opportunities, we are providing a spiritual and caring environment for people across the city. Each of these requires physical space, custodial care, support and ministry staff, and material supplies. The Family Ministers Program at the Westchase Campus involves more than 50 committed leaders who call each of the Westchase families monthly to pray for and encourage them. Downtown, the In Touch Care Ministry provides loving support to our older members who are not physically able to attend services. In addition, we provide pastoral care to the sick, Stephen Ministers for the hurting, and care for shut-ins and the elderly. With your giving, our Adult Discipleship Ministry aims to ensure that every active adult is supported and growing as a devoted follower of Jesus.
ADULT MINISTRIES
workshops, ministries for men, women and young adults and
Mission Outreach
Marlene Nondorf and Judy Reynolds were able to bring Christ’s love and hope to the people of Honduras!
Through your generosity, First Methodist is a missionary church, serving the city and proclaiming the Good News to the world! Your giving supports the Methodist mission program through the payment of our apportionments, which builds hospitals, homes for the elderly, schools in impoverished countries around the world, and provides missionaries and numerous other vital ministries. As an individual church, we also support many additional mission projects. We send teams to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Eagle Pass, Haiti, Myanmar, Cuba and India. In each of these countries, your church has blessed lives through construction projects, surgical missions, preaching and evangelism, ministry to children and relief efforts. We also are involved in online evangelism, support for children with AIDS, orphans in Sudan, education in Honduras, and leadership training for the persecuted church in the Middle East and Central Asia. most vulnerable throughout the city of Houston. Your church is literally transforming Port Houston, one of Houston’s poorest neighborhoods, through the ministry your love provides there. We serve refugees at the Willow Falls apartment complex; partner with Hispanic, Swahili, Chinese and Burmese speaking congregations meeting at our Westchase Campus, and we provide essential services and prayer for hundreds of the homeless downtown. Simply put, with your giving, the scope of how First Methodist Houston is sharing the Gospel and serving the poor here and around the world is astonishing!
MISSION OUTREACH
Locally, we continue our historic commitment to serving the poorest and
First Choice
Lisa Embrey could worship with her church family though live streaming, even on the other side of the world on her way to Mt. Everest!
Through your generosity, thousands of people watch our services on television and the internet, listen to our messages on 29 radio stations in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Louisiana, and stay connected to our church from anywhere in the world though our church website. This is an essential ministry to long-time members who are no longer able to physically come to church, unreached people looking for a church home, and people who love our church but no longer live close enough to attend. First Choice also provides communion elements to our homebound congregants; manages our Hidden Treasures bookstores; provides and maintains audio, light and video equipment for worship; provides web site development and management; coordinates internal and external communication, and publishes our monthly magazine. In 2015, we hope to increase our publicity to the community through live streaming all our major services and more effectively With your giving, First Choice connects your church to the world with the love and hope of Christ!
FIRST CHOICE
connecting with those who do not yet have a church home.
Blessing Each week, it takes about $127,000 to fund the work and ministry of our church through our three major funds: General Ministries, First Choice, and Missions. That’s quite a bit, but as you can see, it makes an eternal difference! As all of us give our best for Christ, just think of what He will do in the years to come! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each of us could give 2% more of our personal income to the work of Christ in 2015? Some will not be able to do this, but many have been blessed and can meet that challenge or even exceed it! Just think of the blessing it brings to know we are making an impact for God with our lives! When you share your love for God through your giving to First Methodist, you make possible the spread of the Gospel to every part of the world, you strengthen a great church, you please God, and you open your own life to His blessing. When you give to First Methodist, you are building your life on the strong foundation of Christ and partnering with God to change the lives of others for Him!
Illustration of Giving Chart God’s Tithe Income
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
$40,000
800
1,600
2,400
3,200
4,000
4,800
$60,000
1,200
2,400
3,600
4,800
6,000
7,200
$80,000
1,600
3,200
4,800
6,400
8,000
9,600
$100,000
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
$125,000
2,500
5,000
7,500
10,000
12,500
15,000
$150,000
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
18,000
$200,000
4,000
8,000
12,000
16,000
20,000
24,000
Watch the mail for your 2015 Covenant Card. We’ll all be making our covenants to Christ in November. God bless you in your love for Him!
Yo u r H o m e I n t h e C i t y
fmhouston.com 832-668-1800 Downtown – 1320 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 Formal 8:45 am • Traditional 11:00 am • Spanish 11:00 am • The Source 11:11 am Westchase – 10570 Westpark, Houston, Texas 77042 Traditional 9:15 am • Contemporary 10:30 am • Spanish 12:00 pm