MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR
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Sunday, January 18, 2025
Dear Church Family,
[The disciples] were constantly devoting themselves to prayer.
– Acts 1:14a
On Sunday, January 26th at Noon in the Downtown Sanctuary, we will be holding a Church Conference to adopt a three year Strategic Plan. During this important meeting, every professing member is eligible to vote on the future direction of our church and those present will constitute a quorum. I hope you will make plans to attend.
To be prepared for this historic meeting, I encourage everyone to 1) read the Strategic Plan [aceess the Strategic Plan here] and 2) attend a Presentation and Q&A Sessions. The last one is tomorrow, January 19th, on West Campus at 11:00 a.m. in Stansbury.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE WILL BE DIFFERENT ON 1/19 AND 1/26 FOR WEST CAMPUS WORSHIPERS.
Here is the West Campus Schedule for January 19th:
8:30 a.m. – Nursery opens in 3663
9:00 a.m. – Sunday School for all ages in regular classroom
10:00 a.m. – Combined Worship with Traditional, The Source, and Altar-Umoja in Hinson Chapel (Note: the service will feature a Time for Children, after which kids will have the opportunity to attend Children’s Church in the Worship Center building and returned to their parents by the end of the service.)
11:00 a.m. – Presentation and Q&A Session in Stansbury (Note: nursery available for infant-4 years old in 3663; childcare available in Quillian Gym for kids ages 5-6th grade.)
12:30 p.m. – Meeting ends, Nursery closes
On Sunday, January 26th, all of West Campus will meet Downtown for Sunday School, Worship, and the Church Conference (Note: West Campus will not be open on 1/26 for Sunday morning activities as everyone gathers Downtown):
*Every West Campus Sunday School Class will be provided a space Downtown.
9:00 a.m. – Begin Gathering
9:45-10:45 a.m. – Sunday School (click here for room assignments)
11:00 a.m. – All Church Worship in the Downtown Sanctuary (Downtown & West Campus Traditional Services, The Source, and Altar-Umoja)
12:00 p.m. – Church Conference
Please help us spread the word about the schedule for the coming weeks and make plans to attend these historic services and gatherings.
To help with the registration and sign-in process for the Church Conference on January 26th, we encourage everyone to pre-register by filling out this formonline. Those who pre-register can sign in and pick up their name tag as they arrive. Others can register on-site that day.
We encourage everyone who is able to sign in and pick up your name tag between 9:00 and 9:45 a.m. If you are arriving later, you can sign-in throughout the morning. Please note that you are highly encouraged to sign in before worship as the time between the end of worship and the start of the Church Conference will be short.
Please be in prayer for First Methodist over the next week as we prepare for our Church Conference; that God would prepare the way for a new Pentecost to break out among us!
Yours In Christ,
Pastor Lance
Rev. Lance Richards
Senior Pastor
[email protected]
20
25 Stewardship Campaign
# of Pledges to Date: 163
Pledged Income to Date: $1,627,248
Goal for # of pledges: 200
# of anticipated pledges outstanding: 37
Financial Goal: $2,000,000
Additional pledge income needed: $372,752
(this will allow us to fund all current ministries due to inflationary expenses on fixed costs)
You can make a pledge online today at fmhouston.com/abundantly-more.
2024 End Of The Year Financial Update
General Ministries
Total # of Pledges: 200
Pledge Income Anticipated: $2,200,000
Pledge Income Received (YTD): $2,145,265
Pledge Income Needed by 12/31: $54,735
Non-Pledge Income Anticipated: $1,200,000
Non-Pledge Income Received (YTD): $938,312
Non-Pledge Income Needed by 12/31: $261,688
Gap betwen Budget and Actual Expenses: $316,423
Deficit between 2024 Income and Actual Expenses: $144,000
You can give here today.
General Ministries
Pledge Income Anticipated: $2,200,000
Pledge Income Received (YTD): $2,145,265
Pledge Income Needed by 12/31: $54,735
Non-Pledge Income Anticipated: $1,200,000
Non-Pledge Income Received (YTD): $938,312
Non-Pledge Income Needed by 12/31: $261,688
Deficit between 2024 Income and Actual Expenses: $144,000
You can give here today.
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