Message From The Pastors

After much prayer and careful discernment, I write to inform you that I have appointed Rev. Lance Richards as the next senior pastor of A&M United Methodist Church, effective July 1, 2025.

I know you will join me in wishing Lance and Rachel and their children, Nathaniel and Gabriel, well at their new appointment. I am confident that they will continue to make a difference in the lives of so many and Rev. Richards will continue to be a leading voice for the United Methodist Church.

I am grateful to Rev. Richards for his exceptional leadership of First United Methodist Church, Houston. He has navigated uncharted and often choppy waters with grace and has positioned FUMC for the next segment of its journey. His leadership through disaffiliation and the strategic mapping process has paved the way for future leadership.

As you enter this new season, know that I will be working closely with the Staff Parish Relations Committee to identify the next leader for First United Methodist Church. District Superintendent Dr. Elijah Stansell and incoming District Superintendent Dr. Deborah Vaughn and I have already begun collaborating with the Staff Parish Relations Committee to make the appointment of FUMC’s next Senior Pastor. We look forward to introducing the new Senior Pastor soon.

I know you will want to celebrate Rev. Richard’s ministry. The Staff Parish Relations Committee will announce a time for the celebration of the ministry of Lance and Rachel Richards in the coming weeks, as well as the date of Rev. Richards last Sunday.

FUMC, Houston is an important church to the Texas Conference and to The United Methodist Church. Its rich history and place in the denomination has always been a gift to the kingdom of God. I will continue to pray for each of you as I always have. May the peace of Christ be with each of you.

In Christ,

Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey

When I was appointed to serve as your Senior Pastor in 2022, I gave myself completely to you and to the work that God was calling us to do. Together we have navigated many challenges such as addressing debt, operating under a balanced budget, reducing staff, streamlining operations, developing and adopting a three-year Strategic Plan, and consolidating all our Sunday morning ministries onto our Downtown campus.

God has brought us so far in three years. We are more united, more aligned, and more vibrant than we have been in some time, and that is due to the goodness of God – and to your great faithfulness. Our church is pointed in a good direction and poised for our next season of growth, renewal, and fruitfulness. I am so grateful for you.

I was surprised to learn that God is calling me to a new season of ministry at A&M United Methodist Church in College Station beginning July 1. Neither I nor the leadership of our church requested this move. As clergy, we serve in an itinerate system and are appointed year to year. Openings at churches in our Annual Conference create moves that impact many other churches. In my particular case, an unexpected retirement created a series of moves and I was identified as one who was needed in another place.

I have seen God work through our appointive system time and time again. I trust the system – our Bishop and Cabinet leadership – knowing that our God who has called me to another place has the next right leader in mind for us at First UMC.

I ask that you, too, trust in the process that will lead to the appointment of your next Senior Pastor. Our District Superintendent will be meeting with our Staff Parish Relations Committee to develop a profile that will lead to the selection of the right leader for our church. We have a great group of leaders on the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) who are representative of our entire congregation, and I trust that they will lift up the perfect qualities needed in your next Senior Pastor.

There is still much work to be done before my time here comes to an end. I will keep my hand to the plow until the moving truck comes! We will have time to celebrate and grieve together.

For now, I want you to know that I love you and have treasured my time as your Pastor. Serving at First UMC has been a dream come true for me, and I will carry the relationships I have made with you here wherever I go. You are so special and important to me; and you will be a blessing to your next Pastor, just as you have been to my family.

Please join me in praying for your next Senior Pastor, for our SPRC as they do good work, and for our Bishop and Cabinet as they discern the next right leader for our church. I know that God already knows who will come, and that your new Pastor will have the perfect gifts to take this church to the new heights in your next chapter. In the words of John Wesley, “the best of all is, God is with us.”

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in the days, months, weeks, and years ahead!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Pastor Lance
Rev. Lance Richards
Senior Pastor
[email protected]