Count of welcoming congregations passes 100

The Southwest Texas Conference now has 101 certified welcoming congregations.
That total—29 percent of the 344 local churches in Southwest Texas—is the most of any conference in the United States.
Four more Southwest Texas churches joined the list of welcoming congregations in mid January.
In addition, Universal City UMC renewed its certification for the second straight year.
Welcoming certification must be renewed annually.
New welcoming congregations are:
> Grace UMC, Granite Shoals, Kerrville District, certified Jan. 16.
> The Rock UMC, Cedar Park, Austin District, certified Jan. 17.
> First UMC, Sinton, Corpus Christi District, certified Jan. 17.
> Ingleside UMC, Corpus Christi District, certified Jan. 17.
The count of welcoming congregations by district now stands at Austin, 18; Corpus Christi, 16; Kerrville, 15; McAllen, 21; San Angelo, 7; San Antonio, 15; and Victoria, 9.
Conference Lay Leader Jay Brim called on district lay leaders in June to help current welcoming congregations renew their certifications.
Brim challenged lay leaders to inspire at least half the remaining churches in their districts to be certified before next June.
Granted by the General Commission on Communication, certification means a congregation has systematically evaluated its hospitality and intentionally embraced a lifestyle of welcoming newcomers.
The certification program is part of the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign. Certified congregations earn a plaque and a special designation in the “Find a church” database at www.unitedmethodist.org.
To earn certification, congregations must qualify for at least 100 points on a yearly checklist of welcoming activities. Those activities include designating a welcoming coordinator, training church members in welcoming techniques and doing various things around the church to make it more welcoming to visitors.
Checklists are available at ignitingministry.org or umcswtx.org.
District superintendents must sign each checklist to confirm the information reported.