2 more churches join
welcoming-congregation list

Two more Southwest Texas churches joined the list of certified welcoming congregations last month.
Bend UMC, Kerrville District, was certified Feb. 16.
St. Luke UMC, Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi District, was certified Feb. 22.
The Southwest Texas Conference now has 112 certified welcoming congregations. That total is the most of any
conference in the United States.
The count of welcoming congregations by district now stands at Austin, 19; Corpus Christi, 23; Kerrville, 16; McAllen, 23; San Angelo, 7; San Antonio, 15; and Victoria, 9.
Granted by the General Commission on Communication, certification means a congregation has systematically evaluated its hospitality and intentionally embraced a lifestyle of welcoming newcomers. Certification must be renewed annually.
Conference Lay Leader Jay Brim called on district lay leaders last June to help current welcoming
congregations renew their certifications.
Brim challenged district lay leaders to inspire at least half the remaining churches in their districts to be certified before the June 6-9 annual conference session in Corpus Christi.
The certification program is part of the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign. The goal is to help congregations do a better job of relating to visitors and encouraging them to return.
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.
To earn recertification, welcoming congregations must earn an additional 100 points doing things they didn’t do the first year.
Checklists are available at ignitingministry.org or umcswtx.org.
District superintendents must sign each checklist to confirm the information reported.