Small church outreach reaps big rewards

At Oak Park UMC, Corpus Christi, two $255 scholarships began a community outreach that has helped nearly triple the size of this small congregation.
Attendance has increased from only 12 people in 2002 to an average of 35.
Oak Park’s United Methodist Women started the outreach when they awarded the scholarships funded by a fall 2003 banquet.
The women contacted sister UMW groups and friends from other churches within a 20-minute drive. Together with eight other churches, the churchwomen sold 90 tickets for the banquet.
Kattia Garcia, wife of the Rev. Edward Garcia, Oak Park pastor, said, “We just learned to be creative as far as asking people to help us. We told them every cent would go to scholarships.”
Oak Park United Methodist Men also contributed to the scholarship fund.
Additional scholarship banquets are planned. For more information about how this small church makes a big difference in the community, contact Kattia Garcia at edwkat@ juno.com.