4 more churches earn welcoming-congregation status



Four more Southwest Texas Conference churches joined the list of certified welcoming congregation in recent weeks.
In addition, Man-or UMC in the Austin District renewed its certification June 22. Welcoming certification
must be renewed annually.
New welcoming congregations are:
> First UMC, Cedar Park, Austin District, certified June 4.
> New Hope UMC, Converse, San Antonio District, certified June 6.
> St. Paul UMC, Columbus, Victoria District, certified June 25.
> First UMC, Raymondville, McAllen District, certified July 5.
The Southwest Texas Conference now has 132 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, 28; Corpus Christi, 26; Kerrville, 17; McAllen, 26; San Angelo, 7; San Antonio, 17; and Victoria, 11.
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. 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 www.ignitingministry.org.
District superintendents sign checklists to confirm reported information.