3 more congregations
earn welcoming certification

Three Austin District churches joined the list of welcoming congregations this month.
The Southwest Texas Conference now has 84 certified welcoming congregations. That’s the most of any conference in the United States.
In addition, First UMC, Yorktown, in the Corpus Christi District, renewed its certification Nov. 13 for the second straight year. Welcoming certification must be renewed annually.
New welcoming congregations are:
> Grace UMC, Austin, certified Nov. 14.
> Westlake UMC, Austin, certified Nov. 14.
> First UMC, La Grange, certified Nov. 15.
The count of welcoming congregations by district now stands at Austin, 14; Corpus Christi, 9; Kerrville, 12; McAllen, 21; San Angelo, 7; San Antonio, 12; and Victoria, 8.
Lay Leader Jay Brim, a member of Westlake UMC, Austin, called on district lay leaders in June to help all current welcoming congregations renew their certifications this year. He challenged leaders to inspire at least half the remaining churches in their districts to be certified.
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.