Special events draw visitors to churches across conference

Corpus Christi UMC
sees big jump in kids
during September

By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
The Rev. Harold Onwiler said he couldn’t recall any members of his Corpus Christi congregation getting excited about September Open House Month.
Events the previous month had exhausted the handful of leaders at St. Peter’s by the Sea UMC. August passed too quickly to plan special events for September. And most of the invitations printed to bring visitors to church remained in a pile on one table.
But then Onwiler remembered the children.
The few effective invitations that the 77 members of his congregation had handed out, Onwiler said, were primarily to young families.
“Something really important happened during September,” Onwiler wrote in his church newsletter. “We experienced the joy of having children in our midst once again. Wasn’t it wonderful? We can sustain that wonderful experience. All we have to do is continue to extend invitations to join us in worship and then really make our guests—children and adults—feel welcome and valued.
“Perhaps September has been a turning point in the life of our congregation and a major step forward in our process of transition and transformation. Let us work and pray that it shall be so.”
While the nursery at St. Peter’s by the Sea typically draws only two or three babies and toddlers, Onwiler said, the count grew to nine several Sundays in September. The children’s department hit a high of 24 children, he added.
“We have not seen children like this since I’ve been here,” said Onwiler, who was appointed to serve the congregation in 2006.
Other Southwest Texas congregations are also reporting increased visitor counts for September. They are attributing those increases in part to Open House Month events and a renewed focus on inviting and welcoming visitors to worship.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez has proclaimed each September through 2008 as a time for Southwest Texas congregations to plan special events that might attract visitors. Open House Month is one of three efforts in the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign.
Pastor K. Vanessa LeVine of Shepherd’s Gate Community UMC, San Antonio, said the congregation’s first new members came as a result of a community outreach event, though it was not done in conjunction with Open House Month.
She said she is hoping that the three events Shepherd’s Gate offered in September might encourage visitors to try out the church.
“We’re hoping that we can build a sense of trust and camaraderie with the community,” LeVine said. “We hope they can understand that we are here to serve them, that we want to be an asset in the community and that we love them and care about what’s happening to them and their future.
“Sometimes you gain a few regular visitors or members. We just want to reach out and invite the community in, and we’ve seen a positive response.”
Shepherd’s Gate leaders organized a gospel choir concert; La Noche Mexicana, celebrating Mexican Independence Day; and an information session with Project Quest, which helps provide education scholarships to residents of the area.
Carol Sutton, secretary of Wesley UMC, Corpus Christi, said the church’s picnic under the stars musical Sept. 21 and 22 brought several visitors the following Sunday and encouraged a former member to return.
The Rev. Sharon Stewart, associate pastor of Coker UMC, San Antonio, said that the 20 parking spots designated for visitors were filled during the church’s Sept. 16-19 revival with Johnny Hobbs.
“We had a full house pretty much every night of the revival,” she said. “It turned out well. People’s hearts were rekindled.”
People came down to the front for prayer or rededications every night, Stewart added.
The church provided transportation for residents from the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries shelter to the revival and had a van pick up seniors from one retirement home.
It’s still too early to tell if Coker will gain members from the event, Stewart said, but the church has seen some visitors.
“It provided us with visibility,” she said. “And it was just so exciting to see people welcoming and happy to be there. The spirit was really there.”
More than 200 people showed up for the free dinner each night, she added.
Joey Glowka of Oak Island UMC, San Antonio, said 26 people took part in the church’s blood drive. Leaders started a Kids Night Out program with nine children Sept. 12 and had 30 the second night, she added.
“There were quite a number of (children) from the community who did not attend church regularly,” Glowka said.
An event unconnected with Open House Month—a funeral—brought a couple of new families to church, Glowka said.
“You can’t tell in a community like ours just what brings people in,” she said. “We hope (these events) will make them more aware that we’re here and we are always welcoming visitors.”