REACH - State of the church 2026

Introduction/Scripture

Ephesians 3:14–21 NIV

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Pray.

Opening:

Three years ago, I kneeled right here as Superintendent, Rev. Jim Welch, installed/ laid hands on me with the leaders of the church and I became the lead pastor of First Methodist Conroe. I looked back at my journal to that time and some of the things I prayed were interesting…

2025 Goals (Courageous):

Discipleship

Missions

Invitation

Generosity/Stewardship

Courageous Discipleship:

114 people in Catechism

70 people in Wesleyan small groups

75 children (Growth in Day school relationships)

75 students (18 in Casa de Fe + about 50 in Conroe)

Baptized 13 people (7 students or adults)

Courageous Missions:

Designed a missions strategy:

“Missions is the active participation in God’s redemptive work in the world. We embrace our mission as a holistic expression of faith—proclaiming Christ, serving our neighbors, and pursuing the renewal of all things in love. We are a Global Methodist community, called by the Spirit to reach our neighbors, serve the vulnerable, and shape disciples who love Jesus and live His mission—from our streets to the ends of the earth.”

Approved

Affiliates

Partners

Different levels of missional relationsips. Identifies strategic missional focus areas.

Impacted 1000 with:

food

toys for christmas

homebound

hygiene hits for unsheltered

First FAM

Casa de Fe: homeless, girls shelter (baptism)

Courageous Invitation:

Worship Attendance is over 800 (550 3 years ago)

Christmas Eve: 1555 (largest in a decade?)

TWH: 166 in worship, a new high

119 new members at FMC (over 100 per year for three years)

Christmas Festival: 750 people from the community, vendors, and more community connections

Courageous Generosity (Stewardship):

Projecting now a $300K+ surplus from 2025

Believing Together:

$4.72M raised of our 5 Million goal

I am excited to share that we have paid off the land and the preconstruction financing load we had with Texas Methodist Foundation. This is due to the generosity early in the Believing Together Campaign. We are debt free before we take the next step with the construction financing (I anticipate that soon in the first quarter)

Financial Audit: A great Review of controls, policies, and financial strength. We got a great review with minor suggestions

7 days a week church:

church of God

i9 Sports: (football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, basketball) …

Conroe ISD, Montgomery county choral society, sympony

In Q2/Q3 alone we received $48,000 in revenue from rentals that helps us to do other things in ministry

2026 Reach

Branding: 3 Campuses, 1 church

Family of brands, building for the future, website, social media, etc

Believing Together Projects

Wesley Kitchen, kidlife, studentlife, a/v in this space, signage/branding

saw the first swing at things with striping of parking lot this week

And of course, a shovel in the ground at TWH

LIFE: Discipleship Pathway

i9 Ministry strategy

More Wesleyan styled discipleship groups

Leadership development/Investing in others

Missions

More people in missions, increasing education, missional spending

REACH

New people for Christ, new members, new people at each campus

Denominational Leaders:

242 Conference (250 young people considering a call into vocational ministry)

Hispanic Initiative Conference (January)

3 Delegates to South Africa in the fall

Ephesians 3 has been a prayer for us for a couple of years now and it is a place for us to begin our series. REACH is about mission and vision, but before we REACH in mission and vision, we have to REACH for the one who gives us Mission and Vision.

Vision and Mission Begins with Wonder, Not Worry

Paul says God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

Not slightly more. Not cautiously more. Not responsibly more.

Immeasurably more.

Most of us are trained—especially as leaders, planners, and stewards—to be realistic. We ask questions like:

What can we afford?

What is safe?

What is sustainable?

What is reasonable?

Those are good questions. But they are not first questions.

The first question of stewardship is not “What do we have?” The first question is “Who is our God?”

When Mission starts with fear, it shrinks. When Mission starts with faith, it expands.

Paul is saying: before you measure resources, remember the God who supplies them.

God’s Power Is Already at Work Among Us

Notice where Paul says God’s power is at work:

Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Not someday. Not somewhere else. Not in a different church.

Within us.

That means this vision for reaching forward is not about importing something new. It’s about releasing what God has already placed among His people.

Faith already present

Gifts already given

Generosity already practiced

Leadership already forming

Passion already stirring

REACH is not about becoming a different church. It’s about becoming more fully who God has already called us to be.

God’s Glory Has a Location: the Church

Paul says something bold here:

Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God’s glory is not just abstract. It is not just private. It has a location.

The church.

That means when the church is faithful—when it reaches, stretches, serves, gives, loves, builds, disciples, and sends—God is glorified.

So when we talk about:

Aligning as one church across three campuses

Building spaces for ministry

Creating clearer discipleship pathways

Expanding outreach and mission

Activating more people in service

We are not talking about institutional survival. We are talking about God’s glory made visible.

We Are Stewards for the Sake of Generations

Paul ends by saying:

Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

This is not about us alone. This is about those who will come after us.

Every generation decides whether it will:

Protect what it inherited or

Prepare what it was entrusted with

Stewardship asks a generational question: Will the church be stronger, more faithful, and more effective because we were here?

REACH is about preparing space—for:

New disciples

New families

New leaders

New ministries

New stories of God’s grace

Before We Reach Out, We Reach Up

So this first week, we are not asking for commitments.

(A word about commitment Sunday: January 25th

We are not making our commitments just yet…

This week, we do one thing:

We reach up.

We lift our eyes to the God who is able. We open our hearts to the God who is at work. We expand our faith to match His imagination.

Because Mission that doesn’t begin in worship becomes pressure. But Mission (or commissioning) that begins in worship becomes joy.

Invitation / Response

So here is the invitation for this week—not to give, but to pray.

To pray this simple prayer:

“God, expand my imagination for what You want to do through Your church.”

Pray it as individuals. Pray it as families. Pray it as leaders. Pray it as a church.

Church, this is our moment to believe again. To dream again. To trust again.

Not in our strength. Not in our resources. But in the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

To Him be glory. In the church. For generations to come.

Amen.