Evangelism Resources

The smell of coffee adds a rich flavor to evangelism near San Antonio, Texas. Two years ago Alamo Heights United Methodist Church with new church start Riverside Community Church started a coffee house ministry called "The Loft."  According to Robert C. Scott, a member of Alamo Heights UMC and member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Methodist Foundation, "We were led to open a coffee house ministry where there is little "overt" religion in the signage or furnishings of the coffee house but people are loved into relationship.” The Loft provides a place for a relational evangelism style. Riverside Community Church started with a Wednesday night service, which moved from a hay barn to a local school cafeteria. The average attendance numbers over 150 persons, many with little or no church background. Riverside Community Church has also started a food, clothing, furniture, pantry and general help ministry called “The Hope Center.”

The story of Riverside Community Church and “The Loft” can be traced back to when Alamo Heights United Methodist Church moved from a campus of 81 years to a new campus one mile north. After a time of prayer and reflection, the church engaged a new kind of expansion. Alamo Heights UMC moved from the original 2.2 acre lot to a new 13 acre lot with an 87,000 square foot building. Since this move, both attendance and membership have more than doubled.  Alamo Heights UMC now has more than 5,000 members with a clear “outwardly” focused church. Two years ago Alamo Heights UMC was called to help start the new Riverside Community Church plant 22 miles north in a rural area near San Antonio.

The Texas Methodist Foundation is the largest Methodist Foundation in the United States. The Texas Methodist Foundation focuses on making loans to churches to help develop financial plans and funding capital building plans and other productive church development. Grants have also been made to children in poverty ministries, clergy leadership development, healthy and effective personal and professional lives, and facilitating strategic planning in local congregations. Scott shared, "The Texas Methodist Foundation is now looking to broaden our assistance to churches by facilitating strategic planning in local congregations, identifying where and how the Holy Spirit is working.  We believe that perpetuation of the status quo is not enough and that changes in methods of evangelism in the UMC can best come from local congregations. A pilot program is being developed and will be implemented within the next few months."

When asked about evangelism in today’s church, Scott said, “I believe that we have always been evangelistic and God continues to call us to act as His people in the world, making disciples for Him. As Wesley shared, we have "Nothing to do but save souls."  We must be willing and able to see God as we may not have seen Him before.  We, as a church, have been blessed with many resources.  To use them wisely, we must first discover what God wants of each one of us.”

Related Links:
The Loft Coffee House, http://www.loftcoffee.com
Riverside Community Church, http://www.theriversidecommunity.com
Alamo Heights UMC, http://www.ahumc.org
Texas Methodist Foundation, http://www.tmf-fdn.org

Dr. Jerome Smith is pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Tabor City, NC