Flint Hill Tries Some New and "Tried and Proven" Outreach Ministries

Flint Hill UMC in the Alex City area has been working to reach out to the community in some new ways while also using some of the tried and proven methods. On the last Sunday in June, the church held a service of wedding vow renewal and invited the entire community to participate.

The fellowship ministry team decorated the entire sanctuary and fellowship hall for the occasion and even went as far as to have a very beautiful and tasty “wedding cake” for the occasion. The outreach team also advertised the day on local television and papers. Pastor Dee Dowdy delivered a message concerning family dynamics and then led participants in renewing their vows. Over 17 couples participated in this joyous time.

In July, the church held its annual VBS program called “Joseph’s story: From Prison to Palace.” This VBS program featured one church member who played the part of Joseph and told his story to the children each night. The children also learned various praise songs (and dance moves) while in the sanctuary. After that, they went down to the fellowship hall where various “vendors” from Joseph’s time told children stories as they made various crafts including homemade bricks, colored sand bottles and other things.

The event ended on Sunday morning when the children sang the songs and performed their dance moves. There were over 30 children from the community who participated.

In August, the church plans to be involved in outreach by going with several other local UM’s to “Bridges of Faith” in Millbrook to help it prepare for the next group of orphans that will be arriving from the Ukraine. Also, in that same month, the church will host a meal to honor the teachers and staff from a local elementary school. As part of this ministry, they plan to purchase and present to the teachers with needed items for the year that the teachers normally have to buy themselves.