Message from the Executive Director Sid Johnston

Thank you for visiting our website. I’m honored to be a part of this great Church and enjoy serving you as Executive Director of the Foundation.

The purpose of the Foundation is – and always will be – to assist in preserving the church’s magnificent facilities and supporting the vital programs and ministries of the church body.

If you have any questions about our Foundation, or would like to make a donation, please feel free to contact me personally. My phone and email are under the Contact Us button above.

May God bless you.

Sid Johnston, Blog Posting June 15, 2017:

Thanking the Lord for Sunshine, Children & Summertime

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised”

Psalm 113:3

Throughout the halls this week at First United Methodist Church, the sound of children laughing is in abundance for various summer children’s programs. After a brief absence during the winter and spring months, summer has at long last arrived bringing with it the return of children in the 11:00 am service each Sunday.

While watching the children of the Church frolic among the Church grounds throughout the week and on Sundays, it occurred to me just how wonderful it to have a common ground for children and families to worship the Lord in all His glory. The Church property always shines but it shines brightest on a sunny day. Luckily for all the children at the Church this week, we’ve had beautiful sunshine all week for the children to bask in and learn about our wonderful Savior.

Did you know that some of the Foundation’s yearly distribution not only funds the children’s programs at the Church but also towards the upkeep of the Church’s beautiful grounds? We specifically have 2 funds that are devoted to funding these two programs of the Church. Additionally, a large part of the $1.9 million given to the Church each year from the Foundation goes to assisting the maintenance of the Church grounds. The specific use of the money given to the Church is up to the Church’s discretion. However, over the past decade, the Church administration has consistently used a portion of the distribution for the upkeep of the beautiful property that FUMC calls home for those that wish to sing God’s praises – from young to wise-with-age.

The Foundation strives to continue providing the funding for such programs as property maintenance and Children’s worship for generations to come, just as the original creators of the Foundation intended. We often have people that are so keen on celebrating our children’s worship programs that they give directly to the fund within the Foundation. And we have Church members ask, is that possible? Can you give directly to a certain fund? YES! You can! Whether you give to the Foundation through the general Foundation fund (month, yearly contributions, etc.), through your estate planning, or directly to a certain fund, the Foundation makes yearly distributions to support all the Church’s programs including the children’s worship and property maintenance.

If you would like to learn more about giving to a certain fund within the Foundation or about how to donate to the Foundation general fund through monthly or yearly contributions, please contact the Foundation offices at 817.336.5698 or at fmc@fmcfoundation.org. We are so blessed and thankful that the children of the Church have such glorious grounds to worship and praise the Lord during the summer days where worries are few and far between. Let us give praise to the Lord for providing the abundance of wealth within the Foundation to continue providing for the Church for decades to come.