Connecting United Methodist Resources with the Purpose of God’s Church

In frontier Texas many Methodists traveled far and wide to open-air rough board “tabernacles,” to share their common need for one another and deep longing to glorify God for a magnificent world of abundance surrounding them on all sides. Not yet a fully established institution, “church” was a community of people gathered in to worship God, so they could go out and serve God’s people in the world.

Many years later, the Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) was begun during the Great Depression when, as in earlier times, the church’s essential purpose was clear and compelling. The church offered what could never - in times of want or wealth - be given or taken away: the love of God which leads to the love of neighbor. Recognizing the crucial role the church played in improving their world, a group of active, forward-thinking United Methodist clergy and laity representing the annual conferences in Texas sought to protect the church from fluctuating economies by establishing TMF to promote long-term financial stability.

We’ve grown substantially since our beginning in 1938. But those early worshippers’ and our founders’ vision for the church continues to inform our own: healthy, vital, vigorous congregations witnessing to a God of abundance who has blessed us with a fruitful world in the hope that we will use it for God’s purposes.

Our methods for achieving that outcome have expanded over the years. In our work with our constituents in the conferences we serve, we’ve discovered that churches not only need financial resources - they need strong clergy and lay leadership to guide congregations in discerning how to use their resources to fulfill their church’s purpose in their unique mission field.

Explore here some of the ways we are supporting congregations in “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”