Diamond Hill United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, is the quintessential connectional church story. Three years ago it was an amalgam of needs: a dying church in an impoverished Hispanic inner city community, its cobweb-filled rooms a stark reminder that it was as abandoned as the neighborhood surrounding it.

Today those rooms have been transformed into brightly lit places of worship, learning, and fellowship, due to the unflagging leadership of their pastor, the Rev. Margaret Stratton, and to the tireless efforts of volunteers from sister United Methodist churches. But the metamorphosis that occurred in those rooms is miniscule when compared to what has happened in the lives of the people in the neighborhood, the volunteers from other churches, and the members of the church.

That change is seen mostdramatically in relationships, such as the one that has grown between Stratton and Gaye Fuller, who began as a volunteer from the First UMC Fort Worth Inquirer’s Sunday School Class and is now Chair of Diamond Hill’s Interchurch Mission Board recently sanctioned by the district superintendent at their charge conference. “God prepared her all of her life to help this mission now,” Stratton said of Fuller. “And, personally, I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

Both Stratton and Fuller knew that the problems they encountered were too big to face alone, but in partnership they could make a difference. As Stratton said, “Right outside our walls is a mission field of 40,000 unchurched people within a three-mile radius.” She views her mission at Diamond Hill in evangelistic terms, as an opportunity to share the divine transforming power of the gospel with those around her. She knew that by combining the resources of others, the church could minister to many more people and take on projects that would be daunting for the struggling church alone.

With the support of sister UnitedMethodist churches–Alliance , First Fort Worth, First Hurst, Lake Worth, Overton Park, Trinity, and Westcliff –Diamond Hill began reaching out to the community. The Texas Methodist Foundation assisted with a grant toward the purchase of a bus.

“Now we are on the national mission list which opens us up to full-scale mission work,” Stratton proclaims proudly. “Everything you see here–every toy, piece of furniture, curtain, book, computer– everything–has been donated or built or repaired or worked on by volunteers. Everything you see here is by the grace of God.”

A turning point in the resurrection of Diamond Hill was an outreach breakfast program to meet the hunger needs of the community, consistent with the church’s vision of reaching those in the community. They discovered that as they genuinely went about the job of reaching out and serving those in the community–not accumulating conversions but providing the hope of Christ– people both within and beyond the neighborhood began gravitating toward them. People are drawn to them because they sense that the spirit of a living God is present there. As Ernest Sherrick, one of the volunteers from Lake Worth UMC, said, “If you come to this church and don’t feel the spirit of God, your wood’s wet.”

The neighborhood, stung by one too many well-meaning groups swooping down into their streets to “reform” or “convert” them, was skeptical. But the congregation stepped out in faith, not knowing if anyone would come or, if they did, how the church would sustain the program. Each Monday morning, from March to June, the church doors were opened from 7 to 9 o’clock for volunteers to cook and serve free breakfasts to anyone needing a hot meal. What started as a small group of disciples offering food for the body and soul to four or five people grew into a weekly gathering of more than 100 participants.

In large and small ways–whether through a breakfast program or the décor in the fellowship hall carefully chosen to reflect the Hispanic culture–Diamond Hill has shown the surrounding community that it cares about them, that it is here to stay. And that has made all the difference. The after-school program has grown to an average of 30 children coming for tutorials and Bible study. English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and computer classes are held four nights a week, two weekday mornings and Saturday mornings, equipping individuals in the community with the skills, self-confidence and direction they need to get jobs. Young people have become involved in the life of the church, new educational and outreach programs, such as a thrift shop, have been initiated. The people of the church, even the old-timers, now talk about the future instead of the past.

When Stratton came to Diamond Hill to pastor her first church she was imbued with the Holy Spirit and a belief that if the congregation trusted in God, God would be with them. Under her leadership, as they began responding to the needs of the community, the needs of the church, individually and collectively, began to be answered, as well. An Eagle Scout candidate asked if he could construct a roomful of shelves for them to fulfill part of his Eagle Scout requirements. Beverly Ostrowski, church secretary, discovered on the third day of her new job that the grant that was to pay her salary had not materialized; that was two-and-a-half years ago, and, though the church has seen some very lean times, she has not missed a paycheck yet. Lou Shamblin and Ernest Sherrick met while volunteering at the church and were recently married.

Diamond Hill became a center of collaboration and a microcosm of change and hope for the community. “I think John Wesley would be proud of what is happening at Diamond Hill,” mused Stratton.

For more information on the Texas Methodist Foundation's Grant Program, contact Candy Gross at 1-800-933-5502 or cgross@tmf-fdn.org.