Opportunities to Serve
Volunteer with our Children & youth
Our Children’s and Youth Ministries are always looking for caring adults to be role models for our kids! You can help by being a Sunday school teacher, a second adult for weekly activities, or even the occasional special event volunteering! Children’s Ministries is K-5th grades and Youth Ministries is 6th-12th grades.
All volunteers for children and youth must be ministry-safe certified and background checked.
If you are interested in helping with Children’s Ministries email Childrens@firstmethodist.org to connect with Jen our Children’s Director.
If you are interested in helping with Youth Ministries email laura@firstmethodistsherman.org to connect with Laura our Youth Director.
music opportunities
Through our music programs, we seek to foster an environment of fruitful creativity, fun, and fellowship, all while preparing for various performances. We strive for our music to enhance our worship experiences and deepen our own spiritual connection with God. All are welcome to participate. No auditions or music reading skills required.
For more information contact Jeremy Blackwood, our Director of Music Ministries at 903-893-6514 or jeremy@firstmethodistsherman.org.
care team
Meets the 4th Monday of each month | 9:15am | Room 115
Director: Rev. Joe Ed Goolsby
One of the on-going mission programs at First United Methodist Church of Sherman is our Care Team. As the name implies, the Care Team cares for our sick, home-bound, and grieving members. They work hard to ensure that no member of our church family faces a crisis alone.
The Care Team visits, delivers flowers, and serves Holy Communion to members who are unable to come to church. They send cards on birthdays and anniversaries and other special occasions. The Care Team provides personal care and support for grieving families. They are committed to praying for each person every week.
Contact Joe Ed Goolsby at joeed@firstmethodistsherman.org to get involved.
Fred douglass and Piner Partnership
We think children are so important that we have adopted a local school. We are committed to supporting Fred Douglass Elementary School and Piner middle School. Volunteers help by reading with children, making copies, being a lunch buddy or a teacher’s assistant.
Contact the church office at office@firstmethodistsherman.org for more information.
Family Promise of Grayson County
Through Family Promise of Grayson County (affiliate of the national organization, Family Promise), FUMC-Sherman is partnering with 20 churches in our community to help situational homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence. Family Promise is a 28 year old organization with 180,000 volunteers serving 50,000 people annually.
Impact
Every Family Promise Affiliate provides families experiencing homelessness with not just shelter, but community. Our guests are housed in a warm, welcoming environment, typically in congregational buildings, and hundreds of volunteers in each community participate, bringing meals, staying the night, or playing with children. The outcome is not just cost savings from using these existing resources but the creation of a network that addresses the families’ daily needs. The program gives families hope and confidence, connecting them to community resources and empowering them to independence. That combination is what makes Family Promise unique. The outcome is thousands of families each year going from homeless to sustainably housed.
Making Success Possible
Family Promise is able to provide services at a fraction of the cost of traditional shelter because we use existing resources in the community. We mobilize volunteers to turn the space in congregations into welcoming homes for families while they are in our program. This is where most Family Promise volunteers participate: at a hosting congregation, staying overnight, engaging with families in communal activities, and making meals. These actions are what all of us do every day in our own homes, but they are transformative for homeless families. Our workforce of dedicated volunteers ensures that the needs of the families we serve are met and that, while they may be without homes, they are not without hope.
We empower families. We build communities. We create solutions. We keep parents together with their children. We offer shelter. We offer hope. We offer home.
Our church hosts families for one week, approximately once per quarter (4 weeks per year). There are many opportunities to volunteer to support the program by providing food, and spending time with the guest family.
Visit the Family Promise of Grayson County website for updates on this important program.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” – Hebrews 13:2
Contact us at office@firstmethodistsherman.org
FUMC in partnership with Waples UMC
Early Response Team
About our Program
We formed our Early Response Team program in 2012 for the purpose of providing a Christian response to natural and other disasters. We are organized under the United Methodist Committee on Relief (‘UMCOR”).
We also feel called to support our community by participating in community service projects, primarily in the Grayson County area.
We are required to remain certified under the UMCOR Early Response Training program. Several of us also have Chain Saw certification through UMCOR.
Members of our team are members of our church or another church in Grayson County. Churches that have representatives on our team include First UMC Sherman, Grace UMC, Parkside Baptist, Oak Ridge Baptist, and others.
Not all team members are able to deploy each time our team deploys. We work to maintain a sufficient database of qualified team members so we are able to respond to UMCOR’s request for assistance, or to other churches we have a relationship with. If you are interested in becoming a member of our team, contact our team leader or church staff liaison (contact info below).
Our strengths are primarily tree abatement. Trees on houses and buildings and other tree/brush removal are our specialty. We have also provided support for roof tarping, mucking out flood damage, rebuilding structures and fences, and general debris clean up. We are equipped with a tandem axle covered trailer fully equipped. We also have access to equipment like Bobcats and stump grinders.
What is UMCOR?
As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (‘UMCOR”) strengthens and transforms people and communities. The North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church-Center for Mission Outreach, provides support to churches who want to coordinate an organized response to a disaster. First UMC Sherman worked through the Center for Mission Outreach to send 500 Hygiene Kits to Harvey relief efforts along the Texas Gulf Coast. Grace UMC deploys a team annually to UMCOR’s Sager-Brown supply depot in Baldwin LA.
Early Response Teams provide early assistance to people whose homes have been devastated by a natural or man-made disaster. Their prime responsibility is to make things safe and secure for homeowners who may not have the support system to help them.
Early Response Team training is required to deploy to an UMCOR relief project. Training does not obligate you to participate in any disaster response mission, however the training is good for three years and qualifies the participant to participate in any future disaster response missions.
Contacts
Waples Memorial UMC Church Liaison Kim Huff (kim@waplesumc.org; 903-465-3350)
Team Leader Gary Hale (garyhale@cableone.net)
First United Methodist Church Liaison Mike Grubb (mikegrubb58@gmail.com)
Grace United Methodist Church Liaison Tom Busby (tom@busbysweb.com)