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The Oklahoma United Methodist Contact
December 13, 2023
Two Oklahoma UMCs awarded grants for Testimony HQ initiative • The Way, The Truth, and The Life Christian Church, Dallas These 11 congregations were selected from applications DALLAS (SMU) – The Lilly submitted from churches within a Endowment-funded initiative 350-mile radius of Dallas. at Perkins School of Theology, “We carefully studied every “Testimony HQ,” has selected church’s application and were 11 congregations for the third inspired by the stories of resilience and final cohort of developing thriving congregations through the and creativity in many ministry practice of testimony as community contexts,” said Rev. Dr. Edgar Bazan, Testimony HQ Advisory engagement. Board Member and Senior Pastor, The cohort includes: New World United Methodist • Ceili Community United Church, in Garland, Texas. Methodist Church, Oklahoma The cohort congregations will City, Okla. • First Christian Church, Aransas each receive up to $5,000 in grant funding to support their Testimony Pass, Texas • First Rowlett United Methodist HQ work from January through December 2024. Church, Rowlett, Texas NEWS RELEASE
• First United Methodist Church, Lubbock, Texas • First United Methodist Church, Searcy, Ark. • Iglesia Cristiana Bethel, Garland, Texas • Market Street United Methodist Church, Eustace, Texas • New Light United Methodist Church, Lawton, Okla. • St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Houston • The Springs Church of Christ, Edmond, Okla.
About the Testimony HQ Initiative SMU is one of 92 organizations funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world. The grants will support
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organizations as they work directly with congregations and help them gain clarity about their values and missions; explore and understand better the communities in which they serve; and draw upon their theological traditions as they adapt ministries to meet changing needs. Over the five-year course of the grant, the Testimony HQ program will help 27 congregations master how to utilize testimony as community engagement; lead each cohort congregation in four concentric circles of learning communities; and establish the grant website (testimonyhq.com) as the vehicle for sharing resources, such as podcasts, webinars, downloadable resources and written materials. Rev. Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison, Research Professor of Practical Theology, and Bart Patton Director of the Office of External Programs, are the co-principal investigators on the grant. This is the second Lilly Endowment grant awarded to SMU to fund the work of Patton and Pope-Levison; the first was a $1 million grant awarded in 2018 to strengthen congregational ministries with youth.
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