Rob Morris, Pastor’s Assistant; The Rev. Andrew Cooney, Pastor
Exit 146, from John 14:6, is a creative worship experience developed with and for teens and young adults. Meeting at a high school on Sunday evenings, the ministry, launched in 2003 by First UMC, features praise rock music, skits, contemporary-style worship and Bible study geared to the concerns and characteristics of young people.

Mike Albro, Director of Recovery Ministries; The Rev. George Earle, Pastor
Centennial UMC launched a new faith community in 2002 to welcome and engage its downtown neighbors – some homeless, some well-to-do – many who seek recovery and deliverance from various addictions. The growing congregation worships on Saturday evenings in the church’s downstairs theater, offering inspiring praise music, preaching, food and fellowship, plus a mid-week Celebrate Recovery support-group ministry.

The Rev. Matthew Poole, Pastor
This new church, launched two years ago, meets at the Maryland Sheriff’s Youth Ranch, where the congregation forms mentoring relationships with young residents of the group foster home. Three quarters
of the members – many of them young families moving into the area – were not part of any faith community prior to joining Faithpoint.

Juan David Rocha, Pastor; Carlos Mesa, Pastor’s Assistant
In one year, Camino de Vida (Way of Life) grew from a group of seven people meeting in the pastor’s home to 65 people worshiping at Epworth Hall in the Asbury Village retirement community. This new faith community, led by a Wesley Seminary student, partners in outreach with Asbury Village, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and area schools and churches. It is already planting seeds to form faith communities in upper Montgomery County.

The Rev. Brindice Muñoz, Pastor
Now in it 22nd year, this small congregation, which meets at Bethesda UMC, continues to nurture and send forth leaders like those who are developing Hispanic/Latino ministries in Gaithersburg, Laurel, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The mission also cosponsors the Ayuda Especial Ministry that offers English language classes and other assistance to immigrants at Epworth UMC in Gaithersburg.

The Rev. Joseph Daniels, Pastor; Yvonne Brown, Director
Emory UMC’s non-profit community outreach and development ministry is just one way the church has chosen to engage and empower its neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ. The ministry provides a day care and pre-school program, transitional housing for homeless families, a computer learning lab and legal help and hospitality for immigrants through the conference’s Justice for Our Neighbors program.

The Rev. Bernardo Lourenco, Assistant Pastor (left); The Rev. John M’Akwalu, Pastor
This multi-cultural, multi-ethnic neighborhood is the site of a vital congregation whose worship, education and outreach ministries are conducted in five languages. The newly formed Friends of Casa is a partnership of many United Methodist churches whose mission is to help serve the needs of this immigrant community. Plans are underway to completely renovate the building.

The Rev. Alex Karakacheyev and the Rev. Victoria Karakacheyev, Pastors
We celebrate with Alex and Victoria their graduation from Wesley Theological Seminary in May 2003. While students and new Christians, they led the development of a new faith community with Russian-speaking persons living in the Washington area. In a partnership with Foundry UMC, this faith community expects to be chartered as a church in the next few years. Ministries currently include worship, Bible study, Saturday school, a chartered United Methodist Women’s group and a choir.

Pastor Jaun David Rocha, Coordinator
Hispanic/Latino residents compose the fastest growing population within the conference boundaries. The Board of Congregational Life temporarily funds the work of a coordinator who assists in the development of Hispanic/Latino faith communities throughout the conference. The Conference Hispanic/Latino Committee recommends to the 2004 annual conference that the staff position be made permanent in July 2005 when its BCL grant ends.
 

The Rev. Charles Wilson, Pastor
In its fifth year, the congregation is about to grow and expand its ministries of worship, education and community outreach as it occupies its first new building, a doublewide trailer. For the past two years worship has been held in the lay leader’s home. The new building will give the church more visibility and effectiveness in ministry to a racially diverse, mixed-income community with many needs.
 

The Rev. William G. Brown, Pastor; William Jones, Pastor’s Assistant
Following the strategy of forming a new faith community as an extension of an existing congregation, the Epworth leadership is reaching out to teens and young adults who are not currently involved in any faith community.
 

The Rev. Fidel Comprés, Pastor
Located in the heart of the Hispanic/Latino community of Baltimore City, this new church start continues to
serve new immigrants through its worship, education and outreach ministries. The mission offers an immigration legal aid clinic through Justice for Our Neighbors, English-as-a-second-language classes and pastoral care.

The Rev. André Johnson, Pastor
In September 2003, Johnson was appointed pastor and by November, 10 people were worshiping and meeting for Bible study. The congregation meets at a renovated funeral home across the street from property owned and set aside by the conference for development of this congregation. During the week, the pastor and members distribute food and household items in a four-block area, as they evangelize and invite residents to join their new group of disciples.
 

The Rev. Cynthia Belt, Pastor
This newly chartered church, which began with 20 4th- and 5th-grade girls five years ago, continues to worship in a rented school gymnasium on Sundays and to meet under a tent each summer as a Saving Station. Speaking the language of the people, this growing congregation of youth and adults in a struggling urban community offers a steadfast expression of love in a place where other churches have come and gone.
 

The Rev. Evan Young, Pastor
Celebrating its 4th anniversary in 2004, this congregation continues to grow in its discipleship, worship and outreach ministries. Seventy-five percent of the members were not part of any faith community before joining. The church is located in the Maryland Science and Technology Center.

The Rev. Stephen Tillett, Pastor
This ministry, with three pastoral assistants, is reaching into neighborhoods as an extension of the congregation’s outreach to evangelize and form small house groups. It offers a multi-site approach to evangelization of a community through Bible study and other ministries.
 

The Rev. Antoine Love, Pastor; Deaconess Carolyn Anderson, Minister of Discipleship
Chartered at the 2003 annual conference, this new church experienced a change of pastors in January 2004 and has not missed a step in the development of its expanding worship, Christian education and outreach ministries. Meeting in the Smallwood Shopping Center, the congregation continues to draw new members who, like a majority of the charter members, were previously not involved in any faith community.

The Rev. Mike Sharp, Director
Saving Stations are a vital part of our conference’s ministry. The tents, high-tech audiovisual equipment and chairs are made available to any congregation wanting to get outside its walls to offer worship, vacation Bible school, or other innovative ministries as a way to engage persons who would not necessarily come inside its building. The director is available to assist in the development of strategies.