WHAT WE BELIEVE
ST. LUKE’S VISION:
A City Transformed By the Love of Jesus
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. …These twelve Jesus sent out…
–Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a
And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven… –Revelation 21:2
The Bible’s story of God’s love for us begins in a garden but it ends in a city – the City of God. Here at St. Luke’s, all in our family of ministries share the same vision – A City Transformed by the Love of Jesus. We believe we are here for a reason: to be sent by Jesus, motivated by his love, to bring about God’s preferred future for the city in which we have been placed, and to invite people to be a part of the City of God.
The City of Houston – Our primary mission field
Houston, Texas is our primary mission field. God tells the prophet Jeremiah to “seek the welfare of the city to which I have sent you.” (Jeremiah 29:7) God tells the prophet Isaiah that the people will return home to Jerusalem and be “repairers of the breach, and restorers of streets to live in.” (Isaiah 58:12) Houston is our home, and we love this city, and our calling is to be an instrument of its transformation both socially and spiritually.
The City on a Hill – the Church
Jesus tells us that we are “the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14) Our vision is a community that models the love of Jesus in the way we love one another. All are welcomed here, and we seek to show the world what Christian love looks like. St. Luke’s is to be a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.
The City of God – God’s ultimate future
We believe that one day, God will restore his creation, that the broken places of the world will be healed, and that all will know of Jesus’ love for them. We strive to be a tangible sign to all, pointing them to the hope they have in Christ.
ST. LUKE’S MISSION:
To Equip Families and Individuals To Live and Love Like Jesus
And Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. –Matthew 4:19-20
Jesus didn’t give us a rule book. Instead, he said, “follow me.” He invited his disciples, and you and me, to let him show us how to live, to let him show us how to love others. So, in order to accomplish our vision of a city transformed by the love of Jesus, this is the mission of St. Luke’s church.
TO EQUIP
Paul writes to the Ephesians that God gave the Holy Spirit to the church “to equip the saints (you and me) for the work of ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12a) While it is the Holy Spirit that changes lives, it is our mission to provide the resources for participants in our ministry to grow and use their gifts in service.
FAMILIES & INDIVIDUALS
Jesus reached out to all kinds of people. Everybody is welcome at St. Luke’s church, and God has a purpose for each one of us. We help people to move forward on their Christian journey, from cradle to grave. We feel a special calling to support families in the work of shaping the next generation of Christians. This is the business of everyone in our church, as we seek to build relationships across generational lines.
TO LIVE & LOVE LIKE JESUS
Jesus invited his disciples to “Follow me.” He took disciples along on his travels to show them a particular way of life, a particular way of loving others, all the way to the cross. He called on them to live and serve and love as he did. We believe this is the way God uses us to help realize the vision – a city transformed by the love of Jesus.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
Being the Church in a Changing World
Love our City | Radiate Christian Leadership into Our Communities
But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” … And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. Luke 9:13,16
We will develop leaders and send them into their communities to lead transformational change.
- Grow and strengthen Christian leadership development opportunities, including
- Working faith: to integrate faith and work for those in the career phase of their lives.
- Rooted: to grow Christ followers of all life stages, equipping them to lead like Jesus and transform their families, their community and Houston.
- Launch a coalition of Christ-centered non-profit and church outreach partners for training, volunteers, community needs assessment, and spiritual support.
- Develop a holistic transformational community for youth in Gulfton/Sharpstown at our youth center.
- Initiate the “Love our City challenge”, inviting people to identify and commit to how they use their spiritual gifts to Love our City.
Expand our Table | Invite New People to Join our Mission
Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23
We will embrace an inclusive and invitational posture to engage new people.
- Develop branches to be a model of an invitational and inclusive culture and community, both for St. Luke’s and for our city.
- Create a series of attractional events and speakers to encourage an invitational culture among congregants.
- Contract with outside resources to develop a comprehensive communications plan for telling St. Luke’s story to our community, leveraging our strong ministries (children, student, discipleship, outreach, worship, music and fine arts, caring) to reach new people.
- Cultivate relationships and discipleship through online ministry and engagement.
Strengthen our Foundation | Reinforce Key Processes and Effectiveness
Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives…. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Luke 12:48,43
We will develop the human, financial, and technological resources necessary for the growth of the church and the success of current and future ministries.
- Identify, call, equip, and deploy leaders for teams and groups in all ministries.
- Clarify and implement clear processes and playbooks to love and disciple the people of our congregation, engaging them in ministry, and inviting them to take their best next step.
- Develop new conversations with the congregation around generosity, including planned giving, SMART and targeted giving, and congregational education and transparency.
- Invest in appropriate technology to achieve our goals.
SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
St. Luke’s cares about your spiritual journey and wants you to grow constantly in your love for Jesus, for one another, and for the world. We believe these all work together to bring about the kingdom of God in our hearts, lives, city, and world.
Hearts transformed by a relationship with Jesus
We experience a relationship with Jesus as the core of the Christian faith. It is the motivation for all we do.
Lives transformed by Christian community
We build authentic, caring community and experience spiritual growth in small groups and teams.
Our city transformed by our service and witness
We demonstrate our faith and share Jesus’ love by serving others in our community and world.
FIVE INSIDE-OUT HABITS
Many organizations have values. At St. Luke’s church, we believe that values must be put into action, so our values are translated into five habits, designed to transform us inside the church that we might take God’s love outside the church.
We pray and worship
to build a closer relationship of love with Jesus Christ.
We study the Bible
to dig deeper and learn everything we can about God’s love.
We make friends
because lives are changed in community.
We tell our stories
to share with others how God is still at work in the world.
We give ourselves away in generosity and service
as apostles, sent by Jesus to be the good news in the world.
FAMILY OF MINISTRIES
St. Luke’s is a whole family of ministries, united by the Vision: A City Transformed by the Love of Jesus. St. Luke’s Church Council and other governance committees have responsibility for oversight of all the ministries in our family, as well as the relationship with our ministry partners. Each ministry has its own mission, target constituency, and leadership team, all working toward the same vision.
HISTORY
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church was founded on June 14th, 1945, in Houston, Texas. The first service was held on November 11, 1945, in the Lamar High School (Houston, Texas) auditorium. On December 23, 1951, St. Luke’s moved from Lamar High School to the current location at 3471 Westheimer, Houston, Texas. On September 27, 2009, St. Luke’s merged with Gethsemane United Methodist Church. On February 22, 2015, The Story Houston was launched with the specific mission of reaching non-religious Houstonians. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Houston, Texas, is a member of the Texas Conference within the United Methodist Church.
Senior Pastors
Dr. Durwood Fleming (1945-1961)
Dr. J. Kenneth Shamblin (1961-1976)
Dr. Walter L. Underwood (1976-1984)
Dr. James W. Moore (1984-2006)
Dr. Thomas J. Pace (2006-Present)