Christ Church building accommodating growth
Educating children in a family oriented, Christian environment is a top priority at Christ Church United Methodist. In order to continue providing quality educational services to the community, the church is building a 21,000-squarefoot facility to accommodate growth and expansion.
Church members broke ground on the new Children’s Education Facility in June and expect it to be completed in April 2018. The new facility is being constructed partly in response to a population report in January 2014. The report predicted a 12 percent increase in residents within a 10-mile radius of Interstate 45 and Woodlands Parkway between 2013 and 2018. The church, located at 6363 Research Forest Drive next to The Woodlands High School, wishes to expand in order to meet the needs of the growing community.
“We invest in children and in families and want them to have a safe place where they can develop morally, ethically, spiritually and physically,” Senior Pastor Dr. Daniel Hannon said.
The new building will have multiple classrooms as well as create offices and a faculty lounge. It will be dedicated to the children and will house the two community learning programs in addition to the church’s regular children’s programs.
The Climbing Tree daycare program runs from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Christ Church Preschool is a comprehensive program that operates from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday. Both programs are open to the community. Tuition fees for the schools go directly back into the classrooms by purchasing supplies and equipment, paying teachers’ salaries and funding operating costs.
To the best of his knowledge, Christ Church is the only church in the area that provides a combination preschool and daycare service, Hannon said.
While the preschool program originated with the church in 1996, The Climbing Tree was adopted in 2005 from another church that elected to close the ministry. Since its adoption, The Climbing Tree program has grown from supporting 40 families to 150 families on a daily basis.
“I believe fully in supporting working families, so if families are going to work and their children need to be cared for, what better place for them to be cared for and loved on than at the church where we provide quality care and developmental learning,” Hannon said.
While in the process of expansion, Christ Church also is focusing efforts on aiding Hurricane Harvey victims residing in Montgomery County.
The church is partnering with Interfaith of The Woodlands to receive and distribute funds where they are needed in the community. Work teams are sent out on a weekly basis throughout the county to help with cleanup and other needs.
This will be a long-term relief effort that will take months, Hannon said. “When all the hype and the media of it has passed, we want to be still present, still engaged,” he added.
One of Hannon’s great concerns as a pastor and counselor is handling post-traumatic stress. He believes in the months to come, families will be drained and in need of emotional healing. The church aims to be a safe haven where people can go to have their emotional and physical needs met.
“Our targeted intention is not only to help people rebuild their physical environment, their homes, but to help rebuild their spirits, too,” Hannon said.
For more information about either the children’s facility and programs or Harvey relief efforts, visit www.cc-um.org or call 936-