Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Church Seeks To Serve Locally, Nationally, Internationally
FARMINGTON — The congregation of Farmington United Methodist Church feels an urgent and real need to be the hands and feet of Jesus, said Pastor Troy Conrad.
Church members help feed the hungry, participate in local, national and international mission trips and volunteer in areas damaged by natural disasters.
“The way we direct our energies and resources reflects on us as a congregation,” said Conrad, who has pastored the Farmington church since July 2012.
Previously, Conrad served at churches in Fort Smith, Hackett, Lavaca and Scranton
In June, he will leave Farmington United Methodist Church to take on a new ministry as pastor at Sardis United Methodist Church in Bauxite, Ark.
Serving Others
The church sponsors a mission trip to Mexico every summer. Projects in Mexico have included construction, medical, Vacation Bible School and sewing missions. Members also have helped with many disaster relief trips. This past year, volunteer work included
helping in flooded areas in McGee and carpentry work at a home in Oklahoma.
The Arkansas Methodist Conference Initiative is “200,000 Reasons To Fight Childhood Hunger” and Farmington is doing its part to help meet the initiative. The goal is based on the fact that about 200,000 children living in Arkansas, one out of every four children, struggle with hunger.
The United Methodists of Arkansas have committed to reducing childhood hunger in the state through feeding ministries, public witness and education.
To help feed the hungry, the church hosts a homeless feed once a month at Genesis United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.
The church sponsors a food pantry for anyone, no questions asked. Last year, church members came together to pack 6,200 meals for the Pack Shack, a non-profit organization helping to fight hunger in Northwest Arkansas.
Members also donate food, other items and money to Cooperative Emergency Outreach, an organization in Fayetteville that helps those who are facing financial emergencies due to a variety of reasons, such as illness, job loss, natural disaster or any other emergency situation.
It sponsors and hosts an annual Back to School Bonanza every year. Hundreds of children come to this each year to receive free tennis shoes, backpacks, haircuts, underwear and other services. A key part of the Bonanza is the opportunity for church members to pray with families as they begin a new school year.
Along with meeting these needs, the church is an active member of the community and participates in community-wide events.
Church members have cooked hot dogs for the annual Easter Eggstravaganza. They provide a luncheon each year for new teachers in Farmington School District. The church offers cookies and hot chocolate following the annual Christmas parade and for the past two years has provided a free Thanksgiving meal.
In December, members signed up to ring the bell for the Salvation Army’s red kettle at Neighborhood Market in Farmington. Volunteers also hand out free bottles of water to those participating in the Farmington Walk to Cure, a walk to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“Our calendar is always full and we’re always doing something,” Conrad said, adding the church looks for ways that everyone can be involved, from the young to the old.
Come As You Are
The church wants people to feel welcome.
“We’re a come as you are church,” Conrad said. “Church isn’t a place just for saints. It’s a place for everybody.”
Farmington UMC has two services on Sunday mornings with an average of 153 people attending the two services. The 8:30 a.m. service is traditional and the 10:30 a.m. service is contemporary. Sunday School starts at 9:30 a.m., in between the worship services.
Conrad wears a robe during the traditional service. The congregation sings from hymnals and members recite creeds. The contemporary service has a praise band and the congregation sings contemporary praise songs. Rocio Behler is church pianist and Alan Castleberry is contemporary music leader.
Conrad said more people attend the contemporary service but attendance for the traditional has grown and now about 50 people are coming to the earlier service.
He said he believes a contemporary service is more appealing to new believers but at the same time has found sometimes new believers will come to a traditional service to learn more about what the church believes.
Conrad said he has seen the importance of singing hymns. He remembers visiting a woman in the nursing home. She was singing hymns.
“It goes to show you how those hymns stay with you,” Conrad said. “She may not remember me but it goes to show you how those hymns stay with you.”
He said he sees that quite often from older people: they remember the words of hymns they’ve sung and also remember creeds they’ve memorized, such as the Apostle’s Creed.
“They may be overcome with grief or emotion and don’t know how to pray but they can pray the Apostle’s Creed. That speaks to them. The Lord’s Prayer, creeds and hymns speak to us.”
The church has Wednesday night programs for all ages, including programs for children and youth and Bible studies. A free, home-cooked meal is available at 5:30 p.m., with activities following the meal.
The church concentrates on spiritual disciplines, Conrad said. He writes a daily devotional based on the Sunday scripture and writes daily prayers for church members. He has authored two books, one a Bible study on the book of Titus in the Bible and the other a book on what it means to be a Wesleyan, not a Methodist.
Farmington United Methodist was founded in 1833 on White Street. It moved to its new building at 355 Southwinds Drive more than 10 years ago.
Future plans for the church include a multi-purpose building with the idea to turn it into more of a community center, geared toward the school and the community.
“It’s a good way for the church to reach out to the community. We’re always looking for ways we can reach out,” Conrad said.