The Making of First Saints Community Church

How do you take three independent churches, each with a history spanning a couple of hundred years, bring them together and have them become more effective in ministry? Not an easy task. But in the fall of 2005, the idea was born to yoke First Friendship, St. George Island, and St. Paul's United Methodist Churches into a covenant relationship so that the ministries of all three churches might be enhanced. Members from each church came together and a covenant ministry was created, providing the framework and objectives for a two-year "engagement period" - a time to explore what doing ministry together might be like. The first year was a time to get to know one another as each church invited the remaining two churches to help with and/or attend its ministry events. It wasn't long before we realized that each of the three churches brought something special to the mix - a special talent or gift that could be used toward achieving ministry excellence.

After a year of building relationships, a new level of agreement was reached when the leaders from all three churches met in late January of 2007, and agreed to move toward becoming a single church with multiple worship sites or "campuses." In January, 2008, First Saints Community Church was born, bringing to fruition this multi-campus ministry concept. By offering worship and serving opportunities at our First Friendship campus in Ridge, our St. George Island campus in Piney Point, and our St. Paul's campus in Leonardtown, we expect ministries will be less redundant, and folks will be able to move into real, active ministry within the church and throughout the community. Because we are one church, we are better able to leverage our strengths and share our God-given gifts. We are excited about the future God has in store for us as a single church.