Houston Report #4: Windsor Village United Methodist Church

The question has been asked, "How do we know if we're being faithful as a church?" It is a good question . . . one that I suspect can never fully be answered. However, I was impressed by what I saw at Windsor Village United Methodist Church. The lead pastor, KirbyJon Caldwell, is pretty fearless. He has found tangible ways for the church to bless the community it calls home. One of the less affluent areas of Houston, business shy away from locating here. So the church bought an old K-Mart and uses it for local business. They planted a pharmacy because pharmacies won't touch the place. They have a barber shop/hair place and an industrial caterer's kitchen with banquet facilities. It's called the "Power Center." It also houses various social service agencies.
You may wonder how a church affords to do such things. According to our dean, Randy Jesson, Caldwell spins off 5013-c corporations that are then able to apply for grants that churches can't get. By doing this he has, essentially, doubled the amount of money at the disposal of their ministries. Caldwell is the author of the book, Entrepreneurial Faith. As I mentioned in an early blog, Caldwell prayed at Bush's inauguration and caused a stir because he prayed in Jesus' name. "I'm a minister of Jesus. How else can I pray?"
This is their new building project. A construction company could specialize in building mega-church buildings and never have to leave the Greater Houston Area.
Apparently it's pretty easy to get pictures of visionary leaders pointing to the sky.
There are the usual caveats. I only saw a half-hour sliver of this church's ministry and mission, however, I was really impressed with what I saw.