‘Come who you are’ | First Presbyterian Church works to rebrand amid search for new pastor

For more than a century, the First Presbyterian Church of Granbury has been providing a place of worship for Hood County residents, while also serving as a source of kindness and hospitality to the community.

But with the church celebrating its 125th anniversary last year, many members of the congregation are wanting a change — more specifically, a rebrand — to try to encourage younger individuals to join.

Additionally, with associate pastor Brenda Church departing last August and pastor Drew Travis retiring back in February, FBC is currently without a permanent pastor — making now an opportune time for the church to make some necessary changes.

But how does that work without a permanent pastor?

For now, that’s where the Mission Study Report comes in, where Mission Study team members gather to discuss the church’s mission, values, history, and goals.

FBC’s 2023 Mission Study Report was recently approved, containing demographics, opinions of members, and the hopeful future of the church.

REBRAND

During the “Reflection” portion of the study, church members stated that they would like to move their branding from that of an old, historic church to a vibrant, engaged, open-minded congregation.

"The thing that's important is behind a very old building is a group of people who are not old in the sense of their activity, their engagement, their participation, or their contributions — it's a very lively church in that regard,” said Jim Wallis, church member and chair of the Mission Study Report. “But if you walk by us, it’s like, ‘Oh, there's a cute little church, and 125 years old? It must be old,’ and it is.”

The report states that one hurdle in getting more people to come could be the buildings, stating that the historic building does not necessarily reflect the congregation and worship that is held within.

“People don't really know what it is to drive by and see a little old church,” said Emily Graham, church member and bell choir director. “Our building looks so old, but when you come inside, you're not hit with old feelings or old beliefs, but it's unfortunate that we don't portray that necessarily from the outside.”

Members suggested that the buildings could have better signage, a map, and a striped crosswalk between them to make it easier for visitors to discern where they need to go for a Sunday service versus yoga or the nursery.

"It can be a little intimidating because we have four different buildings and if you're new or visiting, you might not know where to park or where to come in,” Graham said.

Additional improvements in the Mission Study included continued maintenance of the church’s streaming service technology — a feature that was installed before the introduction of COVID-19.

"We started in October of 2019 with live streaming our services to YouTube and Facebook, so that's something that if people are out of town or they're in the hospital, they can always access that,” Graham said. “That was something that we were able to utilize during COVID when the buildings were shut down everywhere and we weren't worshiping in person. I think that that just kind of speaks to the resiliency of our church because we wanted to be mindful and careful of everyone, but we also wanted to still feel connected.”

Connie Darne, in charge of FPC outreach and mission, said that with the church’s 125th anniversary, they are now in an agreement with the city to build a prayer labyrinth somewhere in Granbury.

"I can't tell you where it's going to be or when it's going to be, but we are working on that,” she said. “That's one way of outreach and to give something back to the city that has been so good to us and supported us throughout the years."

Improved children’s facilities and an added feature of a playground are also being discussed as a potential change in the future to show that church members of all ages are valued.

DEMOGRAPHICS

According to the Mission Study Report, the membership of FPC Granbury is predominantly 65 years of age and older, with approximately 350 members in total.

Graham, 37, joined the church with her mom about seven years ago. She said being younger than the majority of the church members does have its challenges, but members are extremely appreciative of her skillset — especially with technology.

"I do a lot of the heavier lifting when it comes to technology at the church,” she said. “It's not something that many of the members are comfortable being in charge of, but it's something that has benefited everybody. There's definitely a challenge there that I’m looked to for the one who can help with that, but it's also wonderful because they're so appreciative because it really does make such a difference for them, and it's something that they can't do or don't feel comfortable doing. But it makes such a quality of worship improvement for them — and they make sure to tell you that.”

Although the church membership is predominantly older, many members would prefer a younger pastor to take the reins.

According to the Mission Study Report, many members expressed their desire to have a “young pastor, far from retirement, who is involved in the community, recruits members to the congregations, and is accepting of and encouraging when it comes to the differing views of the members."

"We're a very energetic church,” said Beverly McKusick, church member. “Even though we're without a pastor, we're still a family as a church. We're all connected and really interested in the movement of the church and its activities.”

The report states that the congregation may skew older, but “we are a vibrant and involved group of people who work and volunteer not just within our congregation, but within our community.”

COMMUNITY-FOCUSED

FPC’s mission is to “share the good news of the gospel through generous outreach and hospitality” and “compassionate care and fellowship,” — and that’s exactly why church members are heavily focused on the community.

By operating on a community-first strategy, many organizations can use FPC’s buildings for meetings or practices, like knitting clubs and alcoholics anonymous.

"There's a number of groups that are not members of the church or not associated with the church, but we do open up the church and let them use the building,” Darne said. “We also open up the church every year during the Candlelight Tour of Homes. We might not be one of the stops on the tour, but the church is open."

MISSION OUTREACH/GENEROSITY

FPC’s mission and outreach program is a huge priority to the congregation, with members constantly volunteering their time to help with several nonprofit organizations.

"About 16% of the church’s budget goes to mission and outreach,” Darne said. “We do a lot with the Presbyterian Church worldwide, like Presbyterian disaster relief, world hunger, and then we also do a lot with the local charity organizations here."

Members donate to nonprofits like Mission Granbury, Habitat for Humanity of Hood County, People Helping People, The Salvation Army of Hood County, Meals on Wheels of Hood County, Rainbow Room of Hood County, Granbury Housing Authority, and the Paluxy River Children's Advocacy Center.

“We have a Presbyterian women's group that meets once a month, and we do a lot of mission work with them,” McKusick said. “We also have a group that's called our FUN circle, and every year, we make toiletry bags, and they're called First Night Bags for CPS. When a child is taken out of a home, they usually leave with just clothes on their backs, so it's a pair of pajamas, underwear, socks, a flashlight, toothbrush, and a cuddly toy. We do that once a year and we generally do anywhere from 50 to 75 bags.”

McKusick said what’s really blown her away is how generous members of the church are when it comes to needs within the community.

“This church is just unbelievable,” she said. “You say we have a need for this, and all of a sudden, it's just there for you. I mean, I send out a list of what we need and I'm thinking, ‘Oh, you know, well maybe we'll get 20 bags,’ and then all of a sudden, we have 75 bags. I also collected $400 from people that said, ‘I don't want to go do shopping, but here's some money.’”

During the month of June, members were also asked to either contribute $25, or go to Rack Room Shoes and buy a $25 gift card, where donations would be dropped off at the Rainbow Room for foster kids.

The church also hosts a rummage sale twice a year in April and October, where clothes are sold for $1 per item.

“You can't go to Goodwill and find nice clothes for $1. You just can't,” McKusick said. “It helps in many ways. It helps our missions but it also helps the community too. We have anywhere from children's clothing to men's clothing, and a lot of it goes back out into the community.”

‘COME WHO YOU ARE’

One of the suggested slogans for FPC is “come who you are,” as members describe the church as being “welcoming, accepting, and a mix of all political views.”

"We welcome everyone,” Wallis said. “We are what is referred to as a ‘purple congregation.’ Basically, we believe we are a family of God with members who hold traditional views and those who hold progressive views on matters theological, political, social, but are all able to be with one another in this church and honor each other and their various perspectives, and actually be able to talk about things — that makes this (church) a welcoming environment for all people.”

“I've heard over and over from people that the first time they came into the service, they immediately felt like it was home,” Graham added. “They felt welcomed, and people come back.”

“We do try to be friendly,” Darne added. “We try to let them know that they're welcome and we enjoy them being there with us and it shows.”

FUTURE IN HIS HANDS

Although it may take a while to complete the necessary changes at the church to draw in more members — and younger ones at that — members are leaving it all up to God and trusting in him to lead them to their next pastor.

“We'll be getting a personnel nominating committee together, which is made up of members of the congregation, and then they will be charged with the responsibility to help reveal, if you will, God's choice about who's going to be our next pastor,” Willis said. “The process could take six months to a year.”

Until the pastor position is filled, Interim Pastor Sherrolyn Weed will be leading the sermons every Sunday.

"We are very much still active," Darne said. “We're not out here floating adrift. We're still doing all the things that we've done before and we still follow our plans that we have. Reverend Weed came to us the first of May this year, so she's leading us in worship and doing an excellent job. She’s also leading us through the process of hiring a new minister. The Presbyterian Church, it's a little bit different from some other denominations. We do have a say in who our pastor will be. We interview the pastors, we decide, and the church congregation approves who we'd like to hire. We are all involved in that process through different stages of it."

The First Presbyterian Church of Granbury is located at 303 W. Bridge St., with Sunday school starting at 9 a.m. and Sunday worship services beginning at 10 a.m.

To watch the livestream on YouTube, visit fpcgranbury.org/live/ online.