Rio Texas Youths passionate about missions should attend UMVIM Leadership Training

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Youth that have participated in student mission trips throughout the years are invited to join any of the Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Leader Training sessions occurring around the conference


All volunteers (youth adult) interested in mission leadership are encouraged to join one of the sessions at UMVIM Leadership Training signup.

Youth will take their passion and skills learned during student mission trips and apply it to greater opportunities in Rio Texas, nationally and abroad. The UMVIM Team Leader training event is the start of a lifestyle whereby Christians, adults and students, may offer their skills and talents for Christian service at home and around the world. The training event provides the theological foundation for missional living while learning the skills to partner and be culturally sensitive to the needs of those we serve.

Missional life is about God's mission in the world and may include construction, renewing of mission facilities, feeding, teaching, witnessing, conducting medical clinics, conducting Bible study or Bible School for children, and serving in disaster relief efforts around the world. This training is one avenue for these teens to develop spiritual leadership and missional focus to guide tomorrow’s church.

In addition, Rio Texas is partnering with UM ARMY as they provide youth camps to help Harvey relief in League City, Edna and LaGrange , see UMARMY

I’m Not So Bad Off. Go Help Them First.

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I’m Not So Bad Off. Go Help Them First.

By Laura Bray

Mangled sheet metal all over lawns. Enormous piles of cut tree trunks and limbs lined up along the roads. The growl of chainsaws and the high-pitched whine of Bobcat front-end loaders echoing through town. The two-stroke “chucka-chucka” and gas fumes from nearby generators. Mobile homes broken and laying on their sides or in ditches. Buildings missing walls or roofs—or both. My heart broke as my Early Response Team (ERT) drove into Fulton—two weeks after Hurricane Harvey.

As a child of the Gulf Coast, I understand the havoc a hurricane wreaks. As a first-time ERT responder, the sights and sounds just took my breath away.

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Cleaning Kits, as well as Early Responders, Still Needed

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The Rio Texas Disaster Response Team released the following message: 

The need for Cleaning Kits / Flood Buckets is quickly being met. Thank you to all of the churches who have responded to help those in need. We are still sending kits toward the Houston area. The demand diminished the reserve at the Martinez Disaster Response Center in Kerrville. Now is the time to replenish it for the next time.   
Compiled Cleaning Kits in the Austin area are being collected at Oak Hill UMC or First UMC, Pfluggerville.
Compiled Cleaning kits in the San Antonio area can be taken to the Conference Center. 
If there are Cleaning Kits that have been collected and need to be picked up, please e-mail Jim Street at Coordinator@CapitalDistrictDisaster.org 

If you are Early Response certified, now is the time for deployment. 

If you have completed your ERT training and have submitted your background check paperwork, you do not need to wait for your badge to register for deployment.

Please sign up here for individuals or small groups of three or less people. 

Early Response Teams can sign up here

Early Responders Urgently Needed

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Early Responders Urgently Needed

As the massive cleanup continues in the Coastal Bend, there is still a need for trained early responders.

If you have completed your ERT training and have submitted your background check paperwork, you do not need to wait for your badge to register for deployment.

If you have an ERT Team, register here.

If you are an individual or part of a small group, register here.

There are more Early Response Team trainings scheduled. Click here to find a training and register.

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Rio Texas Churches Assess Harvey Damage

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Rio Texas Churches Assess Harvey Damage

Several churches in the Rio Texas Annual Conference are just beginning to clean up and begin repairs after Hurricane Harvey tore through parts of the Coastal Bend.

So far, 15 churches in Rio Texas have reported damage related to Harvey. Some experienced minor wind or water damage while others faced damage extensive enough to keep them out of their worship space indefinitely.

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Hurricane Harvey Church Owned Property Damage Claim Procedures

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Hurricane Harvey Church Owned Property Damage Claim Procedures

Hurricane Harvey has left many churches damaged and non-functional.  During this difficult time, The Conference Office is here to help so the churches can rebuild and restore.     

If your church owned property has sustained damages from the recent onset of Hurricane Harvey, please contact Church Mutual.  You may file a claim either by phone or via their website. 

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Flood Buckets Begin Arriving in Aransas Pass

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Flood Buckets Begin Arriving in Aransas Pass

Flood buckets have made their way from the Bishop Joel and Dr. Raquel Martinez Disaster Response Center in Kerrville, in Kerrville all the way to Aransas Pass. Disaster Response volunteers unloaded 350 flood buckets plus blankets at the Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce. The buckets have all the supplies necessary to enable residents and volunteers to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood or hurricane.

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Chainsaw Training Rescheduled

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Chainsaw Training Rescheduled

Due to Harvey, the chain saw training previously scheduled for Oct. 21st has been rescheduled for Sept. 16th.  The training will still be at FUMC in Boerne.   You must be ERT certified to take the chainsaw class.  You can register on line using the link below.  With all the damage from Harvey, we are sure to need chainsaw teams for the next several months. 


https://riotexas.org/chainsaw-training

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