Missions & Outreach

Local Missions & Outreach

Community Meals

Community Meals is a ministry that provides a free nutritious meal several days a week to anyone in our community who is in need.  Meals are typically prepared and served on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Central. But during this time of social distancing, Community Meals has moved to the Genesis campus, and is serving grab and go meals to our guests. All mandated safe guards are being followed during this time. For more information about how you can participate in this ministry, please contact Greg Gibson, . 

Grab-n-Go Meals served at Genesis (205 MLK Blvd.) during COVID restrictions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.                                                                                               

Meals are served on: 

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at Genesis (205 MLK Blvd.) – Grab and Go lunches

Actions & Truth

Actions & Truth is an outreach ministry which is focused on meeting the spiritual and physical needs of those who are coming to Community Meals with the purpose of introducing them to Jesus Christ and welcoming them into the life of the church. This includes, but is not limited to:

Beyond Our Walls

Beyond Our walls is an opportunity for Central members to reach out to our local community through radical servanthood. One Saturday each spring and fall, join us at Central campus where teams are sent out into the city of Fayetteville to serve individuals and organizations in our area. These are light projects that take 2-4 hours and many require very little skill. It is a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another as we serve together to make Christ know through humble service. All projects must be pre-approved. To submit a project idea or for more information, please contact Glenn Miller at  or 479-799-7797. 

Good S.A.M.

Good S.A.M. or “Good Samaritan Assistance Ministries” sponsors various opportunities for our church to reach out to others who are in difficult situations. In addition to providing financial help for Central members who need emergency relief. Good S.A.M. also coordinates the following outreach efforts:

Community Kid’s Closet – conducting clothing drives each spring and fall to provide new clothes and shoes for less fortunate children in our community.

Christmas Families – working through referrals by the Fayetteville Public Schools to provide Christmas for needy and deserving families – everything from food and toiletries to toys and clothes.

Good S.A.M. Pantry –  Central’s Good Samaritan Ministry collects food for CEO (Community Emergency Outreach) to help feed people in our community. Collection boxes are available in Central’s Activities Center, the Sanctuary, the Education Building and in the Student Ministries building.

For more information about how you can participate in Good S.A.M. through donations and/or service, please contact the Good S.A.M. team captain, John Sturgis at  or 479-521-6765.

Genesis Church Outreach

We offer more community outreach at our Genesis Church campus at 205 MLK Blvd. For more info about community outreach efforts at Genesis Church, contact Glenn Miller at  or 479-799-7797.

Lunch Buddies

Adults are invited to become a ‘buddy’ with a student at Asbell Elementary School in Fayetteville, where they go to eat lunch with a student at the school, specially assigned to them by the school counselor, every week or every other week during the school year. This time helps the volunteer and adult form a friendship that speaks love and acceptance into the life of the student. Volunteers must attend Central, or be friends with folks from Central. Training and a background check are required. For more information, contact Melanie Faught at  . 

Wise Kids

Children from Washington Elementary come to Genesis church each Monday and Wednesday afternoons during the school year for tutoring, fun and a Bible lesson. Volunteers are needed to be with these children, teach them and form a friendship with them. For more information, contact Nicole Guenther at .

Pathway to Freedom

PTF is a ministry through the Arkansas state prison system. Several times each year, on Fridays, men from various churches travel to Central Arkansas to the Wrightsville Unit, to spend an afternoon of worship and small groups with inmates. This is a powerful opportunity to bless those in prison, and it’s an equal blessing to those who go and volunteer. A background check is required to participate. Contact Greg Gibson ( ) for more information.

M & N Augustine Trent Trumbo Easter Feed

Each year, on the Saturday before Easter, Central hosts a huge meal for the community, organized by the Augustine Foundation in Fayetteville. Volunteers are needed to help cook, serve and visit with our guests. Contact Glenn Miller ( ) to find out more.

Global Missions & Outreach

Cuba

The Methodist Church in Cuba has experienced tremendous growth and revival for the past 20+ years. God has been doing amazing things in the church and in the lives of people. Central has supported the Cuban Methodist Church since 2015, taking groups to Havana for short-term outreach trips. Central worships with the churches, gives to the Methodist Seminary in Havana, and takes needed supplies, materials, and finances to support the work of the church. Central also supports the Cuban Methodist Nursing Facility by helping with painting, construction and taking medical supplies. This partnership has been a blessing to both Central and the pastors and people of the Cuban Methodist Church.

Amazon

For the past several years, Central has sent teams to assist Amazon Ministries International (AMI) with their mission to make disciples along the Amazon River Basin. Central has been a part of building many churches and impacting countless lives through its medical and evangelistic outreach each summer. In addition, over 100,000 Bibles have been distributed in pastor’s conferences and river communities. 

Uganda

For two weeks each summer people of Central United Methodist Church and other interested Christians have journeyed to Uganda to make a difference for Christ. This beautiful East African nation is a country of widows & orphans - racked by poverty, hunger and disease.  CUMC created the Uganda Mission Project to help meet Uganda’s diverse needs for food, safe water, education, and improved living standards. Our mission works alongside local pastors and community leaders to provide medical clinics, help with orphanages and schools, and serve as a needed community resource.  Everyone demonstrates God’s love and healing in practical ways, sharing the Gospel in the towns of Jinja (south) and Gulu (north).

India

In response to our love for Jesus Christ and our desire to become more like Him, Central sends short term teams to India to share the gospel with locals by spending time loving, preaching, teaching, healing, worshiping, praying, playing and relationship building with them.  

We currently support Pastor Bashisth Ram and his family to minister to the low caste, rural, poor Dalits and orphans in Bihar. Bihar is the poorest state in India with less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) followers of Christ.

Because we are building relationships with them, we are able to have a child sponsorship program on a smaller, more personal level. Watch the video below to find out more!

For information on upcoming India mission trips, contact Greg Gibson at   or 479-442-1807.

Sponsor A Child

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 (NIV)

We have child sponsorship opportunities in Uganda and India. If you are interested in sponsoring a child or have questions, please contact Greg Gibson at   or call 479-442-1807.