St. Matthew provides many opportunities to serve God, the church, and God’s people. The activities listed here are open to all people whether or not they are members of the church.
Reaching out to our community and to our world through missions is an important focus for St. Matthew. We actively sponsor and participate in many local mission programs. For some of them, we collect food, school supplies, or Christmas gifts; for others, we give our time, labor, and love to share God’s love with the community. To learn more about St. Matthew’s involvement, please click on one of the links below, call the church office at (480) 838-7309, or contact the Missions Committee at .
Local Missions
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministers are laypeople trained in the congregation to provide one-to-one Christ-centered care to hurting people. They are people with a compassionate heart who have been equipped with the skills to listen, encourage, and offer support. Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister or if you or a loved one could use our support.
Helping Hands
Our Helping Hands group visits people who are in the hospital or who are at home and in need of friendly company. Helping Hands provides meals and other services in times of crisis, including long-term illness, hospitalization, or the loss of a loved one. Helping Hands also coordinates receptions after memorial services. If you would like to share God’s love in this way, or if you are in need of support Helping Hands can provide, please contact us.
Wesley Community & Health Center
The Wesley Center in Phoenix has provided assistance to people in the community for over sixty years. The people of St. Matthew have served Wesley through volunteering, leading programs, collecting food and school supplies, and adopting families at Christmas.
UMOM (United Methodist Outreach Ministries) New Day Centers
UMOM offers shelter and job training to homeless families and adults in Phoenix. For many years, individuals and groups from St. Matthew have prepared and served the Friday evening meal every week to the residents at UMOM, as well as sponsoring programs, and collecting supplies for the center.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat creates homes for low-income families. St. Matthew is part of a coalition of United Methodist churches that help build houses in the Phoenix area.
Justa Center
Justa Center is a resource center in Phoenix which specializes in helping homeless senior citizens find appropriate housing, employment, and other much-needed services. Members of St. Matthew collect items to aid in the Justa Center ministry.
Helen’s Hope Chest
Helen’s Hope Chest is a local organization that provides support to families of foster children. St. Matthew regularly collects items for distribution to these families.
Global Missions
Missionaries in the Dominican Republic
Gordon and Ardell Graner are United Methodist missionaries based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2012, St. Matthew entered a Covenant Relationship with the Graners, pledging to support them and their ministry financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Gordon and Ardell visited St. Matthew in 2014 to share pictures and stories of their ministry in partnership with Dominican Christians.
UMCOR
Through our offerings, St. Matthew supports the global ministries and missions of the United Methodist Church. Individuals are also welcome to contribute directly to specific domestic and international projects coordinated by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. UMCOR works to relieve suffering with both short-term and long-term programs in regions suffering from economic, agricultural, political, health, and natural disasters.
Imagine No Malaria
Another worldwide UM initiative is Imagine No Malaria, which partners with other global organizations to distribute nets and medication, improve medical facilities, train medical workers, and educate the public in malaria-prone areas.
Page last updated 10/16/15 1:04 p.m.