We are happy to share the news that our Church Council has approved a proposal to purchase the 5.9-acre tract of land across the drainage ditch from Strawbridge UMC to provide much needed parking space for our growing congregation.

Trustees recently signed a sale-and-purchase agreement to acquire the undeveloped tract for $1.4 million, which has been generously donated by a church member who wishes to remain anonymous. We expect to close the sale in March. The wooded property is currently owned by First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood.

The acquisition of this site will enable us to initially create about 80 additional parking spaces, expandable to as many as 200 spaces, to provide room for future development as needed on parts of our current parking lot. At 200 spaces, we would only use and clear about 1/3 of the acreage.

With this purchase, Strawbridge UMC is taking a bold step forward in its effort to address the growth that our congregation has experienced over the past two years, as well as the continued growth we anticipate as we gratefully embrace the challenges and opportunities of serving as the largest United Methodist church in the Lake Houston area.

As we move toward completing this purchase, we also are in the early stages of creating a building plan to meet our church’s future needs. We want to conduct this process in the open and with the input of our congregation, so we hope you will plan on attending a Town Hall Meeting in the Sanctuary immediately after our 11:05 am worship service on Sunday, January 21. Church members will hear a status report on our Gratitude & Growth initiative and will be able to ask questions and offer comments to help guide our leadership in realizing Strawbridge’s vision to not only be the best church in the community, but also the best church for the community.

Peace and blessings,

The Gratitude & Growth Team

Strawbridge UMC