Mainline Protestant Churches? (Dallas, Plano, Garland: school, moving to, homeless)

[SmilesNE2DFW]

New to the area. Looking for a church in Wylie, Sachse, Garland, East Plano, Murphy, maybe Richardson. Not into the rock band, light show, fog machines type of worship services. We generally lean moderate on social issues. Church with 500 + members ideally, emphasis on the intersection of the Gospel with serving others (homelessness, women's shelters, literacy, tutoring, third world missions), and traditional music? Decent Sunday School for kids/ confirmation program... Don't need kid to be highly entertained, just Bible songs and lessons, loving teachers.

[4Movingeast]

I would look at Methodist and Lutheran churches. They still do confirmation and you will find a bit more Moderate viewpoint there esp at a Methodist church.

[loveandcoffee]

I will second the Methodist church recommendation, it seems to be exactly what you're looking for. I'll also throw in the Episcopal church (very traditional service style with very moderate/liberal views).


For your specific location: Arapaho United Methodist Church in Richardson seems to fit exactly what you want, as does St. Barnabas Presbyterian (also in Richardson). Both are moderate, service oriented, and large enough to have multiple services on Sundays. Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Richardson also sounds like it might be worth a look too, they have several different outreach ministries along everything else that you're looking for.


Hope this helps to give you somewhere to start!

[Aggielina]

Disciples of Christ churches might also meet your needs, but I don't know of any large ones in the areas you mentioned. King of Glory Lutheran Church on LBJ is one of the bigger Lutheran churches in the area.

[loveandcoffee]

Originally Posted by Aggielina

Disciples of Christ churches might also meet your needs, but I don't know of any large ones in the areas you mentioned. King of Glory Lutheran Church on LBJ is one of the bigger Lutheran churches in the area.

I agree, Disciples of Christ would be great, but I just wasn't sure if they did confirmation, so that's why I didn't suggest it. If they have a confirmation program, then that's definitely another worthy option to consider.

[Aggielina]

Originally Posted by loveandcoffee

I agree, Disciples of Christ would be great, but I just wasn't sure if they did confirmation, so that's why I didn't suggest it. If they have a confirmation program, then that's definitely another worthy option to consider.

I have friends who are Disciples, and their 13-year-old went through a confirmation program of some sort this past year. It wasn't major, maybe just a couple of meetings over the course of a few months. In contrast, Lutheran confirmation takes years, apparently, judging by a relative who is currently in the process.

[SmilesNE2DFW]

Thank you for all the suggestions. The churches in Richardson have the focus we're looking for. We'll check them out. I'm guessing the area we're moving to is more conservative- Sachse/Garland border? Anyplace in Garland we should look into? Our old church's members ran the gamut on the more contentious social/religious issues, but everyone was, for the most part, respectful. There was little said from the pulpit on any of those topics, other than to love your neighbor. Unsure what to expect in the northern/eastern Dallas burbs.

[loveandcoffee]

Originally Posted by SmilesNE2DFW

Thank you for all the suggestions. The churches in Richardson have the focus we're looking for. We'll check them out. I'm guessing the area we're moving to is more conservative- Sachse/Garland border? Anyplace in Garland we should look into? Our old church's members ran the gamut on the more contentious social/religious issues, but everyone was, for the most part, respectful. There was little said from the pulpit on any of those topics, other than to love your neighbor. Unsure what to expect in the northern/eastern Dallas burbs.

I never really thought about it, but I guess you're right in that it's a bit more conservative. However, Sasche is also quite a bit smaller than the surrounding Garland, Richardson, etc...this may fact into it as well. Your best option for Garland is probably going to be First United Methodist Church of Garland. It appears to be large enough and service oriented and everything you're looking for in a new church home. I didn't see anything about confirmation programs, but since nearly all Methodist churches do them, I'm sure you could probably ask someone about it if/when you may visit.