The First United Methodist Church & Wesley Foundation of Iowa City

Mission & Outreach

Grow Through Service

Grow in your faith by helping others within our church and our community.

Service Opportunities within our Church

There are many Service Opportunities within our church. We need folks to help before, during, and after each of our services, as well as the rest of the week. Come help others grow in their faith and life. Come grow in yours as well.

Service Opportunities in Our Community, our Country and our World

Crop Walk

A team of members from our congregation participates in each Johnson County CROP Walk. CROP Walks happen locally but speak globally: to help raise funds for Hunger projects and to increase awareness of the issues of Hunger.

CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local congregations or groups to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world.

Free Lunch

The Free Lunch group prepares and serves a free lunch at the Wesley Center in Iowa City from 11:00AM – 02:00PM: on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Habitat for Humanity

Working with Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, this team raises funds and recruits volunteers to build low cost, reliable housing for low-come families. Also, we are creating a weekend work project – called Helping Hands – to assist in the Iowa City area with home repairs with our ‘Mission RRR’ funds.

Project Holiday

The Project Holiday group sets-up and maintains a display in our Gathering Space to encourage and solicit members’ support of the Salvation Army’s Project Holiday. Project Holiday helps to provide gifts for children in the Iowa City area.

Recycling Team

Our Recycling Team collects recycled material from our recycling boxes in the church and takes the material to the recycling center.

Service and organized by local congregations or groups to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world.

Thanksgiving Ingathering

Each year, our Thanksgiving Ingathering group gathers purchases which they then compile into school, health, sewing and other kits to be taken to the November “Ingathering” at Iowa Wesleyan College: in Mt. Pleasant. These kits are then used for projects of UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) and the ‘Iowa – Nigeria Partnership’.

ToGather Together
The purpose of ToGather Together – sponsored by the ‘Consultation of Religious Communities’ – is to assist school students in Johnson County and the Iowa City Community School District. ToGather Together help purchase school supplies for those who cannot afford to provide their own. Our focus school is Lucas Elementary.
Winter Outerwear

Each fall, our Winter Outerwear Distribution group collects and distributes new and gently-used ‘school-appropriate’ clothing for children and youth ranging from Preschool through High School. This group also collects winter outerwear for all ages: including infants.

Appalachia Service Project

Each summer, the Appalachia Service Project team travels to the central Appalachian Mountains to work on making homes “warmer, drier and safer” as part of the larger Appalachia Service Project. During the rest of the year, the team raises funds to support the next year’s work by sponsoring a once-a-month smorgasbord. 2013 marked the group’s 35th consecutive year.