About Bright Futures

Since 1834, First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge has been a community where faith is nurtured, lives are shaped, and love is put into action. Rooted in history and grounded in God’s grace, our church has always looked ahead – seeking to serve with courage, compassion, and purpose.

Today we believe God is calling us to take bold steps to ensure our ministries thrive for generations to come.  That’s why we are launching Bright Futures – a visionary campaign to secure the future of the church we love.

Financial Goals

$2 Million for Missions

Extending Christ’s love beyond our walls

$2 Million for Youth & Children

Forming the faith of the next generation

$2 Million for Music & Worship

Deepening our experience of God through beauty and praise

$1 Million for the Century Fund

An endowment dedicated to blessing a nonprofit partner in our community – an outward sign of our commitment to be a church for others.

$25 Million in Legacy Gifts

Designated primarily for the care and preservation of our beautiful and historic facility. These gifts will ensure our sacred space remains a place of welcome, worship, and witness for generations to come.

Love in Action – Missions Ministry

Serving others is at the heart of who we are. Through our missions ministry, we seek to live out Jesus’ call to love our neighbor and to go into the world and make disciples. Our mission work is built on relationships—with people, with partners, and with our city.

Each year, we work alongside local schools, nonprofits, and recovery programs to care for children and families in need. During the holidays, we provide gifts and meals. Throughout the year, we support groups like Front Yard Bikes, Youth Oasis, Baton Rouge Youth Coalition, Hope Ministries, and others—not just with donations, but with presence and care.

Love Your Neighbor Van

Our Love Your Neighbor Van is out in the city every Sunday, bringing food, hygiene items, clothes, and conversation to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We also host a monthly gathering for those working in homeless outreach so we can better align our efforts and offer meaningful support.

  • 60+ meals served every Sunday morning
  • 130+ homeless people known by name

Revive225

For over a decade, Revive225 has brought youth and adult volunteers from across the country to Baton Rouge to help repair homes for elderly, disabled, and low-income neighbors. We’ve also partnered with First Tuesday, a program that sends business teams into the community once a month for hands-on service.  Since its inception, Revive225 has:

  • Worked on over 300 homes
  • Completed more than 700 projects
  • Over 1,700 volunteers from 12 states

Ojato, Utah Missions

For over a decade, First United Methodist Church has partnered with the Navajo community in Oljato, Utah.  Each summer, our youth and adults travel to Utah to lead Vacation Bible School, participate in community projects, and share faith with residents of the Navajo reservation.

Mission Goals

Our primary goal is to ensure our mission efforts will continue well into the future.  We further envision:

Care for the Homeless

to continually develop and broaden our commitment to caring for the homeless in our community through the Love Your Neighbor Van, with a goal of providing relational connection and sustained access to essential services

Mission to Oljato, Utah

to expand our efforts to build lasting relationships through service, shared worship, and cross-cultural connection with the Navajo community in Oljato

Revive225 Ministry

to further the reach of Revive225 as a year-round local mission opportunity, deepening its impact within our community

Adopt a Neighborhood

to provide comprehensive revitalization in a clearly defined are of Baton Rouge, including housing initiatives, job creation and support, educational programs, and faith-based outreach

Your Giving Impact

Feed a Friend
$10
A meal, snack, or basic necessity for someone experiencing homelessness
Make the Van Run
$250
Provide Gas for the Love Your Neighbor Van
Sponsor a Student
$50
Sponsor a student’s mission trip for a day
Repair a Home
$1000
A significant home repair project that helps a neighbor live more safely
Share Shoes
$100
Provide 5 pairs of shoes for those experiencing homelessness
Expand Our Reach
$10,000
Help sustain and expand FUMC's mission work throughout the year

Generation to Generation
Youth & Children’s Ministries

At FUMC, we believe children and youth are not just the future of the church—they’re the church right now. We’re committed to walking alongside families as they nurture faith from the youngest years through high school and beyond.

Our youth ministry is experiencing a season of growth and renewal. Sunday School attendance is the highest it’s been in years. Our small group ministry—called Tribes—has grown from a single group to thirteen, meeting throughout the week. More than 70 students are involved, supported by over 30 committed adult mentors. Students are also serving through retreats and mission trips, including MissionBR, a powerful local service experience that’s become a highlight each year.

Our children’s ministry helps kids grow in faith through hands-on experiences like Kindergarten Readiness, Bible presentations, the Easter Walk, Fall Fest, Advent Adventure, Vacation Bible School, Mission Day Camp, and Godly Play. These events aren’t just fun—they’re formational. They invite families to grow in faith together and help kids discover they are deeply loved by God.

Youth & Children's Ministries Goals

We have a bold vision for what’s next. We want every young person who comes through our doors to know that they matter, they are capable, and they are called.

Grow our team of leaders by 50%The 

Add a full-time Preteen Ministry Director

Add additional administrative support

Create a new role focused on hospitality and large events

Increase Monthly Attendance

Provide a Ministry Internship

Singing God’s Praises
Music & Worship Ministry

We are a singing people. From the earliest days of the Methodist movement, music has helped us teach the faith, express our hope, and build community. At FUMC, music is central to our worship, our formation, and our shared life.

Every Sunday, our choirs, organists, handbell ensembles, and instrumentalists help us lift our hearts to God. These offerings of praise and beauty create a space where people encounter the divine—and where the Spirit moves in powerful ways.

In recent years, we’ve made a special investment in children’s music, believing that singing in worship is not only joyful, but deeply formative. Children who sing in church often grow into adults who lead, serve, and give. Through music, we pass on our theology, our traditions, and our love of God.

Through concerts, community events, and Concerts With a Cause, our music ministry already reaches far beyond our sanctuary walls, supporting mission partners and strengthening local nonprofits. A 2025 concert raised $15,000 for Volunteers in Public Schools.

Our commitment to worship goes beyond tradition alone. In addition to the beauty and depth of our historic sanctuary services, we are also growing a vibrant contemporary worship experience through our America Street service. This gathering offers modern music, creative liturgy, and a casual atmosphere that speaks to people seeking a different expression of faith. America Street is a space where newcomers often take their first steps into community and where long-time members can explore worship in a fresh way. We believe offering both traditional and contemporary services reflects the fullness of our congregation and creates more ways for more people to connect with Christ.

Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord. 

–Psalm 102:18

Music & Worship Ministry Goals

Ensure

the long-term vitality of our Worship and Music Ministry so future generations can connect with God through expressions of gratitude, reverence, and hope – offering beauty in times of celebration and comfort in times of sorrow.

Equip

children, youth and adults with strong foundations of faith by uniting them in worship through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Your support will provide high-quality instruction, resources, and experiences that nurture faith across all ages.

Expand

our outreach through musical events like Concerts with a Cause and Music Shelters the Soul, which have already contributed over $500,000 to local nonprofits.  Your financial legacy will continue to support world-class musical offering that bless both our congregation and the wider community.

Ensure

the vitality and growth of our America Street service by investing in updated worship space, stage design, lighting and technology – creating a dynamic environment where people of all ages can encounter Christ in a fresh and meaningful way.

Your Giving Impact

The Gift of Song
$50
Helps provide music and faith-forming resources for children and youth as they grow through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Concerts With a Cause
$1000
Supports a Concert with a Cause: brings our congregation and community together while supporting local nonprofits.
Teach a Leader
$100
Helps provide instruction, music, and resources that strengthen the gifts of those who lead us in worship.
America Street Experience
$5000
Transforms the America Street Worship Experience by updating the worship space, stage design, lighting, and technology.
Tune an Instrument
$250
Supports the instruments, technology, supplies, and resources that make vibrant worship possible each week.
Hope for the Future
$10,000
Makes a transformational investment in the future of Worship and Music at First United Methodist Church. Ensure that generations to come can experience God through music, worship, beauty, gratitude, reverence, and hope.

Faith that Endures
The Century Fund

Easter 2026 marks 100 years in our historic sanctuary. As we celebrate this milestone, we are launching something new—a bold step forward that reflects who we’ve been and who we’re called to be.

The Century Fund invites us to dream bigger for our community. While we continue to support many worthy causes, this fund enables us to make a bold, strategic investment each year. Alongside our broader giving, we will select one organization for a statement gift – helping them expand their impact and create lasting change in our community.

Century Fund Goals

This fund is more than a celebration of the past; it is a declaration of faith in the future—a future shaped by compassion, generosity, and the enduring love of Christ. Decades from now, when the question is asked, “Where did this come from?” People will remember the seeds of faith planted by those who gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this worshipful space.

$1 Million by 2030

Our goal is to build the Century Fund to $1 million by 2030. With this foundation in place, we’ll ensure that long after this celebration year is over, we continue to invest in mission, justice, and healing across our city.

4% to Nonprofits Each Year

Each year, 4% of the Century Fund will be used to provide a gift to a local nonprofit partner that embodies our core values—love of God, love of self, and love of neighbor. These partners won’t just receive a check. They’ll receive our prayers, our people, and our partnership. 

Preserving Sacred Space
Legacy Giving

The First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge Endowment is dedicated to supporting the mission of the church, with a primary focus on the upkeep and maintenance of our historic facility.

Currently, the Endowment holds $12 million in funds under management, invested through the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana and Orleans Capital. The investment portfolio is allocated 60% to stocks and 40% to bonds, ensuring a balanced approach to growth and stability.
Caring for our church home is a ministry in itself. Through the Endowment, we ensure that this sacred space is preserved and maintained not only for today, but for generations to come.  Currently, our Endowment provides between $330,000 and $400,000 each year to support the care of our historic facilities. These funds allow us to plan wisely and maintain our campus without placing the full burden on annual giving.

Our Goal 

Our long-term vision is to grow the Endowment to $25 million so that the full cost of building operations can be covered through legacy gifts.
Those who help make this vision a reality are recognized through membership in the Hebrews 11 Society.

Hebrews 11 society

In the Fall of 2015, FUMC’s Endowment Committee formed the Hebrews 11 Society. The Hebrews 11 Society is comprised of people who have shown their faith “in things hoped for” by giving, or planning to give, a legacy gift to the endowment of FUMC. The names of those in the Hebrews 11 Society are listed each year on All Saints Sunday – not to boast, but to witness to the generous grace of our God. Legacy gifts include:

A bequest in your will

A gift of real estate

Naming the church as a beneficiary to your life insurance or retirement plan

The creation of a gift annuity