Journey United Methodist Church
Journey's
Mission & Vision
The Mission of Journey United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
The Vision of Journey United Methodist Church is to be a faith community Investing in missions & service, connecting to the community, and engaging in discipleship.
Journey's History
Journey United Methodist Church is a newly blended united methodist body formed in 2021 from the formal known United Methodist Church of the Redeemer and Bells United Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Church of the Redeemer in Temple Hills, Md was founded in 1958. The church was formally known as Blessed Redeemer Methodist Church and the Church of the Redeemer before formally joining the United Methodist Church. The First Pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Redeemer was the Reverend Harry Kiely. He resided over the Church from 1958 to 1964. Currently, the presiding Pastor is the Reverend Michael Parker II, who started his appointment in 2018.
Bells United Methodist Church, originally Bells Church, a Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1800s in Camp Springs, Maryland. As Bells Church, the original congregation remained under the North Church Jurisdiction during the major decision of disallowing slave ownership at the end of the Civil War. Unfortunately, This decision caused several issue for the foreseeable future of the Church.
Luckily, the creation of Andrews Air Force Base created a rising population of congregants for Bells UMC. In 1966, Bell UMC was appointed its first African American Pastor, The Reverend Harold Green Johnson. He remained appointed until 1972 persevering through the several claims and visits of the Ku Klux Klan members affiliated with the Church. The Church remained integrated after the appointment of Reverend Johnson.
In 2018, The Reverend Michael Parker II started his appointment at Bells United Methodist Church in conjunction with United Methodist Church of the Redeemer and still presides over these Churches as they have merged into Journey United Methodist Church.
United Methodist Church
JUMC is apart of the United Methodist Church, a protestant christian denomination that is rooted from the Methodist Movement started and founded on the teachings of John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley. The United Methodist Church was officially formed in Dallas, Texas in 1968, with the union of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church is a global church that has members and conferences in several continents such Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. To Learn more about the UMC, please go to https://www.umc.org/en/ or https://www.bwcumc.org