Volunteers in Mission

First United Methodist Church Omaha NE


Volunteers in Mission (VIM) is a program of the United Methodist Church that began in the late 1980s. It has rapidly grown to be one of the most popular outreach ministries of the church. The purpose is to provide help for people in crisis or to provide much-needed workers for UMC (United Methodist Church) institutions which then can serve people. Work can range from weeding, cleaning, construction & roofing, and painting pictures--depending on the needs of the situation.

FUMC began to participate in VIM in 1990. We have traveled to at least one site for a week each summer and participated in many other short-term projects. VIM team persons have represented FUMC in the Navajo nation, Chile, Lydia Patterson Institute, Henderson Settlement, Cookson Hills, Grand Forks, Mississippi & Missouri River flood relief, Camp Comeca, and many other places. We have recently been working on the Nebraska Cabin at Mt. Sequoyah, the Jurisdictional Conference Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and also working to improve the grounds.

Locally, we have worked at Camp Fontanelle a number of times. Join us for a day at this beautiful camp. In addition to the clean up, we will have a special project this summer at the camp. For more information, call the church office (402-556-6262, extension 1001).

A VIM team will be traveling to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky October 18-26. There will be a variety of work from construction to sorting clothes in the thrift store. There are many jobs for various abilities.

Twelve representatives of FUMC have just returned from working for a week at Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mount Sequoyah is the jurisdictional conference and retreat center for the South Central Jurisdiction. Some of the jobs included weeding the beautiful flower beds, painting benches, lawn and garden work, housekeeping, and electrical wiring. The FUMC VIM team has worked for three summers to update and renovate the Nebraska cabin on the mountain. We completed the wiring update and are ready to install heat pumps to replace gas wall furnaces as soon as the funds become available. Consider stopping at the mountain for an overnight stay or holding a family reunion there.