WE ARE GETHSEMANE

Named after the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed, “not what I want but what you want” (Matthew 26:39), Gethsemane was founded as Gethsemane Methodist Church in 1956, with the purpose of reaching a new generation of Houstonians as Houston expanded to the southwest. In 2009, Gethsemane merged with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Houston and became the second campus of St. Luke’s.

WE WELCOME

God has called us to welcome our neighbors with extravagant grace and hospitality, as Scripture has said, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 12:1-2).

We welcome our neighbors by serving their spiritual needs and physical needs. We believe that people only care about what you know when they know that you care. Our neighborhood will care about what we know – that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John:6) – when they know that we care about them – when we love them as we love ourselves (Luke 10:7).

We inhabit the sacred space between congregation and community center. Some people have called Gethsemane a mission. Others, a non-profit. Others, a church. To that we say- YES. We are here to love people with the love of Jesus and welcome them into the Jesus family.

WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF CULTURES

We’re proud to call southwest Houston home. We serve the Sharpstown, Gulfton, and surrounding neighborhoods of Houston. It’s the most diverse corner of the most diverse city of America. We strive to reflect the diversity of neighbors. That’s why we worship in English, Spanish, and Swahili- because that’s who’s living next door. Acts 2 tells the story of Pentecost: “They were all together in one place… All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (2:1,4). We are the “one place” of Pentecost, where the Spirit equips us to offer Jesus in whatever language is necessary.

WE LIVE IN KINSHIP WITH JESUS

The dream of Scripture is that, because of Jesus, we can be one human family, where there is no us and them; there is only us. Ephesians 2 says, “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has broken down the dividing wall between us, that is, the hostility between us… so that he might create in himself one new humanity” (2:14,15). That is the vision of kinship, to be one people not divided by language, race, culture, origin or any label the world might put on us. We simply belong to one another, as we all belong to Jesus.

THREE VALUES SHAPE THE GETHSEMANE CULTURE

Translate the good news of Jesus Christ in ways people need and understand.
Transform our lives by taking Jesus in and our community by taking Jesus out.
Transcend the barriers of the world and make friends in Christian community.