Lori Roof, Lay Leader for the Greater Southwest District, gives updates on ministry growth in her district, including Semilla Centro, Bradley: Indian Mission UMC, and Battle Creek: Washington Heights UMC.
LORI ROOF
Lay Leader, Greater Southwest District
One of the great pleasures I have in being a District Lay Leader is getting familiar with the wonderful projects and ideas that we have in our corner of the state. A year ago, we were split into 12 church branches, and it is great to see what fruit they are producing.
One of the most exciting initiatives is Semilla Centro, a new church plant for Hispanic/Latinx people living in Van Buren County. Van Buren County has rich farmland for growing corn, beans, grapes, apples, blueberries, and other fruits. The population swells each summer and fall, with many seasonal labor camps for harvesting grapes and other fruits. Semilla Centro helps to build relationships with this vulnerable, overlooked community, and as noted on their website, “to bring hope to every heart and purpose to every life.”
Through financial donations from the Michigan Conference through Ministry Shares and from churches throughout the area, Semilla Centro has been able to provide food at a social event to welcome new families in the area. Last year, the event brought in about 700 people. Services, Bible studies, and classes are offered in Spanish, and they recently opened a new church in Hartford. The first Semilla worship service will be on August 10, 2025. Semilla Centro works to establish trust with the Hispanic/Latinx community and helps them find the services and support that they need. Read more about their ministry.
Pastors Miriam Peralta De García and César García-Rodriguez have been appointed to this wonderful ministry. To support this ministry directly, send checks made payable to the “Greater Southwest District” with “Semilla Centro” in the memo line to: Greater Southwest District, 2350 Ring Rd N, Suite B, Kalamazoo, MI 49006.
One of the other ministries in our area is Bradley: Indian Mission UMC near Shelbyville. They are part of the Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe). The church has a rich heritage of serving the tribe for over 100 years. The services are mostly in English with some Pottawatomi words and concepts mixed in. The church provides counseling to the members of the tribe. They receive part of our offerings on Native American Ministries Sunday to support their mission. The current pastor is Todd Williamson.
We have food and clothing pantries at many churches within our district. I started counting, but I lost count after 20. I wanted to list them all! More churches supply free meals or backpack programs for food-insecure children. Some churches contribute to the Wesley Foundation at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo to help the university students there.
Pastor Monique French-Turner from Washington Heights UMC in Battle Creek, along with local area governments, has initiated a project called Recover Our Neighborhood. This project is constructing 17 homes near the church and refurbishing many more homes to provide affordable housing in a predominantly African American area in Battle Creek. Read this article to learn more about this amazing ministry. I thought the church must be huge to support all this, but it is a modest one. It just goes to show what faith in God can do!
God is richly blessing this part of Michigan, and I have been humbled and honored to speak with people who are being used by God in so many amazing ways. I feel truly blessed to be a United Methodist and hear about the lives of so many people being changed for the better. It warms my heart to feel God moving and bringing hope and a bright future to so many people. I can’t wait to see what fruit God will start on our branches in the future.
Last Updated on August 7, 2025