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“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”
Matthew 25:35-36 Our Outreach Team takes the ministries of Bethany UMC beyond the grounds of the church. We give attention to local and outlying communities with ministries of compassion, justice, and advocacy. Some of the organizations we support include: James Island Outreach Food Pantry, Epworth Children’s Home, Back Pack Buddies, Hygiene Kits for the Unhoused, Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Charleston Wesley Foundation, Kairos Prison Ministry, Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry, and Holy City Mission.
James Island Outreach
Bethany partners with many other churches on James Island to support the work of James Island Outreach, a community focused ministry of crisis relief and ongoing assistance which supports those most in need on James Island. In support of JIO, we are continually seeking donations of boxed crackers as well as providing volunteers in the food pantry on the third Thursday of each month. Please contact our, Outreach Ministries Team Leader, Jennifer,, through the church office for information on how you can donate crackers or volunteer to serve in the pantry. 
Epworth Children’s Home
Established in the late 1800s, Epworth is a private child and family service organization operated by the United Methodist Church, licensed by the SC Department of Social Services, recognized as a 501(c)(3) private, child and family service organization, and a member of the United Methodist Association of Health & Welfare Ministries. Backpack Buddies Backpack Buddies mission is to supply nutritious weekend snacks to the food-insecure elementary school children living below the poverty line at all James Island public schools. Volunteers pack hundreds of bags weekly in coordination with several other James Island churches. Please contact our, Outreach Ministries Team Leader, Jennifer, through the church office for information on how you can volunteer to help pack bags. Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry A ministry of the SC Conference of the United Methodist Church that provides homes for adults with developmental disabilities enabling them to enjoy living in a Christian environment as independently as possible. Hygiene Kits for the Unhoused We package Hygiene Kits to provide assistance to the unhoused with daily personal care and grooming. The bags are delivered for distribution at the Charleston UMC Office. Lowcountry Orphan Relief Lowcountry Orphan Relief works closely with social services and other non-profit agencies providing clothes, shoes, books, toiletries and other items to children in dire circumstances. We host an annual clothing drive each spring to help in their efforts. We accept any gently used clothing items for children (ages birth to 18) that you would like to donate. The clothes must be in good condition, clean, and folded. Socks, underwear, and shoes must be new. Please see their website for more information by clicking on the subtitle above. Charleston Wesley Foundation CWF is committed to nurturing and growing disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world on the campuses of The Citadel, College of Charleston, Charleston Southern University, The Medical University of South Carolina, The American College of the Building Arts, Trident Technical College and any other college student in the Charleston area. We partner with them by providing meals at some of their weekly Bible Studies as well as providing financial support as we are able. Please contact Jennifer, Outreach Ministries Team Leader, through the church office with your interest in serving communities surrounding Bethany Church.
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Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church
Since The Advance, an accountable, designated giving arm of the United Methodist Church, was founded in 1948, more than $1.6 billion has been contributed to missionaries and mission projects. With hundreds of giving opportunities from which to choose, each donor can support ministry initiatives that align with his or her passion and calling.
Traveling to Senegal, in the mid-1990s, I witnessed firsthand the miracle of The Advance. Our United Methodist Communications video crew visited a small village where, 10 years earlier, people had gone hungry because of extreme drought.
Since then, UMCOR had planted dozens of fast-growing, drought-resistant moringa trees, and the water table had changed. A long line of trees towered over the now-verdant village. Crops and livestock flourished, adults went happily about their daily tasks and children laughed and played.
As we entered the village, the chief welcomed us. He expressed gratitude and joy that because of generous gifts to The Advance, people in his little village had big hopes for the future. Thank you!
-- Barbara Dunlap-Berg, freelance writer and editor, retired from UMCom
Traveling to Senegal, in the mid-1990s, I witnessed firsthand the miracle of The Advance. Our United Methodist Communications video crew visited a small village where, 10 years earlier, people had gone hungry because of extreme drought.
Since then, UMCOR had planted dozens of fast-growing, drought-resistant moringa trees, and the water table had changed. A long line of trees towered over the now-verdant village. Crops and livestock flourished, adults went happily about their daily tasks and children laughed and played.
As we entered the village, the chief welcomed us. He expressed gratitude and joy that because of generous gifts to The Advance, people in his little village had big hopes for the future. Thank you!
-- Barbara Dunlap-Berg, freelance writer and editor, retired from UMCom