A Message from the One Board & Steering Committee

For 152 years, God has guided Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to transform lives, deepen faith, and serve our community and the broader world. Over the past several years, church leadership has prayed, listened, researched, and planned for a strong and vibrant future.

Beyond the Steps is our path forward—preserving our church’s legacy while growing our ministries and outreach. This two-year campaign has a goal of $3.5 million and three primary objectives:

• Install the required fire suppression system throughout our 42,000-square-foot historic building, an essential step before we can build out the third floor and make that space available to organizations that share our outreach goals.

• Support our 2027 and 2028 ministry budgets, sustaining worship, outreach, and ministries that serve our congregation and neighbors.

• Protect and rebuild our savings so they are available for true emergencies and major repairs to our aging electrical, plumbing, gas, HVAC, and other critical systems.

Oak Lawn UMC has no debt and no mortgage. For years, our savings have helped bridge the gap between annual giving and the cost of our ministries. But regularly drawing from those investments is not sustainable. We want to preserve those resources for the unexpected needs that inevitably come with a century-old building.

Beyond the Steps is about more than our building. It is about Christ’s call to love God and love our neighbors. Oak Lawn is known for radical love and welcome, and we want our ministries to continue growing and serving for generations to come.

We cannot achieve this vision without you. We ask you to pray for God’s guidance, participate in campaign events, and consider how you can generously support this effort. We are excited to take this leap of faith together.

In Christ’s love,

Your 2026 Board

Your Beyond the Steps Steering Team