Worship Ministry

Worship Ministries encompass all aspects of worship and praise of God. Our goal is to set the environment in which each worshipper can have an encounter with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit that will help them in their daily walk in life after the worship service is completed.

We have two Sunday morning worship opportunities. Our 9 AM Chapel service is an abbreviated traditional service with hymn singing, prayer, and a message from God’s Word. It is held in our Chapel, which is located in our Office Building that can be accessed from Central Avenue, and lasts 30 minutes. Our 11 AM Sanctuary service is a full traditional service with expanded music and liturgy selections, as well as a message taken from the Holy Bible, and lasts one hour. The 11 AM service can also be seen locally on Mediacom and on Facebook Live (Central United Methodist Church, Fitzgerald, Georgia). It can also be seen on our YouTube Channel, usually the upload is completed on Monday mornings.

We also conduct seasonal and special worship services throughout the year. Our seasonal services include Holy Week and Easter, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas Eve. Our special Sunday services include Children’s Sunday, Youth Sunday, Laity Sunday (celebration of the ministry of all laypersons), Homecoming, and Sunday School Promotion Sunday. Occasionally we will have a special service where a nationally known music artist or evangelist comes to share their God-given talents and testimony.

We observe two Holy Sacraments, which are baptism and Holy Communion. Baptisms are for infants/children and adults, which are scheduled on an as-needed basis. Holy Communion is typically observed once-a-month and is administered through individual elements (each person will be given a piece of bread and a sterile disposable cup with grape juice).

These worship services require many people to set the worship environment. There are opportunities to serve in our Worship Ministries. These opportunities include ushers, Sacrament preparation, altar guild (responsible for preparing the altar with coverings and candles for worship), banners, and audio/visual team.

Reverend Dr. Richard M. Wright

Senior Pastor
Reverend Dr. Richard M. Wright is an ordained elder in the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served churches from small to large and from rural to urban. His degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Columbus College (Columbus, Georgia), a Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia), and a Doctor of Ministry in Evangelism and Missions from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Austin, Texas). Prior to ordained ministry, he served 15 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman. He is a Operation Desert Shield / Desert Strom combat veteran where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He has also been an entrepreneur of two businesses and worked for several years with two international logistics corporations. He is a noted author, speaker, and teacher on church growth and personal spiritual growth. His books, Stop the Church Revolving Doors, Help, I’m Lost: The Wanderer’s Guide to Salvation and Prayer Expedition at Epworth by the Sea, continue to help churches and people move forward in participating with God in Kingdom-building through the use of their spiritual gifts and their church’s ministries. His website at www.drrichardmwright.com has more information on his books. He has served in several denominational leadership positions including leadership development, church growth and revitalization, clergy mentoring, ministry visioning, and ministry planning. His ministry has been described as focusing on empowering lay people to be the Christian servants that God needs them to be so they can be an effective witnesses of the good news of Christ with all people. Dr. Wright is very passionate about individuals and churches finding their purpose in God’s Kingdom and developing the means to pursue those purposes. One church member said, “Pastor Rich is a dynamic preacher who helps us understand and apply the scriptures to our lives. He is a wonderful teacher who shows us the golden nuggets in scripture so we can use them in our service to God and our community. His passion to share the good news of Christ is contagious to our church members.” Dr. Wright and his wife, Ruth, have been married over 30 years. They currently live in Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he serves as the Senior Pastor of Central United Methodist Church.

BJ Funk

Associate Pastor
As Associate Pastor, BJ has the privilege of interacting with church members and community members as they work together to learn God's plan in their lives. He has also given her a great love for writing, and she has the privilege of writing for one of the United Methodist Church's magazines, Good News. She also writes for our conference's online newsletter, The Advocate. She also loves teaching Bible Studies in the church and also online. God blesses her through the opportunity to speak at Women's Conferences. She loves every chance God gives her to be a small part of bringing the gospel to others. She truly loves her job.