Hinson, builder of megachurch, dies (founder of UMC Confessing Movement)

Houston Chronicle ^ | 28Dec04 | RICHARD VARA

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Hinson, builder of megachurch, dies Preacher turned around the struggling First Methodist By RICHARD VARA Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

The Rev. William H. "Bill" Hinson, a nationally known preacher who presided over the growth of First United Methodist Church from a dwindling downtown congregation to a two-campus megachurch, has died.

ADVERTISEMENT Hinson, who suffered a massive stroke Nov. 28, died at noon Sunday in Huntsville, Ala., with his family at his hospital bedside, said Ann Spears, a spokeswoman for First United Methodist Church. He was 68.

"My immediate reaction was one of shock and great sadness, for a mighty man of God has fallen," said the Rev. Stephen Wende, Hinson's successor at First United Methodist.

"Bill was highly regarded not only in the United Methodist church but also in other denominations for his commitment to Christ, his passionate preaching and his life of integrity," Wende said Monday.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. today at Huntsville's First United Methodist Church. Memorial services in Houston will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church downtown, 1320 Main, and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Westchase campus.

Hinson, who retired to Alabama in 2001, was pastor of First United Methodist Church for 18 years. Regarded as one of the denomination's top preachers, he left a healthy 12,500-member church that boasted a downtown sanctuary and a 27-acre west Houston campus.

First Church Houston had 2,000 members when Hinson arrived in 1982 from Albany, Ga., but the church was suffering from a declining downtown and families moving to the suburbs.

"We had lost 2 and 3 percent of our children every year for a generation," Hinson told the Chronicle in June 2001. "The number of children was going down, down, down and the (average) age of the church was going up, up, up. It was 64 and jumping up every year."

Hinson's preaching style attracted many new members.

"Preaching was his passion," said the Rev. Charles Thompson, associate pastor at First UMC. Thompson, who knew Hinson for 35 years, came with him to Houston from Albany.

"What he was preaching on Sunday was what you saw on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (and the rest of the week)," Thompson said.

He preached worldwide and throughout the nation during his career, an activity he carried on even in retirement.

Thompson said Hinson was always accessible to church members and was known for his easygoing, personable style.

Despite the new members attracted by Hinson, the church continued to struggle with its aging downtown facility and difficulty in attracting young families.

After a long, sometimes bitter internal debate, church members voted to purchase the tract in west Houston in 1992 but also keep the downtown sanctuary.

Hinson led the $40 million development of the West Houston campus, which included a state-of-the-art 3,000-seat sanctuary, pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade school, and a community recreation facility with softball fields, indoor and outdoor basketball courts and swimming pools.

Hinson also banded with other pastors to establish Houston Christian High School, which opened in 2001.

Known nationally for his long-running television ministry, Hinson also was a founder and a leader of the denomination's 650,000-member Confessing Movement, which supports traditional, evangelical views in the national church.

He sparked a short but intense controversy during the national church's assembly earlier this year when he called for the denomination to split into liberal and evangelical wings because of internal discord over homosexuality and scriptural interpretation.

Proposed possible split "We cannot fight both church and culture," Hinson said. "That struggle, combined with the continuous struggle in the church, is more than we can bear. I believe the time has come when we must begin to explore an amicable and just separation."

But conservative leaders ultimately decided not to formally present the proposal to the conference.

Hinson survived a battle with prostate cancer in 1992.

An earlier breast cancer battle waged by his wife, Jean, led both to promise God that they would retire when he reached 65 and devote time to their 13 grandchildren.

Survivors include his wife; son, Dr. John Hinson of Huntsville; and daughters, Cathy Hicks of Huntsville and Elizabeth Elder of Virginia.

The family asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to Wesley Academy, the church school at the west Houston campus, or the First United Methodist Church Foundation.