Two Sunday Mornings at 4814 Oaks Lane
FaithWestwood United Methodist Church sits on a hill in southwest Omaha, visible to drivers along L Street / Industrial Road and reached from either 120th Street or 132nd Street. Two Sunday morning worship services are offered at 9 am and 10:45 am, both in person and online, along with Sunday School and a nursery at each service. Coffee and donuts are served in fellowship hall between services.
The 9 am service is a relaxed traditional gathering with hymns, organ, and piano, supported by the chancel choir and handbell choir on selected Sundays. The 10:45 am service is contemporary, led by a worship band. Both services include a dedicated Children's Time, scripture reading, prayer, and a Bible-based message that runs about thirty minutes or less.
Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month. Worshipers come forward to the altar rail, and all who put their faith in Jesus are welcome to receive the bread and cup, whether a partner of FaithWestwood, a partner of any other church, or of no church at all. Online worshipers are invited to gather bread or a cracker and a drink at home.
Two offerings are received each Sunday. The first supports the general Ministry Fund, and the second supports a weekly Mission Focus that changes each week; both go in the same plate. Guests are not expected to give. For those who use hearing aids or cochlear implants equipped with a T-coil, a hearing loop is installed in the worship center.
The main entrance faces east toward Oaks Lane and leads into the foyer, fellowship hall, and worship center. The west entrance, on the lower side of the hill, leads through a hallway to the same foyer and to the lower level of the worship center, where the Micah Center, FaithWorks Pantry, and nursery are located.
FaithWorks Pantry and the Pantry Garden
FaithWorks Pantry is the church's monthly food ministry. It opens three times a month: on the Wednesday before the second Thursday (for seniors, by appointment, from 12:30 to 3 pm), on the second Thursday (5 to 7 pm, with doors opening at 5 pm), and on the fourth Saturday (10 am to 12 pm, with doors opening at 10 am). The entrance is on the south end of the building at 4814 Oaks Lane, and patrons park along the south wall.
At check-in there is no ID requirement, only a name, a simple yes/no question about income, and the number of people in the household. While patrons wait, they are invited to sit at a table and enjoy a meal. FaithWorks Pantry is a partner of Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue, the local perishable food rescue service, which helps channel surplus food from area vendors into the pantry's offerings.
Behind the pantry, the FaithWorks Pantry Garden grows fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement pantry offerings each season. Volunteers tend the beds on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 9 am to 12 pm throughout the growing season, with no experience required. The pantry itself expanded in 2025, with the wall between the existing space and the new addition demolished, a new storage room added, and the connected Micah Center gym and hallways repainted and refloored. The expansion roughly tripled the space available to patrons.
An ongoing "4 or More for FaithWorks Pantry" program invites the congregation to bring four or more items from a published shopping list - typically boxed pasta (not spaghetti), breakfast bars, 64-ounce juice, and adult cereals such as shredded wheat or raisin bran - to drop off on Sundays or to the church office during the week.
Outside the Walls
Each September, FaithWestwood trades a regular Sunday for an all-church weekend of community service called Outside the Walls. In 2026 the weekend falls on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, plus one earlier "Early Bird" project with Food Bank for the Heartland on Saturday, September 12.
On the Sunday of Outside the Walls, the congregation meets at 9 am in the worship center for a short rally, then breaks into teams serving projects in and around the church and the neighborhood. A recorded message is posted online for those unable to serve in person. The 2026 partner list includes Mosaic of Omaha, The Furniture Project Omaha, The Diaper Bank, Heartland Kids Against Hunger, Food Bank of the Heartland, Central Middle School, Oaks Park, Walnut Grove Assisted Living, FaithWorks Pantry, the Pantry Garden, local first responders, and several in-house programs including 3D Kids on a Mission, Blanketed with Prayer, FaithSent Card Ministry, and the gardens surrounding the church.
The Micah Center and the 5Ms
The Micah Center is the name FaithWestwood has given to its lower level, taken from Micah 6:8 - "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." It houses the FaithWorks Pantry, a gym, several meeting rooms, the relocated nursery, and offices for Mosaic, a faith-based organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through a three-year lease agreement, Mosaic uses the space for its Omaha-area offices and a "hub" where people supported by Mosaic begin their day of activities in the community.
The 5Ms - Monday Morning Methodist Maintenance Men - are a FaithGroup that meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 9 am. After a time of devotion, fellowship, and prayer, the men take on maintenance projects around the building and grounds. No experience is required; tools and training are provided. The 5Ms contributed all of the labor for the FaithWorks Pantry expansion in 2025.
Two new spaces in the Micah Center - a Children's Library and an Instrument Petting Zoo - are set to be dedicated in the summer of 2026, completing a multi-year renovation that also converted lighting to LED, refurbished cabinet doors, and renovated the relocated nursery.
Children's Ministry and the Family Check-In
Children's Ministry at FaithWestwood is built around Sunday School for ages 3 through 5th grade and a nursery for infants through age 2, both at the 9 am and 10:45 am services. Families arriving for the first time stop at the Family Ministry station in the foyer to check in. Then they sit together in the worship center until Children's Time, after which kids signed up for Sunday School follow their teachers upstairs to their classrooms. The nursery is on the first floor in the Micah Center, just down the hall from the foyer.
Next Gen & Family Engagement Director Leah Dinoso oversees Children's Ministry, Student Ministry, and the church's family ministry programming. Vacation Bible School, held each June, is the largest event of the year and a free community event, with rotating stations called Bible Adventure, Imagination Station, KidVid Cinema, and an outdoor game, all run by a costumed troupe of hosts called The Petes (Pete, RePete, 3Pete, and Tiny Pete). The week closes with a Family Night that pulls parents into the experience, and the Sunday after VBS is VBS Sunday - one worship service at 10 am with kid-style music, a special message from Leah Dinoso, and The Petes recapping the week.
Faith 45 is a preteen ministry for 4th and 5th graders who meet for a set number of weeks around February and March in their own small group space, designed to ease the transition into Student Ministry in 6th grade. Children also participate in an annual Christmas pageant, with auditions opening to students in 4th grade and up.
Student Ministry and MidWeek
Student Ministry at FaithWestwood serves grades 6 through 12. The main weekly meeting is MidWeek, held on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7:45 pm during the school year. MidWeek combines worship, fellowship, large and small group time, service projects, and time to just hang out. Students serve alongside the wider congregation at Vacation Bible School, the annual Christmas pageant, Trunk or Treat, and the Drive-thru Live Nativity, and they go on summer service trips both locally and to other states.
Confirmation classes are offered to eighth graders. The program includes Bible-based discussion, community building, and a focus on the question "Who is God in my life?" Students who complete the classes choose for themselves whether to make their discipleship declaration and partnership covenant with FaithWestwood; the decision is theirs.
Caring Ministries, Wellness, and Prayer
Caring Ministries Director Vikki O'Hara coordinates a wide range of pastoral and wellness offerings. Pastoral prayer and counseling, counseling referrals, and in-home and healthcare facility visitation are available to members and the wider community. Prayer requests can be sent to prayers@faithwestwood.com, with the option to mark the request confidential so that it stays with the staff and prayer team rather than the congregation-wide prayer list. Vikki also serves as the first point of contact for arranging funerals and memorial services at the church.
For those grieving a loss, FaithWestwood hosts periodic 13-week GriefShare support groups following the national Christian program. The Solutions Group for Family Caregivers meets every other month, facilitated by Nancy Flaherty, a licensed social worker, nursing home administrator, and certified dementia practitioner. The group focuses on the challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or other dementia, and individual consultations are also available between meetings. Tai Chi for Balance, a gentle exercise class taught by certified instructor Paula Allen, meets Mondays and Thursdays from 11:15 am to 12 pm; it is open to the wider community through the west entrance.
The Caring Ministries umbrella also includes a Prayer Team, Angels on Wheels, Meal Train, Health & Wellness Ministry, FaithSent Card Ministry, Blanketed with Prayer, and a Fidget Blanket Ministry that makes tactile blankets for people living with dementia.
Music, Hospitality, and FaithGroups
Music at FaithWestwood runs through several ensembles and welcomes new volunteers. The Chancel Choir sings at the 9 am service on selected Sundays and includes singers from high school age up. The Handbell Choir plays one Sunday a month at the 9 am service. Music & Worship Director Shane Goughnour also recruits musicians, vocalists, scripture readers, media operators, and online hosts for both services.
Greeters and ushers serve as the Hospitality team at each service, including online hosts who welcome, chat with, and guide viewers during livestream worship.
FaithGroups are the small group backbone of the church: regular gatherings for study, prayer, and fellowship, often built around a book, a study guide, or the most recent Sunday message. Some groups extend open invitations, others form with the pastor's guidance, and some grow organically out of shared interests. The current 2026-2027 GROW Catalog lists the FaithGroups open to new members and includes a study guide for the current worship series.
Other programs that round out the year include United Women in Faith, which meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 am (except summer months) in fellowship hall for a light breakfast, speaker, and fellowship; the Creation Care team, which works toward making FaithWestwood a zero-waste building; the Gardening Angels, a seasonal group that tends the church's flower beds; and the Missions Team, which partners with neighborhood schools, the local food bank, Operation Gratitude, the BLESS Friends Project, Chariots 4 Hope, Together, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for disaster response.
United Methodist Beliefs at FaithWestwood
FaithWestwood teaches classic United Methodist beliefs. Members affirm faith in the Holy Trinity - one God in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and hold the Bible as primary and foundational, alongside the historic creeds such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is central, understood as God's victory and the promise of resurrection for all who put their faith in him.
Salvation is by grace through faith, not earned. Communion is celebrated as a holy mystery with an open table: all persons may receive the bread and cup at Jesus's table. Baptism is an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace, offered to infants and adults; the Baptismal Covenant also marks confirmation, reaffirmation of faith, and the partnership covenant.
The church's own mission statement reads "Making Disciples of Jesus Christ," with the vision "To Become Deep, Daring, Daily Disciples." Five guiding principles shape programming: Generational, Relational, Missional, Practical, and Invitational. As part of the worldwide United Methodist Church, FaithWestwood draws on the Methodist movement's long emphasis on Bible study, small group accountability, and a strong social gospel alongside personal faith.
Pastors, Directors, and the Church Family's Rhythm
Reverend Cindi Stewart serves as Lead Pastor and oversees the FaithGroups ministry and the FaithWorks Pantry relationship. Shane Goughnour directs Music & Worship; Leah Dinoso directs Next Gen & Family Engagement, overseeing children's, student, and family ministries; and Vikki O'Hara directs Caring Ministries. The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am to 3 pm. Online worship is available on Facebook, YouTube, and the church's livestream page. Giving is available online and by text.