Who We Are
We place primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action. This emphasizes what John Wesley referred to as "practical divinity."
We affirm the faith shared by all Christians, with particular emphasis on God's grace. The Bible is our sacred canon and, thus, the decisive source of our Christian witness and the authoritative measure of the truth in our beliefs.
For more on our denominational beliefs see https://globalmethodist.org
History
Mural by Ellen Elmes was commissioned to celebrate our centennial in 1991.
This congregation was organized in 1891 from a Sunday school which had been meeting in the old Hankins Store. At this time it was part of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1893 a frame building, known as the Little White Church, was constructed on the present site at the corner of Suffolk and Fourth. A new parsonage was built next door in 1915 and still stands. In 1939 renovations were made, a Sunday school annex was added and we became First Methodist Church. In August 1968, fire destroyed the building. The congregation met at the High School while the present building was constructed moving back home in July 1970. In 1968 the denomination merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church and we became First United Methodist Church. In a church conference on January 22, 2023, the membership voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist denomination. We subsequently joined the Global Methodist Church in May, 2023.