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First Methodist Conroe is a church where people of all ages and stages can call "home."
All ministries -- from toddlers to seniors -- are of equal importance. No matter the age, circumstance or background of those joining our Church Family, there is a ministry and service opportunity which will suit that person's interests, time, and talents. A "warm and friendly church", FUMC-Conroe has a growing membership of over 3,000 persons who actively seek God's will for their lives.
We are a people on a spiritual journey who provide support and love for one another on the way. Come, be a part of our journey!
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Our Heritage
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Noted Methodist pastor, editor and historian, Dr. Abel Stevens, once wrote, “There is so much that is heroic, and even romantic in the early history of Methodism it is difficult to ‘know where to stop, what to write, or what to leave out.’ We might add, “Where to start?”
To speak of our church heritage we can begin with the great “cloud of witnesses” who have not been spectators watching from heaven, but witnesses, heroes of the faith, faith’s champions.
We have only to look back at those earliest days of “horseback preachers,” whose main instruction was “You have nothing to do but to save souls.” The fruit? From 1773 to 1790 the American population increased 75 percent. During this same period, Methodism increased by 5500 percent. And by 1850 this insignificant sect had become the largest Protestant denomination in America. The movement of Methodism became the mission of Methodism.
Conroe Methodist church’s modest beginnings in 1870 chronicles a great movement and the dedication of those who moved ahead, venturing forth in faith. It is a story of sacrifice and spiritual growth grounded in prayer. More than one person along the way probably asked, or still today asks the question, “What is a Methodist?” Consider the Reverend John Wesley’s answer:
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"A Methodist is one who has the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him, one who loves the Lord his God with all his heart and soul and mind and strength. He rejoices evermore, prays without ceasing, and in everything gives thanks.
His heart is full of love to all mankind and is purified from envy, wrath, malice, and every unkind affection. His one desire and the one design of his life is not to do his own will but the will of Him who sent him. He keeps all God’s commandments from the least to the greatest."
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Wesley continues with these admonitions and warnings:
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"He follows not the customs of the world, for vice does not lose its nature through becoming fashionable. He fares not sumptuously every day. He cannot lay up treasures upon earth, nor can he adorn himself with gold and costly apparel. He cannot join in any diversion that has the least tendency to evil.
He can no more speak evil of his neighbor than he can lie. He cannot utter unkind or evil words. He does good unto all men: unto neighbors, strangers, friends and enemies.
These are the principles and practices of our sect. These are the marks of a true Methodist. By these precepts do Methodists desire to be distinguished from all other men."
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That then is our true heritage. To this end, we of Conroe First United Methodist Church bind ourselves together as a family of God, to comfort and lift one another in times of joy and sorrow, and to extend our sharing and caring out into the world.
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Our History
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Ever hear of a brush arbor?” Few have, but this “temporary” place of Methodist worship, built in 1916, met the small congregation’s need. Complete with wooden corner posts, palmetto leaves overhead, sawdust on the floor and hard, wooden benches, the arbor, finally weathered in, served Conroe Methodists for nearly a year.
A home church preceded this crude, transitional structure, later making way for meetings in a schoolhouse. Then, in 1892, the twelve to fifteen members built a small church for weekly worship service, but met for Sunday school only two Sundays each month.
Records in 1917 show that the grand, new church located at the corner of Main and Phillips, known as the “second sanctuary,” was completed at a cost of $11,208.14. In spite of a temporary attendance setback due to an epidemic of Spanish influenza, membership of Conroe Methodist Church grew to 400, with 250 enrolled in Sunday School.
In July 1941, the cornerstone of the proposed third sanctuary rested on the same site, accommodating the building to be completed that December. The old church facility served as an educational building for several years until damaged by a storm. During this period Sunday School classes met in various nearby locations.
A memorable event took place in 1965 when a long dreamed of extended, three-unit building, with all the related improvements, became a reality. Two years later another far more extensive, yet unrelated event occurred with the unification of Methodists and Evangelical Brethren -- now the United Methodist Church.
It is obvious that the history of Conroe First United Methodist Church is not complete. With the dedication of the current facility in November 2001, there appeared a new, enlarged era of service in which the doors are opened wide to all who come. Correspondingly, never in the history of the church has there been more urgent need for its stabilizing, strengthening influence and its spiritual guidance.
Lest we forget.... the history of our modest beginnings is not the story of any one group of people (albeit “labourers with God”), nor is it the mere recounting of properties and edifices. It is, indeed, the chronicle of a great movement, of service, of worship, all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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