Allen
Texas
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First United Methodist Church Of Allen
History
Although the real beginnings of the Methodist Church in Allen are forever lost to history, the first purchase of land by the church was recorded in 1884. Located north of Main Street and facing the railroad tracks on what is now North Austin Street, we do not know if a building ever occupied that site. The church then purchased land near McDermott and North Allen Drive, and a small plain wooden building, consisting of a sparse, one-room sanctuary, was built there in approximately 1902. This building existed until about 1917, when a storm damaged the building beyond repair.
A new church was built across the street sometime between 1917 and 1919 on land now occupied by the Allen Fire Department. This church was also constructed of wood and looked very much like the First Christian Church of Allen, which was located about one block north on North Allen Drive until 2003. The new church had towers at the northeast and southeast corners, wide front steps leading to a porch and a bell that was hung in the northeast tower and was rung twice each Sunday morning. The white frame building had a large sanctuary with classrooms along the north and south sides, as well as two small classrooms at the back (west side) of the building.
In 1964, a brick education building was built next to the sanctuary on the southwest side. It was soon decided that the wooden church was unsafe and the cost to repair it would be too high, so the original building was razed in August of 1965 and the cream-colored brick building became the new home of the Methodist Church in Allen. The brick building consisted of a small sanctuary that could seat about 50 people, six Sunday school rooms, a modern kitchen and central heat and air conditioning for the first time.
It was apparent almost immediately that this facility was too small. The town of Allen was starting to experience growth and future projections led the building committee to conclude that relocation was the solution. A site on South Highway 5 (Greenville Avenue) was selected and ground breaking occurred on June 19, 1966. Contractors for this complex were our own church members, Alton Boyd and Dan Strong. The resulting building is our present fellowship hall, courtyard, and office-kitchen-education building. The church occupied this new site in 1967.
In 1991, a new 400-seat sanctuary was added, and the existing sanctuary was converted into our current Fellowship Hall. In March of 1997, another growth spurt translated into the "Arise and Build" building campaign. As a result, in 1999, the sanctuary was expanded to seat 790, additional parking and road access to Jupiter Road was added, and the gymnasium, current nursery and classrooms were added on the east side of the sanctuary. Our most recent building campaign resulted in the prayer labyrinth, narthex and children's education building, which opened in 2003.
The Allen church was part of a circuit until 1952, meaning that although Sunday school was held each week, church services were only held once or twice a month when the circuit minister was in town. On the other Sundays, Methodist members visited other local churches. In 1952, Allen became a part-time pastorate with ministerial students supplying the pulpit until full time status was achieved in the 1960s, with James E. Connatser as the first full time pastor.
Although we have no record of the charter members of this church, it is apparent that many civic leaders in the community were also members of First United Methodist Church, including both early day Allen physicians, Dr. H. H. Compton and Dr. Malcolm O. Perry. Additionally, many schools and buildings in Allen are named for FUMC members, including W. E. "Pete" Ford Middle School, Alton Boyd Elementary School, Frances Norton Elementary School, Green Elementary School (named for the mother of members Georgia and John Green), James and Margie Marion Elementary School and the Joe Farmer Recreation Center.
Although the real beginnings of the Methodist Church in Allen are forever lost to history, the first purchase of land by the church was recorded in 1884. Located north of Main Street and facing the railroad tracks on what is now North Austin Street, we do not know if a building ever occupied that site. The church then purchased land near McDermott and North Allen Drive, and a small plain wooden building, consisting of a sparse, one-room sanctuary, was built there in approximately 1902. This building existed until about 1917, when a storm damaged the building beyond repair.
A new church was built across the street sometime between 1917 and 1919 on land now occupied by the Allen Fire Department. This church was also constructed of wood and looked very much like the First Christian Church of Allen, which was located about one block north on North Allen Drive until 2003. The new church had towers at the northeast and southeast corners, wide front steps leading to a porch and a bell that was hung in the northeast tower and was rung twice each Sunday morning. The white frame building had a large sanctuary with classrooms along the north and south sides, as well as two small classrooms at the back (west side) of the building.
In 1964, a brick education building was built next to the sanctuary on the southwest side. It was soon decided that the wooden church was unsafe and the cost to repair it would be too high, so the original building was razed in August of 1965 and the cream-colored brick building became the new home of the Methodist Church in Allen. The brick building consisted of a small sanctuary that could seat about 50 people, six Sunday school rooms, a modern kitchen and central heat and air conditioning for the first time.
It was apparent almost immediately that this facility was too small. The town of Allen was starting to experience growth and future projections led the building committee to conclude that relocation was the solution. A site on South Highway 5 (Greenville Avenue) was selected and ground breaking occurred on June 19, 1966. Contractors for this complex were our own church members, Alton Boyd and Dan Strong. The resulting building is our present fellowship hall, courtyard, and office-kitchen-education building. The church occupied this new site in 1967.
In 1991, a new 400-seat sanctuary was added, and the existing sanctuary was converted into our current Fellowship Hall. In March of 1997, another growth spurt translated into the "Arise and Build" building campaign. As a result, in 1999, the sanctuary was expanded to seat 790, additional parking and road access to Jupiter Road was added, and the gymnasium, current nursery and classrooms were added on the east side of the sanctuary. Our most recent building campaign resulted in the prayer labyrinth, narthex and children's education building, which opened in 2003.
The Allen church was part of a circuit until 1952, meaning that although Sunday school was held each week, church services were only held once or twice a month when the circuit minister was in town. On the other Sundays, Methodist members visited other local churches. In 1952, Allen became a part-time pastorate with ministerial students supplying the pulpit until full time status was achieved in the 1960s, with James E. Connatser as the first full time pastor.
Although we have no record of the charter members of this church, it is apparent that many civic leaders in the community were also members of First United Methodist Church, including both early day Allen physicians, Dr. H. H. Compton and Dr. Malcolm O. Perry. Additionally, many schools and buildings in Allen are named for FUMC members, including W. E. "Pete" Ford Middle School, Alton Boyd Elementary School, Frances Norton Elementary School, Green Elementary School (named for the mother of members Georgia and John Green), James and Margie Marion Elementary School and the Joe Farmer Recreation Center.