St. Paul United Methodist Church (1831 – Present)
The roots of St. Paul United Methodist Church can be traced back to October, 1831, when a young Methodist circuit rider, James Slavens, preached to a handful of settlers in a cabin. The following year, a small Methodist congregation organized by Slavens, built the first church in Springfield, which was later shared with Presbyterians.
By 1842, Springfield boasted a population of approximately three hundred people and had outgrown the original building. A larger frame structure was built on the corner of what is now South Avenue and Walnut Street.
In 1844, the Methodist Church split on the issue of slavery, and by 1848, The Methodist Church in Springfield became known as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It was large enough to be able to support a minister.
By 1858, plans had been implemented to raise a new building. The old church was moved two hundred feet and the foundation for the new building on the corner of South Avenue and Walnut Streets was begun
In the spring of 1861, the church was still not finished and the Civil War extracted a high price on the growing house of worship. Church operations were practically stopped in the area and the Methodist Church became an arsenal and storehouse for the Federal Army.
After the Union Army victory, the northern Methodist Episcopal Church, which had been organized in Springfield in 1864, took control of the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, assuming its debts and repairing the damage of the military occupation in the church during the war.
In 1868, the St. Louis Conference of the Methodist Church, South, met in Jefferson City and an attempt to try to recover possession of the storm-damaged property for the southern branch of the church was undertaken. Sufficient repairs had been made so that the lower floor of the structure could be opened again for services in May of 1869.
(It is interesting to note that the northern branch of the church purchased a lot on what would become Pershing Street, and the frame church built then was first named Bentley Chapel and then renamed in 1879 to Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, a church that would again enter the history of St. Paul UMC more than 125 years later.)
By 1885, the membership had grown to 300 and was renamed for the Biblical disciple, St. Paul.
Toward the end of the century, the decision was made to build a new church and also a new parsonage, and a lot on the northeast corner of Walnut and Jefferson Streets was purchased in 1901. A building committee was formed and after agreeing to construct a building that would seat a thousand people, the committee visited St. Louis, MO, to see the famed St. John’s Church. The architects of that structure were hired to design the same classic style of building for the new Springfield church.
Ground was broken for the new building in 1902 and by June of 1904, dedication services for the new church were being planned.
By 1910, the church had cleared past debt and in 1912 a three-story brick parsonage was built next to the church, which housed ministers and their families for decades thereafter.
The period of World War I brought a continued increase in church membership, and in 1926, a three-story education win was added to the east of the original structure. The remodeling also included work on the sanctuary, which was enlarged.
Attendance continued to rise during the depression years; by 1931, membership was listed at 1,517.
In 1939, there was a union of three Methodist bodies, namely the Methodist Protestant Church, which had split from the main body in 1828, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and from that union St. Paul became the St. Paul Methodist Church.
Yet another merger in 1968 found the Evangelical United Brethren Church joining with the Methodist Church nationwide and the name was changed to St. Paul United Methodist Church.
By 1970, a committee of volunteers at St. Paul launched what was to be a 5,000 volume church library, and in 1981, a church history room was dedicated during the observance of the 150th anniversary of the church.
By 1982, the church counted 1,100 members and aired broadcasts each Sunday on a local radio station. St. Paul also offered 15 church school classes, the Shepherd Program, United Methodist Men, The Cover Girls quilting guild, the Methodist Youth Fellowship and a United Methodist Women group, which had seven Circles.
The decline in membership and attendance continued from the mid-80s through the early years after the Millennium for numerous reasons, such as young people marrying and beginning their families or moving because of career needs, young people moving out of the area, aging and dying long-time members, and through people moving to other churches in the Springfield area and surrounding communities.
In 2004, District Superintendent Sue Watson invited the officers of three downtown area United Methodist Churches to discuss the possibility of merging because of declining memberships, dwindling attendance, geographically serving the same area, and financial constraints for all three. Grace and St. Paul tentatively seemed open to the idea.
St. Paul UMC had an average attendance prior to the merger of approximately 110 to 125; others judged it nearer 130 to 150.
Rev. Gary Metcalf, lead pastor at St. Paul since 1997, was to be the pastor of the newly created church. Rev. Kim Bechtel, a new graduate from Garrett Theological Seminary, became the associate pastor.
Both churches held church conferences independent of each other under the direction of Watson, and only members present were allowed to vote. The vote tallies on the Resolution of Unification were as follows: Grace UMC (87 yes, 8 no, total 95); St. Paul UMC (84 yes, 36 no, 1 uncast ballot turned back in, total 121).
The two congregations met in the fellowship hall of St. Paul thereafter for lunch and then met in the sanctuary to find out a majority of members in each church had approved the merger.
On Sunday, September 11, 2005, First United Methodist Church became a reality.
Although both churches were now one congregation, the two facility sites became “campuses.” To avoid any confusion as to when and where the new church would meet, the former St. Paul UMC was called the north campus and the former Grace UMC the south campus. For the remainder of that month, worship services were held at the south campus and in October, moved to the north campus. The rotation on a monthly basis for services remained until the vote was taken for the former St. Paul UMC to be the designated church building although church offices were moved to the south campus (formerly Grace UMC).
The merger, which was broken by a vote of the entire congregation at First United Methodist, lasted roughly 21 months from September 11, 2005 to July 1, 2007.
Services were resumed immediately at St. Paul UMC. Rev. Jerry Boehmer was appointed as pastor for both churches and served for one year.
Attendance at St. Paul never recovered to pre-merger days. Attendance by month for the next six months following dissolution averaged between 53 and 72 people in service on Sunday mornings (July, 72; August, 63; September, 61; October, 63; November, 63; December, 55; and January, 53).
District Superintendent North Bart Hildreth appointed Rev. Ron McIntire as fulltime lead pastor in June 2008. As of January 2011, McIntire began serving as a three-quarter-time pastor for St. Paul. In min-2011, St. Paul began two other outreach ministries. Effective September 1 St. Paul became the host church for Missouri State University’s Methodist student ministry called “Green Room” led by Rev. Matt Kerner. The Green Room holds their weekly worship in St. Paul on Wednesday’s at 8:30 p.m.
Also in early September 2011 St. Paul began a second worship service targeting a younger group of worshippers. This contemporary service held at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays features a praise band, with praise music and a contemporary message from the pastor. St. Paul continues to seek different ways we can make new disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, which is our mission statement.
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Source material taken with permission from original work of Virginia Gleason (“History of St. Paul United Methodist Church” by Virginia Lee Gleason, c. 1981, St. Paul United Methodist Church 1982 Directory).
