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OUR METHODIST HERITAGE

   Since its inception, God’s Spirit has enlivened the Methodist movement.  In the 1720s John and Charles Wesley and friends at Oxford University met together to deepen their Christian faith through daily, practical spiritual disciplines.  Derided by others for their “methodical” ways of practicing the faith and holding one another accountable to it, the small group embraced the insult and persevered in their fellowship.  And so, they and the millions who followed have since been known as “the people called Methodists.”
   In that spirit, the Global Methodist Church seeks the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to multiply disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the earth who flourish in scriptural holiness as we worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

With God's help, we prayerfully strive to live as a church that lives by faith, is known by love, and is a voice of hope. 

METHODISM IN FAYETTE COUNTY

   Methodist Circuit Riders from Arkansas occasionally preached in Fayette County beginning in 1824, and a well-known settle, John Rabb, was converted at a Caney Creek camp meeting in Sept. 1834.  The Rutersville circuit was established in 1839 and included La Grange.  Dr. Martin Ruter offered himself as a missionary to Texas, wanting to establish a Methodist college there.  He visited several times, the last being to settler John Rabb’s place in April 1838.  The Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Rutersville on Dec. 15, 1840 and La Grange was in this district until 1849, having no church building and meeting in members’ homes.   
   The Methodists of La Grange were given their first opportunity to obtain its own building when the county constructed a new courthouse in 1848 and sold their old frame budling to the church.  It was later moved from the square to a lot on South Washington Street.  The congregation built a new church in 1883 and was named for its location on Travis Street.  This sanctuary was remodeled three or four times with the first Education Building constructed in 1931 and another in 1962. 
   In 1990, Donald L. Dopslauf donated 5 acres on Von Minden Street on which the current church stands.  Construction of the new church was completed and dedicated in September 1993.  Due to the new location, the church was renamed “First United Methodist Church.”  On Sunday, August 20, 2023, the congregation gathered at the K.C. Hall for its New Life Celebration Sunday.  The day marked our denominational switch from the United Methodist Church to the Global Methodist Church (GMC) and declared our new name as New Life Methodist Church.

WHY THE "NEW LIFE" NAME?

   Our new church name, “New Life” is based on the Gospel of John chapter 10, verse 10: “I CAME SO THAT THEY WOULD HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY."   This name reflects our mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and His amazing grace.  There is life in Jesus and it comes through trusting that Jesus is exactly who He says He is: the Son of God who came to bring forgiveness of sins and new life in His name.