About Our Church

 

We the People of St. John's United Methodist Church, as co-ministers for Jesus Christ, are striving to go forth and make disciples in our rural community by taking the Word and Love of Jesus Christ into our community and into our world.

About Our Church

​Our Mission Statement:

We the people of St. John’s United Methodist Church, as co-ministers of Jesus Christ, are striving to go forth and make disciples in our rural community by taking the word and love of Jesus Christ into our community and into our world.

 

Brick and Mortar:
St. John's United Methodist Church is an outgrowth of an appointment on the old Chambersburg Circuit known as the "Red School House," located about eleven miles southwest of Chambersburg in Hamilton Township. The original building was erected around 1825 as a preaching appointment of the United Brethren Church.

As the congregation grew the original building could no longer house all of those worshiping at St. John's. So in 1868 a new building was erected. The building served the congregation until July 30, 1924 when a tornado nearly leveled the church. Immediately the congregation set about replacing the church home and rebuilt the structure and was able to dedicate the current sanctuary on November 16, 1924.

1968 was a time of change for St. John's Evangelical United Brethren. Two denominations united, the Evangelical United Brethren and e Methodists, creating a new denomination: the United Methodists. St. John's chose to become a part of the new denomination and they became St. John's United Methodist Church. The congregation continued to grow over the years and the building was expanded in 1954. The expansion added additional Sunday School rooms, a fellowship area, and a kitchen. Also, during the expansion, the pulpit area of the sanctuary was reoriented to the other side of the church, where it is still today.

On May 20, 1979 a service of dedication occurred after another addition was added. The expansion included more a library and a pastor's study.

In February of 2009, the congregation began yet another expansion project that made the building handicapped accessible and bring the building up to modern codes. A new narthex was also added to provide comfortable seating down stairs, an elevation, addition restrooms on both floors, and a new nursery.

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Supporting Properties:
The church, in 1972, purchased approximately 4 acres of land at the corner of Gomer and Coontown Roads from the Gomer family. Several years later, in 1980, the church built a ranch-style brick house to serve as a parsonage for the pastor. The land continued to be developed in 2000 with the addition of a pavilion, a basketball court, and a softball/baseball field. A barbeque pit was added in 2007 by a member of the Congregation for his Eagle Scout Award.