From Twelve Families to a Grelot Road Congregation
Christ United Church sits on Grelot Road in west Mobile, a stretch of western Mobile County that has been the church's home since the early 1980s. The congregation began in 1979 when twelve families, along with founding pastor Jeff Spiller and his wife Norma, started meeting in a charter member's living room and dreaming about what a new kind of Methodist church might look like in that part of the city. They committed themselves to three basic spiritual needs: a relationship with God, a relationship with other Christians, and a purpose greater than themselves.
The small group moved several times in its first years before breaking ground in 1981 on its first sanctuary on Grelot Road. The founding families described their vision as a "permission-giving church," one in which members were encouraged to listen for God's call and launch Bible studies, Sunday schools, and outreach ministries of their own. By the end of its first decade, hundreds were calling the church home; soon thousands were coming through its doors. Jeff Spiller served as founding pastor until 2016, when the mantle passed to Rev. Dr. Rob Couch, who had previously served on staff at Christ United from 2000 to 2005 before pastorates in Saraland and Prattville. In 2023 the congregation voted to leave the United Methodist Church and reorganize as Christ United Church, A Methodist Community. Three years later, in January 2026, Christ United joined The Foundry Network, a group of 21 large independent former United Methodist churches from across the country that share resources and encouragement.
Today the church's mission statement still echoes the founding vision: to make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. Members describe themselves with a simple three-part motto: Love God. Love People. Change the World.
Two Sunday Services, Two Music Styles
Sunday mornings at Christ United are designed so that worshipers can choose between two very different musical settings at the same hours. Both Sanctuary Worship and NewSong Worship are offered at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and both are livestreamed.
Sanctuary Worship takes place in the main sanctuary and features the Sanctuary Choir, smaller ensembles, and traditional hymns, led by Worship Arts Minister Dr. Allanda Small Campbell and a team that includes organist Jeremy Adcock and pianists Bryant Kimbrough and Jan McIntosh. NewSong Worship is held in the Christ Center Gym and leans contemporary, with a high-energy live band, modern praise songs, and technology-driven visuals, led by NewSong Worship Leader Courtney Foote.
Pastors Rob Couch, Brian Hasty, and Shaun Kaulfers rotate through the pulpit across the weekend. For anyone who can't attend in person, services are livestreamed online and rebroadcast on the church's YouTube channel, and weekly audio is available through the Christ United Podcast.
Kids, Students, and the Pumpkin Patch
Children and teenagers are a visible part of the church's identity. Kids Ministry at Christ United serves infants through fifth grade, with Ashley Walker as director and Rheeta Morrow leading the nursery.
On Sundays, Kids Worship for K5 through fifth grade meets in Fellowship Hall at both 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., an interactive hour of songs, crafts, Bible stories, and prayer. Infants through 3K have their own nursery in Building A staffed by paid nursery workers; the Garden Room offers rockers, changing tables, and a live feed of the Sanctuary service for parents who want to stay close by, and a nursing room is available for mothers who need privacy.
Wednesday nights add Kids Wacky Wednesdays for K4 through fifth grade in Fellowship Hall from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., with worship, crafts, games, and Bible time. The Fall Kids Choir rehearses Sunday evenings for first through fifth graders and sings in services throughout the year, and a Kindermusik program introduces younger children to music and movement.
Student Ministry, led by Director David London and Associate Student Director Crystal Couch, serves sixth through twelfth graders. Students meet for their own worship at 9:00 a.m. in the Student Area and then are encouraged to sit with their families at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday nights bring dinner in the Christ Café followed by Bible study upstairs from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Sunday Night Life, an evening program of supper, worship, teaching, and small groups, runs most of the school year. A Confirmation class for sixth graders meets on Sunday evenings and concludes with a Confirmation Sunday each spring. The Student Choir rehearses Sunday mornings and sings in worship services about once a month. Each January the ministry takes students to Winter Retreat at Camp Baldwin.
One of the most anticipated family events of the year is the Pumpkin Patch, which runs from early October through Halloween on the Christ United grounds. The patch serves as a fundraiser for Kids Ministry outreach and includes hay-bale mazes, a corn sandbox, family photo spots, and a Family Day with food trucks, a petting zoo, and inflatables. Volunteers help set up the patch, run time slots during the month, and clean up at the beginning of November.
Wednesdays at CU
Wednesday evenings from mid-August through late November are a second weekly gathering point for the church. The evening begins with a catered dinner in the Christ Café from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., with a changing menu of homestyle entrées like grilled pork chops with vegetables, white chicken chili, meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes, lasagna with broccoli Normandy, chicken and dumplings, Conecuh chili, and jambalaya. Pre-ordering online is an option.
After dinner, the campus opens up for several programs running in parallel from 6:00 to 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. Adults can choose from a rotating slate of Way of Discipleship classes, six-week topical studies, the long-running Inductive Bible Study of Genesis, and lay-servant training. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Instruments of Praise from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., and the NewSong Band from 7:30 p.m. Students move from the Café to their Bible study in the Student Area, while K4 through fifth graders head to Kids Wacky Wednesdays in Fellowship Hall. Nursery care is available throughout the evening.
Life Groups, Sunday School, and Adult Discipleship
Christ United organizes adult discipleship through two overlapping structures: Sunday School classes that meet on the church campus between or before services, and Life Groups of six to twelve people that meet throughout the week in homes, coffee shops, and other locations around Mobile.
Sunday School is offered at three different hours to accommodate the two Sunday services and early-arriving seniors. At 7:45 a.m., SOS for Women meets in room A-206. At 9:00 a.m., classes include Generations, Journey in Faith, Fellowship, Racerunners, Seekers, and Faithbuilders. At 10:30 a.m., Sojourners, Cup Bearers, and Coming Home are offered. Each class is loosely defined by life stage or study style, from lecture-style Bible survey to discussion-based topical work, and most take part in mission projects such as scholarships for youth camp, support for Deaf Teen Quest, the Dumas Wesley Toy Store, or Compassion International children.
Life Groups are designed as the more relational small-group setting. Groups meet on various days of the week and focus on Scripture, the current sermon, shared prayer, and life story. New groups can be started by anyone willing to lead, with the Director of Discipleship, Marcia Jacobs, helping newcomers find a fit.
In addition to small groups, the church runs a year-round slate of Bible studies and topical classes through its Adult Discipleship ministry, including a Tuesday Ladies Bible Study, a Wednesday morning Mom's Bible Study with free childcare, a Monday Ladies Bible Study and Lunch that meets in a member's home, the Living Word in-depth Bible study on Tuesdays, and the Handcrafting Bible Study that brings together knitters, crocheters, and other fiber artists on Wednesday mornings. The Jubilee Ministry looks after seniors with the Jubilee Jammers acoustic music group, Sit & Fit chair exercise, pickleball, and regular fellowship meals.
Men, Women, and the Sisterhood in Missions
Men's ministry at Christ United centers on a year-round calendar of Bible studies and Life Groups and an annual Men's Retreat held at Camp Baldwin in January. The most recent retreat, "Anchored," drew on Hebrews 6:19 as its theme and was led by Pastor Brian Hasty.
Women's ministry includes the Sisterhood in Missions, the new name for the church's longtime United Methodist Women-rooted mission group. Sisterhood is organized into three Circles that meet monthly for service, fellowship, and prayer. The Esther Circle gathers on the second Tuesday and oversees the annual school-supplies drive for Dixon Elementary and food support for Deaf Teen Quest. The Crossroads Circle meets on the fourth Tuesday and prepares and serves meals at McKemie Place, the Mobile shelter for women. The Elizabeth Circle operates primarily through a GroupMe chat with quarterly in-person gatherings, supporting Lifegate, local women's and children's missions, and global humanitarian relief.
College-age young adults have their own Sunday night Bible study at 8:00 p.m. in room C221/C223, and the church supports the USA Wesley Foundation among other campus ministries in its missions portfolio.
Worship Arts and Music for Every Age
Worship Arts at Christ United is built around the conviction that music is one of the most powerful ways to express and respond to God's love. The ministry is organized by age group, with Dr. Allanda Small Campbell leading the Sanctuary Choir, the auditioned ensembles (Living Sound, One Heart, and Women's Chorus), and the instrumental group Instruments of Praise. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses Wednesday evenings and sings in services most weeks. Voices of Hope, a volunteer choir that performs at assisted-living facilities one to two times a month, rehearses Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. The Exaltation Ringers hand bell choir meets Tuesday evenings.
On the contemporary side, Courtney Foote and the NewSong Band lead modern worship at both Sunday services. The Student Choir, directed by Crystal Couch, rehearses on Sunday mornings during the 10:30 service hour and sings in worship about once a month. Kids Choir rehearses on Sunday evenings during the fall semester for first through fifth graders, and Kindermusik offers early-childhood music and movement classes throughout the year.
Christ Café and the C-Sports Campus
The Christ Café has become a kind of unofficial living room for the church. In addition to its Wednesday dinner service, the café opens on Sundays from 8:00 to 10:20 a.m. for an express breakfast before and between services, with menu items ordered online or at the counter. Chef Kyle Eckhoff leads the kitchen, which follows CDC, Mobile County Health Department, and Servsafe guidelines. The café also offers full catering, with a Box Lunch menu and a Frozen Entree menu available for church and community events.
Just steps from the café is the Recreation Ministry, branded as C-Sports. The Christ Center Gym hosts NewSong Worship on Sundays and serves as the recreation hub the rest of the week, with pickleball for all ages and skill levels, Sit & Fit chair-exercise classes, and other fitness programming. Marcia Gibney serves as Director of Recreation Ministry, with Rose Farnell coordinating sports activities.
Missions in Mobile and Beyond
The Missions Ministry at Christ United works through three expressions: prayer, financial giving, and hands-on service. Mike Gaby serves as Director of Missions, organizing Change the World Service Days that tackle practical projects like yard cleanups, supply drives, and small repairs for neighbors in need. Many projects are family-friendly so that multiple generations can serve side by side.
The church partners with a long list of local and global ministries. Mobile-area partners include Alabama Rural Ministries, Dumas Wesley Community Center, Dwell Mobile, Home of Grace for women in recovery, McKemie Place, Metro Jail Ministry, Mission of Hope, Penelope House (the local domestic violence shelter), the Mobile County Sheriff Department Chaplain program, Victory Health Partners, the Widow's Mite Ministry, the USA Wesley Foundation, and YoungLife. The Ted Hoagland Scholarship supports students preparing for ministry. The church's Deaf Teen Quest ministry supports a national camp for deaf and hard-of-hearing teens. International mission trips include an annual journey to Casa Aleluya, an orphaned children's ministry in Guatemala, with opportunities for construction, medical and dental teams, and direct ministry with the children.
Each October, the Pumpkin Patch serves as a key fundraiser for Kids Ministry outreach. The Missions Ministry also keeps a calendar of shorter-term trips and one-day projects, with sign-ups available through the church's online groups portal.
Celebrate Recovery, Care, and Support
Pastoral Care Pastor Shaun Kaulfers and Director of Pastoral Care Donna Alexander lead a wide range of supportive ministries that meet on and off campus.
Celebrate Recovery is the church's flagship recovery ministry, meeting Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. The evening begins with a light dinner, moves into praise and worship, and then breaks into Christ-centered 12-step small groups separated for men and women. Childcare is provided for children up through fifth grade. The program operates in cooperation with other west Mobile churches so that members of the wider community can take part, and follows the five traditional Celebrate Recovery rules around anonymity, confidentiality, and mutual respect. A monthly Domestic Violence Family and Friends Support Group, led by staff from Penelope House, meets the first Thursday of each month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in room A-204.
Other pastoral-care offerings include Christian Cancer Support, Grief Support, a Widowed Persons ministry, Grace for Grandmothers, Lifegate, and ESL classes. The ESL program meets Mondays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to noon during the fall and spring semesters, with Beginning, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced classes for adults ages 19 and older. Classes cover grammar, reading, writing, conversation, vocabulary, citizenship, and American history. Childcare is provided free of charge for children up to age five.
JOY Worship is a monthly Sunday service designed for people with special needs and their families. Held at 3:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, the service is accessible and sensory-friendly and offers families a comfortable space to worship together.
The Way of Discipleship
Adult spiritual formation at Christ United runs through what the church calls the Way of Discipleship, a structured path with three stages: Explorer, Voyager, and Navigator. CU 101, the introductory class held once a month after the late service, is the on-ramp for newcomers. From there, members can choose from a menu of short-term classes on topics like the reliability of Scripture, the relationship between faith and science, the problem of suffering, heaven, sexuality, and the stages of the spiritual life. Longer-term tracks include a multi-week Inductive Bible Study through Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus; a Preaching & Teaching course taught by Pastor Rob Couch; and a Becoming a Lay Servant course taught by Pastor Shaun Kaulfers. The way concludes with an annual Confirmation Sunday each spring.
The Foundry Network and a Methodist Identity
In January 2026 Christ United joined The Foundry Network, a network of 21 large independent former United Methodist churches from across the United States. The network gathers lead pastors monthly, connects executive and ministry staff throughout the year, hosts a spring pastors' retreat, and convenes an annual fall ministry conference at one of its member churches. Smaller Forged Networks connect sub-groups of churches in particular regions. Through The Foundry Network, Christ United maintains connectional relationships with other large Methodist-rooted congregations while continuing to govern itself independently.
The Flourish Initiative and a Culture of Generosity
The Flourish Initiative is the church's current two-year generosity campaign, structured around three financial goals: an $8.98 million Impact goal that funds the church's operating budget and ministry plan, a $520,000 Release goal to retire the church's second mortgage, and a $500,000 Renew goal to refresh and renew the worship spaces. The campaign's primary spiritual goal is "everyone rooted and growing together," with a target of 100% member commitment. Members are invited to pray daily through Flourish Prayer, hear a Flourish message in worship each Sunday, watch testimonies from other members, and complete a personal commitment form.
Regular giving at Christ United runs through Shelby Online Giving and through the MinistryOne mobile app, with text giving available by texting 'GIVE' to 251-551-4483. Recurring gifts can be set up daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. Christ Café catering income and the Pumpkin Patch fundraiser also flow back into the church's ministry budget.
Library, App, and Staying Connected
Between Sunday services, the Lighthouse Library opens in room B-112 from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m., with books and media for all ages and a special corner for young children. A weekly e-News email and a separate note from Pastor Rob keep members informed, and the Christ United Podcast and YouTube channel carry recordings of recent messages.
The Church Center app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, lets members update their information, give online, register for events, and search for Life Groups and Sunday School classes. A separate ministry app, MinistryOne, supports giving. CU 101 classes are held the fourth Sunday of most months at 11:45 a.m. with a light meal.