For more than 175 years, City Road Chapel United Methodist Church has stood at the corner of Gallatin Road and Neely's Bend in Madison, north of downtown Nashville. What began as a simple house of worship in 1848 has grown into a four-building campus that hosts weekly worship, a community meal, free showers, and a transitional housing program for people moving from the streets toward permanent homes. The congregation's long-running motto, "Growing in Christ, Sharing God's Love," shapes everything from Sunday mornings in the historic stone sanctuary to the laundry cycles running on Monday and Wednesday mornings in the basement below.
A Methodist Outpost on the Cumberland Since 1796
City Road Chapel's story reaches back further than its cornerstone. The congregation traces its beginnings to a service the Rev. Green Hill conducted on July 3, 1796, on the banks of the Cumberland River at Neely's Lick. The recorded history begins in the summer of 1848, when members built a house of worship in what was then the middle of Madison and named it City Road Chapel after John Wesley's first church in London. That fall, the new building drew this response: "Its doors will ever be open to the true worshippers, and we pray its altar fires may ever burn pure incense of prayer and praise."
A few years after the Civil War, the original building had fallen into disrepair and the congregation had dwindled. City Road Chapel united with McFerrin's Chapel to form Midway Church down Neely's Bend Road in 1872. Members found the new location inconvenient, however, and when the Midway building burned in 1899, they returned to the present site and rebuilt as City Road Chapel. An annex of nine classrooms went up on the north side in 1923. In 1936, the congregation committed to a much larger project: a stone basement foundation and, above it, a new sanctuary. Within a year the foundation was complete, and construction began on what is still the place of worship. The cornerstone was laid May 15, 1938.
The campus continued to expand through the second half of the twentieth century. The 1899 building came down in 1950 to make way for a three-story education unit, and a second three-story education building followed in 1968. On November 29, 1992, the congregation approved a multipurpose building project that added the Fellowship Center. Groundbreaking fell on July 4, 1993, and the structure opened in the spring of 1994. The Fellowship Center holds space to serve 500 meals, a full kitchen, a permanent stage, an elevated walking track, and courts for volleyball and basketball, with an elevator running from the parking lot up to the main floor.
Sunday Morning in the Sanctuary
Weekly worship is the heart of life at City Road Chapel. The congregation gathers every Sunday at 9 a.m. in the historic sanctuary, a space with cathedral ceilings, wooden pews and altar, and a center aisle that seats up to 500 people. The service is what the church describes as blended worship: music drawn from both traditional and contemporary sources, led by a praise band under the direction of Music Director Brian Hanson.
The 9 a.m. service is livestreamed on YouTube through the City Road Chapel Video channel, and recordings of services going back several years remain available there. Members and visitors can join online from anywhere; in person, the entrance most people use is through the double glass doors on each side of the chancel, since the parking lot sits at the back of the campus. Restrooms are in the building to the right once you pass through those doors.
Children are warmly welcomed in the sanctuary. While a nursery is available down the hall for parents who need it, the church encourages families with children in kindergarten and older to keep them in the regular service so they begin to learn the rhythms of congregational worship. A pew pad passes through the pews for visitors who would like to share their contact information.
The sanctuary is also available for wedding ceremonies and memorial services. A handicap-accessible ramp leads into the worship space. The church notes that, due to the holiday season, no weddings are scheduled in December. Behind the sanctuary sits a small chapel that seats about 15 people and is ideal for intimate weddings.
Pastor Rena Knight and the Staff
Rena Knight became the pastor of City Road Chapel on July 1, 2024, the first woman to serve as pastor in the church's 175-year history. She is no stranger to the congregation: Rena worked as the youth minister at City Road Chapel in 2015 and 2016, and has also served on staff at Trinity United Methodist Church and Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church. Most recently, she was the lead pastor at Elder's Chapel United Methodist Church in Smyrna. Rena came to the work with a background in community and family ministry at Neely's Bend Middle School, which gives her deep ties to many families in the area. She can be reached through the church office at extension 3.
Angie Goodson became the office manager in August 2025. She and her husband, Kent, have been attending City Road Chapel since 2005, teach the youth Sunday School class, and lead the youth music program. Brian Hanson, the Music Director, brings years of vocal and piano experience to Sunday worship. Ronald Davidson, the building manager, has tended the grounds and buildings at City Road Chapel for nearly three decades.
Vision and Values
City Road Chapel's stated vision is to be a community of disciples of Jesus Christ committed to living according to His great commandment: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, leading the church to make a difference in Madison.
The values that flow from that vision are practical. The congregation believes that lives as disciples are focused on loving God and loving neighbor and that the community is journeying together toward loving as God loves. Members are called to love all people as they are, understanding that all people are of sacred worth and worthy of God's grace. The church carries out that call among the neighbors it actually has, not only the neighbors it would choose. The people, facilities, and finances entrusted to the congregation are treated as a blessing to share, not a possession to hold.
City Road Chapel is also clear about where it stands on racism. The church holds that racism has been a destructive force throughout Methodist history and that confronting it, personally and institutionally, is part of what it means to grow in Christ. The congregation points to Article 5 of the United Methodist Constitution and the United Methodist Social Principles as anchors for that commitment, and it lifts up resources such as the Upper Room and Guideposts daily devotionals as ways to keep growing.
Wednesday Prayer and a Year-Round Practice of Prayer
Prayer is at the center of the church's life together. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m., City Road Chapel hosts an online prayer meeting through Zoom. Anyone can join with the meeting ID 896 4220 0969 and passcode 750775, either through the Zoom link or by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the same credentials. The church frames this weekly gathering as a Methodist "means of grace," a spiritual practice through which the Holy Spirit is imparted.
A prayer request form is available online, with options for how widely a need is shared: with the pastoral staff only, with the confidential prayer team, in the Life on the Road weekly newsletter, or on the screens in the Welcome Center. Anyone can fill out the form on behalf of themselves or someone they know who is facing illness, grief, or hardship.
For daily devotional practice, the church recommends The Upper Room and Guideposts Daily Devotionals.
Feast Madison: A Monthly Table for the Neighborhood
On the fourth Sunday of every month at 5 p.m., the doors of the Fellowship Center open for the Feast Madison Community Meal. The meal is free and open to all comers, a place to share a hot dinner, enjoy some entertainment, and spend time in conversation with neighbors. The kitchen in the Fellowship Center, completed in 1994, was designed in part for exactly this kind of hospitality. Volunteers can sign up by emailing the church office, and the church also delivers meals to residents of Madison and Chippington Towers; anyone who would like a meal delivered can call the church office.
Showers of Blessing on Mondays and Wednesdays
For neighbors without regular access to running water, City Road Chapel partners with Community Care Fellowship and Laymen's Lessons to operate Showers of Blessing. Each Monday and Wednesday morning from 7 a.m. until noon, a team of volunteers welcomes anyone who needs a hot shower, a load of laundry, or simply a kind word. Showers close at 11 a.m., and laundry is limited to 15 loads per day. Financial support for the program is given through Community Care Fellowship, and volunteers can sign up by calling the church office.
The Mobile Housing Navigation Center on the Third Floor
City Road Chapel's largest community partnership is the Mobile Housing Navigation Center, a transitional housing program on the third floor of the education building. Created in partnership with the Metro Nashville Homeless Impact Division, Community Care Fellowship, and Bellevue United Methodist Church, the program can house up to 15 people at a time for up to 90 days as they work toward stable, permanent housing. Each guest has their own space and receives the resources and intensive guidance needed to take the next steps. Community Care Fellowship operates the program under a grant from the Metro Nashville government, and referrals come through the Homeless Impact Division's Coordinated Entry program.
Members and friends of the church support the program in several ways: praying for residents and staff, assembling guest welcome bags, providing a weekly family meal for residents and the community, and giving financially, including toward all-day bus passes that help residents get to work, medical appointments, and the other tasks that move them toward permanent housing.
Care Ministries for Every Season
City Road Chapel believes no one should have to face life's challenges alone. The care ministries include praying faithfully for those who are sick, grieving, or facing difficult circumstances; visiting and encouraging members who are homebound; serving the monthly community meal; providing free showers and laundry; welcoming everyone into worship; and offering compassion, encouragement, and spiritual support to anyone seeking hope and prayer. The church's pastor is available for emergencies through the church office at extension 3.
Giving to City Road Chapel
The ministries of City Road Chapel are funded through the gifts of individuals committed to seeing the love of God spread in Madison. The General Fund pays for ongoing ministries, including staff salaries, building operations, and programing. The Help Fund, also called the Altar Fund, supports ministries with people who are poor or struggling, including Feast, the Feed the Need Food Bag program, and Christian Cooperative Ministries. The Memorial Fund holds gifts given in honor or memory of someone and is administered by the Memorial Funds Committee. Gifts can be made online through Realm or by texting CRCGIVE, CRCGIVE HELPFund, or CRCGIVE Memorial with an amount to 73256.
A Campus Open to the Community
City Road Chapel's facilities are available for events throughout the year. The Fellowship Hall, in addition to being a gym with a walking track and courts for volleyball, pickleball, and basketball, hosts large meetings, fundraisers, and musical programs. The Welcome Center, the gathering space between the church offices and the sanctuary, serves as the coffee and fellowship hub on Sunday mornings and can host small parties and meetings. The Sanctuary holds up to 500 guests for weddings and memorial services. The Small Chapel behind the sanctuary seats about 15 people for intimate weddings. The Church Library seats 15 to 20 for small meetings and has a TV available for presentations. The Church Kitchen is a full industrial space available as an add-on for events in the Welcome Center or Fellowship Hall. Anyone interested in reserving a space can complete the facility request form or call the church office.
Finding City Road Chapel
City Road Chapel sits at the corner of Gallatin Road and Neely's Bend in Madison, north of downtown Nashville. From I-65, take Exit 92 for Old Hickory Boulevard and head east toward Madison. Turn right onto Gallatin Road, then left onto Neely's Bend (a Walgreens is on the corner). The church entrance is on the right; enter through the double glass doors. From Briley Parkway or points south of Madison, exit at Gallatin Road / Highway 31-E and head north, away from Downtown Nashville. After passing Arby's and Krystal on the right, a turn lane forms at Neely's Bend in front of the church. Turn right onto Neely's Bend, then immediately right into the parking lot, and enter through the double glass doors.
Leadership and Governance
City Road Chapel is led by a Leadership Board of 12 members who oversee both the spiritual and administrative leadership of the church. Board members serve rotating three-year terms, are nominated by the congregation's Committee on Nominations, and are elected by action of the annual Charge Conference. The Leadership Board meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Across more than 175 years, City Road Chapel has stayed close to its founding identity as a church open to its neighbors. The doors that opened in 1848 still open each Sunday morning at 9 a.m., still open to the community meal on the fourth Sunday evening of every month, and still open on Monday and Wednesday mornings for anyone who needs a shower, a load of laundry, or a place to call home for the next 90 days.