First United Methodist Church of Colorado Springs, founded in 1871, was the first congregation established in the city. Today the church still stands at the corner of Nevada Avenue and Boulder Street in the heart of downtown, a block or two from Colorado Springs City Hall, where its second sanctuary once sat. A fourth sanctuary, a Sunday-school wing, a chapel, a theatre, a fellowship hall, and an attached preschool share the downtown campus. A second campus, Prairie, opened in 2019 on the city's east side, and the congregation also tends a 120-acre retreat property, the John Wesley Ranch, in Teller County.
Four Buildings on the Same Corner
The congregation's story begins in 1871, when its members first gathered in a 22-by-32-foot wooden building at the corner of Huerfano and Weber streets. By 1879 they had outgrown it and moved to Nevada and Kiowa, where Colorado Springs City Hall now stands. The third building, completed in 1901, brought the church to its present corner of Boulder and Nevada and introduced much of the stained glass still used in worship today. A Sunday-school wing added in 1940 is the oldest standing piece of the current complex. The fourth and current sanctuary, together with its companion Lehmberg Chapel, followed decades later, when plans were drawn for both a large traditional worship space and a smaller chapel. The cornerstone on the northeast exterior wall of the sanctuary marks the beginning of that construction, and a photograph shows the new sanctuary rising while the third building was being dismantled next door.
The sanctuary has changed over the years. The chancel was enlarged, organ pipes added (five thousand and fifty-one pipes in total today), and the original floor replaced with tile. A fellowship hall, once called the Banquet Room, was used for dinners, potlucks, and service overflow. The church's full history is preserved in Thy Kingdom Come, a book compiled by volunteers in 2002 and available in both PDF and EPUB form, and in a documentary video that gathers first-person memories from people who have watched the church grow. The congregation acknowledges that the present complex appears much smaller against the modern downtown skyline than its original building did, an effect of how the city has grown up around it.
Three Sunday Services, One Family
On Sunday mornings the downtown campus offers three services that draw from different ends of the worship spectrum. At 8:00 a.m. in the Lehmberg Chapel, a smaller traditional service gathers in the room dedicated to a long-ago presiding minister. At 9:00 a.m., a Contemporary service fills the sanctuary's theatre space with a full band and a livestream feed. The same 9:00 a.m. service is broadcast live on SOCO-CW television (channel 57.1 over the air, Comcast 657 in HD, DirecTV and Dish channel 57, and CenturyLink Prism 1020 in HD), reaching viewers around the Pikes Peak region who cannot be in the room. At 11:00 a.m., the Chancel Choir leads a full traditional service in the main sanctuary.
Bulletins and livestream archives are posted online, and recordings of each weekly service stay available afterward, with separate collections for memorial services and previous weeks. A short weekly podcast called Pulpit Points extends the teaching beyond Sunday morning with three thoughts, two quotes, and one question.
Going to Church with Kids
Family worship is welcome at all three services, and nursery care is available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for children from birth through pre-K in one room, with a separate Kingdom City program for kindergarten through second grade. During the school year, children in kindergarten through second grade may leave the 9:00 a.m. service for Children's Church, which follows the shape of adult worship with singing, scripture, and an offering. At 10:15 a.m., Sunday school gathers children from preschool through fifth grade in three classes (preschoolers, K-2, and 3-5), where Bible stories are explored through food, art, science, and drama, and older children begin to learn how the Bible came to be and why it still matters.
Baptism is offered at any age, using sprinkling, pouring, or immersion, and the conversation begins with the Pastor of Young People and Families. Parents' Night Out, a drop-off evening held periodically for infants through fifth grade, runs from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. with reservations due before the Thursday of the event. During the school year, two special camps fill days off from school: a Theatre and Arts Camp for kindergarten through fifth grade, built around themes of individuality and family with music, drama, art, and set design, and a No-School Camp with STEM activities. In June, July, and August, children gather upstairs for fellowship rather than following the full school-year schedule.
Confirmation, Retreats, and Mission Trips
The youth program is for sixth through twelfth graders and runs on three rhythms. Youth Sunday school gathers at 10:15 a.m. with highs-and-lows sharing, Bible conversation that does not shy away from big questions, and a fridge stocked with chocolate milk and soda. Youth group meets at varying times throughout the month for games, worship, local missions, and outings. Retreats and mission trips are the heart of the program, with fall and winter retreats at the John Wesley Ranch in Divide, Colorado, and past mission trips that have included Alamosa, Shiprock and New Mexico, and El Salvador.
Confirmation at First United Methodist Church follows the Methodist practice in which a young person confirms the vows of baptism and becomes a member of the United Methodist Church. The twelve-week class is offered on a recurring schedule; the Pastor of Young People and Families can be contacted for the next session.
Adults: Faith Academy and Small Groups
Adult spiritual formation runs on two rails. On Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m., three classes meet: Bereans in Room 133, a Bible-study class in lecture format; Pairs and Spares in Room 234, a self-taught group in its fourth decade at the church, with topics ranging from Bible studies to contemporary issues and history; and Early Believers in Room 21 NB, a small discussion circle with shared leadership from members.
On Wednesday evenings the Faith Academy gathers at 5:30 p.m. with contemplative worship in the style of Taize (scripture repeated for deeper insight) and at 6:30 p.m. for a mostly year-round series of classes on varied topics led by different teachers. A women's study group meets Mondays from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., with topics that change but always draw from a spiritual-life base. For senior adults aged fifty and over, the NOAH group, Never Old At Heart, hosts breakfast and lunch gatherings, banquets with entertainment, special classes, and monthly Christian fellowship trips.
Music, Bells, and Theatre
Music is at the center of Sunday morning. The Chancel Choir, which rehearses on Thursdays and sings at the 11:00 a.m. traditional service plus special services and concerts, is open to all singers aged thirteen and up. The Contemporary Worship Band, an auditioned group that rehearses Tuesdays and before Sunday services, leads the 9:00 a.m. service and is always looking for additional instrumentalists and vocalists. Chancel Ringers, a handbell choir that rehearses on Thursdays and joins local and regional handbell festivals, is also open to ringers aged thirteen and up. The Overtones, a melody-chime ensemble for those aged fifty and over, rings in worship on occasion. Joe Galema serves as Principal Organist at the sanctuary organ.
First Company Theatre is an extension of the Music and Arts Ministry and presents family-friendly productions in the church's own theatre space, with seating for just over two hundred. Past productions have included Fiddler on the Roof, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play. Auditions are open to the community, and the theatre partners with local community-theatre groups. The musical, theatrical, and arts life of the church all share a single staff director under Douglas Grogan, the Director of Music and Arts.
Serving Colorado Springs
The Mission and Justice Ministry organizes the congregation's response to the call to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned, working through acts of compassion, advocacy, and education. Year-round food collections for Westside CARES, a volunteer interfaith organization that serves more than 22,000 neighbors each year, are dropped in donation boxes by the church doors and consist of unopened and unexpired canned and boxed non-perishables only. Rides for Rubbish, a once-a-month walk through downtown parks with clients of the Marian House, helps neighbors earn bus passes while keeping the city cleaner. Family Promise of Colorado Springs hosts up to four families experiencing homelessness at the downtown campus for three weeks at a time, with volunteers needed for each host week. The church also partners with Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit whose meal packets are developed by food-science and nutrition professionals to address childhood malnutrition.
The John Wesley Ranch
In 1957 the church acquired the 120-acre John Wesley Ranch outside Divide, Colorado, as a youth camp. Today the ranch offers a year-round retreat ministry with stays for families, reunions, conferences, weddings, and quiet getaways. The Lodge accommodates forty to seventy-five guests in three bunk-style rooms with a large meeting space, full kitchen, warming room, and two large fireplaces. A Bunkhouse add-on offers nine twin rooms and one queen. The Retreat Center sleeps up to seventeen with a full kitchen, dining room, lounge, and meeting space. A pavilion with a fireplace, fire pits, picnic tables, and two campsites anchor the outdoor spaces. Weddings can be held in the ranch's small white chapel or in a more rustic outdoor setting, with a reception afterward in the lodge. Volunteer projects run throughout the year, from seasonal clean-ups to fire mitigation, forestry, and events like the fall festival and Christmas at the Ranch.
Caring for One Another
The Caring Ministries depend on lay volunteers to extend the church's presence beyond Sunday mornings. Prayer cards dropped in the offering plate are gathered by clergy and prayer servants; altar flowers are delivered by the Flowers of Love team to members who are hospitalized, homebound, or going through a difficult time; a Card Writing Ministry sends birthday and seasonal notes to elderly and homebound members; and prayer shawls are knitted and crocheted by church members who pray over each one as a tangible reminder of support. A grief support group meets twice a year, a Service of Remembrance is offered in December for those grieving during the holidays, and lay Bereavement Ministers walk with families through the loss of a loved one. Hospital visitation, homebound visits, and a live broadcast of the 11:00 a.m. traditional service on SOCO-CW and on Facebook keep those who cannot attend connected to weekly worship. The Minister on Call is reachable through the church office for immediate pastoral needs.
United Women in Faith, the Preschool, and the Foundation
United Women in Faith is the church's local unit of the wider United Methodist organization for women in mission. Five circles meet monthly for discussion, learning, and planning, each tied to a specific outreach: Joy Circle on second Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., Sunshine Circle on second Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., Mary Martha Circle on third Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m., Nightingale Circle on third Thursdays at 1:30 p.m., and Skyline Circle on fourth Mondays at 1:30 p.m. Special interest groups include a Monday-morning quilting group, a card workshop on second and fourth Thursdays, a craft group that same afternoon, and a reading group that gathers four times a year. Circles pause regular meetings in June, July, and August.
The FUMC Preschool, directed by Stacy McLeod, is a play-based program using the Whole Child Wellness Model for children from eighteen months through five years, with morning classes, a Lunch Bunch option that runs until 2:00 p.m., before-school care from 8:15 to 9:00 a.m., and a monthly Sacred Circle that brings stillness, prayer, and wonder into the classroom alongside the SOUNS literacy program. The preschool follows the local D11 school schedule for delays and closures.
The First United Methodist Church Foundation is a separate entity that supports the church's facilities, programs, ministries, and missions by investing donations and distributing earnings in keeping with donors' wishes. The Foundation currently manages assets valued at more than $10 million, including named endowments such as the Arnold and Hazel Hatch Fund, the Hubbard Fund, the Donna O. Toncray Fund, the Essie O. Robertson Fund, the Joyce and Perry Trytten Scholarship Fund, and the Jack K. Agee Fund. It awards scholarships for higher education to students connected to the congregation, with new scholarships endowed at $10,000 or more.
Weddings, Funerals, and the Building
The church hosts weddings in both the main sanctuary and the chapel, with reception spaces available throughout the building; the sanctuary seats about eleven hundred and includes a seven-foot Steinway piano, pipe organ, chimes, a full sound system, and large LED screens for visuals or lyrics. Funerals and memorials can be held in either the sanctuary or the chapel, with a gathering area available afterward. The church also houses a columbarium, a consecrated space for the safekeeping of cremated remains.
Building use extends beyond members. The sanctuary, chapel, theatre, fellowship hall, parlor, hospitality center, Hibbard Hall, classrooms, and meeting rooms can all be rented, with capacity ranging from small groups of five to events of two hundred. The theatre, equipped with sound and lighting, is open to local community-theatre partnerships.
One Church, Many Locations
Beyond the downtown campus at 420 North Nevada Avenue, the church gathers at the Prairie Campus at 9433 Vista Del Pico Boulevard on the east side of the city, on the SOCO-CW broadcast across the Pikes Peak region, in livestreamed services online, and in work crews and retreats at the John Wesley Ranch. A community magazine is released annually to give the wider congregation a year-long overview of events and opportunities, and a weekly email and a short Friday video from the clergy keep the church family connected between Sundays.