First Methodist Church sits on the east side of Grandview's railroad tracks at 300 South 4th Street, where a red-brick sanctuary has anchored the block since 1924. The congregation traces back to 1853, when the Reverend Jeremiah Easterwood gathered Methodists in a log structure at the original town site, and the Johnson County Historical Commission has named it the oldest church congregation in the county. Today it worships in a traditional style, opens Holy Communion to all who seek to follow Christ, and supports the small-town community with a backpack program, a blessing box, and a pumpkin patch on the front lawn.
A History That Follows the Town
The story of First Methodist Church is inseparable from the story of Grandview itself. Methodism came to the area with the Reverend Simeon Odom, one of the first five settlers, who held revivals in his home south of Chambers Creek beginning in January 1851. Two years later, in 1853, the year before Johnson County was created, Reverend Easterwood organized the Methodist Episcopal South congregation in a log structure at the original town site, now the Grandview Cemetery. The Baptists owned the building, but it served several groups, including the Masonic Lodge.
In 1860, J. F. Spurlock, the postmaster and keeper of the general store, gave land and helped raise funds for a Union Building shared with the Masons. The Methodists occupied the first floor, the lodge the second. The church opened a public school in 1867, and the Reverend J. C. G. R. Patton came to Grandview around 1869 to teach and lead services.
The town moved in 1883 to be near the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway tracks. The Methodist and Masonic building was among the last to relocate, and in 1886 the church sold its share of the Union Building and built a new white-framed church with a steeple west of the tracks. By 1900 the growing congregation built a larger building on the east side at the corner of Scurlock and 4th Street, across from the school and the new college. An annex followed in 1912.
On March 14, 1920, a wind-driven fire swept the south end of town, destroyed three-fourths of Grandview, and burned the Methodist church along with every other house of worship east of the tracks. More than a thousand residents were left homeless. The congregation met first in a tabernacle with a gravel floor on the burned site, then in the local movie theater, until a two-story red-brick building with a full basement and stained-glass windows was completed in 1924. The church's 100th anniversary was celebrated in that sanctuary in October 1953.
Fire struck again in October 1957 when lightning hit the building. Services moved to the Grandview School for a year, and the rebuilt sanctuary held its first service in October 1958. In 1968 the Methodist Episcopal denomination merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church, and the congregation became First United Methodist Church. A two-story annex was added in 2000 under Pastor Carl Freeto, bringing a full-court gymnasium, a kitchen, a fellowship hall, classrooms, a nursery, and an elevator. The Johnson County Historical Commission named the church the oldest congregation in the county at the county's 150th anniversary in 2004.
In 2023 the congregation affiliated with the Global Methodist Church and returned to the name First Methodist Church. Rev. Sharon Smith was selected as its first Global Methodist pastor.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Sunday mornings at FMC Grandview follow a steady rhythm. Sunday School meets from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. for every age group, and the worship service follows from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The style is traditional, though the pastors say they remain open to the guidance and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Children five and under may attend an optional Children's Church, but children of any age are welcome to stay in the sanctuary through the entire service. A nursery is available during both Sunday School and worship for the youngest children. A quiet room is available for nursing mothers and quick diaper changes, and a Prayer Room is open to anyone at any time.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion is observed at least on the first and third Sundays of each month and at special services throughout the year. The church practices an Open Table: anyone who seeks to follow Christ more closely and approaches with a humble, repentant heart may receive the bread and cup, regardless of age, membership, or denominational background.
Services are livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, and recordings remain available afterward.
Children, Youth, and the Preschool Down the Hall
Children are woven into the life of the church rather than separated from it. Sunday School classes, led by Tracy Steglich, meet alongside the adult classes. Children's Church, led by Cheri Humphrey, gives younger children a parallel lesson during part of the worship hour.
A preschool called Little Zebras Learning Academy has operated at the church since 2017 under Director Val Argumaniz. The program serves families from across Grandview and is open to all comers regardless of church membership.
For students in sixth through twelfth grade, Youth Directors Pete and Meghan York lead a group built around engaging discussion, worship, games, and community service. Haley Humphrey leads a weekly High School Girls' Bible Study on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m.
Adults at Every Stage
Small groups and Bible studies are scattered across the week. A Ladies Bible Study meets Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. The Prayer Angels gather on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in the Prayer Room to pray for the church, the community, the world, and the names written in the bulletin. Wesley Mackey leads the men's ministry, and a women's ministry leader is being sought.
The Golden Zebras senior ministry welcomes any Grandview senior to a monthly potluck luncheon on the second Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., with shared food, fellowship, and a special activity. The Methodist Men's Breakfast gathers at 8:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month.
Mission and Outreach in Grandview
The church treats serving as a vital part of Christian discipleship. Its mission and outreach work falls into a few clear patterns.
The Backpack Ministry partners with the Tarrant County Food Bank and a team of volunteers to send supplemental meals home with community children each week. A Blessing Box stands on the property day and night, no questions asked, for neighbors who need a quick meal or a hygiene item and cannot wait for official assistance. A Little Free Library invites passersby to take a title and leave one behind.
On the fourth Sunday of each month, the children of the congregation distribute red buckets during the offering for Kids for Change, with the extra funds directed to a designated local or international mission. On the fifth Sunday, the congregation shares a fellowship lunch after worship.
Annual community events include a Widow and Widower Valentines Luncheon, a Backpack Blessing, the Lord's Acre festival that dates back to 1975, an Easter Eggstravaganza, a Back to School Fair, a Community Thanksgiving Service, Vacation Bible School, Trunk or Treat, and a Visit from Santa. Twice a year, in spring and fall, volunteers gather for Church Clean Up to trim bushes, clean windows, and beautify the property. A pumpkin patch on the front lawn has become a recent tradition.
Beliefs in Brief
First Methodist Church holds the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as the primary rule and authority for faith, morals, and service, and it affirms the historic beliefs of the Christian church as expressed in the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. It belongs to the Mid-Texas Conference of the Global Methodist Church and works from the Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church, joining in what its authors describe as a methodical, practical, and warm-hearted pursuit of loving God and serving others as Jesus' disciples in the world.
Worship is traditional and centered on Scripture and the sacraments, but the church also values laughter, friendship, and joy along the way. Church should be a place of reverence, the congregation writes, but it should also be a place of laughter, friendship, and joy.
What Visitors Can Expect
The doors are open to anyone who wants to follow Christ for the first time, who is returning after years away, or who has simply moved into the area and is looking for a new church home. Pastor Sharon meets with anyone considering baptism or church membership.
Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. and the worship service at 11:00 a.m. Childcare is available during both for children five and younger. The sanctuary is fully accessible, with an elevator added as part of the 2000 annex.
The physical address is 300 South 4th Street, Grandview, Texas 76050. The mailing address is PO Box 458, Grandview, TX 76050. The church phone is 817-866-3636. Online giving is available through a partnership with Vanco, and a free spiritual gifts assessment is offered for anyone wanting to find a place to serve.