A Cathedral on Broadway
First United Methodist Church sits at 1411 Broadway in the heart of downtown Lubbock, where a Gothic-style sanctuary opened in 1955 anchors a growing campus that has served the South Plains since 1892. Locals know the building as the Cathedral of the West, a name earned by its soaring stained glass, its 26-foot Rose Window above the altar, and a music program that fills the space with a ninety-voice Chancel Choir, a historic pipe organ, handbells, brass, and a full slate of weekly services for every worship preference.
The story of First United Methodist Church began in 1892, when Lubbock's first Methodists gathered in the county courthouse or the local school because there was neither enough money nor members to support a building. A small wooden-framed church went up in 1905 on land near 14th Street and Texas Avenue, lots the building committee purchased for $30. By 1917 the congregation had outgrown that tall-steepled structure, and a fire that year burned it to the ground. Within a day, the pastor and church leaders arranged for worship at the local school, and members soon organized to build again. A gray-brick sanctuary with a full basement and a balcony that wrapped both sides and the rear was completed in 1918 on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Avenue M.
By the early 1950s, the gray-brick building was again too small. To ease overcrowding, the church began 8:30 and 10:50 a.m. worship services in October 1952, and on June 22, 1952, ground was broken for a new sanctuary under the leadership of Dr. H.I. Robinson. Fort Worth architect Wyatt Hedrick designed the building in a contemporary English Gothic style. The first service was held March 6, 1955. Within three months, members were raising $750,000 for an Education Building, and on the first Sunday it was in use, 1,982 people attended Sunday school, a record. By Easter 2002, attendance had pushed past 4,000. The Christian Life Center followed in 2005, a youth-focused addition with a full-sized gym, classrooms, a game room, a commercial kitchen, and a second-floor gathering area, along with the worship space that now hosts the 11 a.m. contemporary service.
Pastors and Ministers at the Center
Dr. Todd Salzwedel serves as Senior Pastor. A graduate of the University of New Mexico in economics and philosophy, he earned both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees at Southern Methodist University. He was announced as Senior Minister in March 2020 and moved to Lubbock with his wife Alice and their two children. He serves on the United Methodist delegation to General and Jurisdictional Conferences and frequently leads pilgrimage trips to the Holy Land.
Dr. Shera Atkinson is Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Care. A Texas Tech graduate with a Ph.D. in family studies and a long career as a licensed professional counselor, she was appointed to FUMC by Bishop Max Whitfield and has previously served churches in Welch, Wellman, and Agape UMC. She leads adult spiritual formation, Sunday school, Bible studies, and a wide range of care ministries, and coordinates the prayer ministry.
Around them, a full-time team directs specialized work. Dr. Eric Allen leads traditional music, with Dr. Pershauna Johnson and Dale Nickell serving as associate directors and Dale Nickell as the church's organist. Tessa Armes directs the children's ministry, Joyce Matei oversees the nursery, Dakota Bybee leads both contemporary worship and student ministries, Pyper Yardley is the associate youth director, Mandi Bradley directs missions and outreach, and Karen Flores leads communications.
Four Sunday Worship Choices
First UMC offers four Sunday morning services so that members and visitors can find a style that fits. The 8:45 a.m. traditional service in the Sanctuary is a forty-five-minute devotional gathering with scripture, familiar hymns, prayer, an intergenerational choir, and youth participation in leadership. The 11 a.m. traditional service in the Sanctuary is led by the Chancel Choir and features handbell groups, vocal soloists, a brass ensemble, and hymn singing on the Forrest Memorial Pipe Organ. On the first Sunday of the month, the 11 a.m. service includes Holy Communion. The 9 a.m. Chapel service in Bowman Chapel is a thirty-minute intergenerational service led by Dr. Atkinson with familiar hymns, a focus on scripture, and weekly Communion; its shorter format works well for families with young children. The 11 a.m. contemporary service takes place in the Christian Life Center, with worship led by a modern band. A nursery is provided for all four services.
Services are livestreamed on Facebook at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and a sermon archive is available for both the traditional and contemporary services.
Music as a Calling
Music is woven into nearly everything the church does. The Chancel Choir, a group of ninety singers that has toured internationally, leads the 11 a.m. traditional service and is widely considered one of the finest church choirs in the country. Handbell groups, vocal soloists, and a brass ensemble share time in the traditional services. The Sanctuary Ringers handbell choir opens its season each fall and welcomes anyone age fifteen and up with basic music reading; the music director is happy to refresh skills. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to the Children's Choir, which rehearses on Sunday afternoons and includes bucket drumming among its offerings. The Music and Fine Arts program also hosts a concert series, including the annual patriotic festival God Shed His Grace on Thee, when the chancel choir joins the Lubbock Concert Band to honor America and salute veterans, with hot dogs and ice cream to follow.
First Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
The children's ministry, called First Kids, serves infants through fifth graders and their families. A unified curriculum from birth through fifth grade builds on biblical truths and applies them to daily life. The Children's Department is housed in a three-story Education Wing with a kid-friendly atmosphere. On Sunday mornings, families check in at a kiosk where they receive a nametag and are greeted by staff and volunteers. Sunday School gathers from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., with preschoolers in age-level small groups that include an interactive drama, and elementary students working through the Gospel Project curriculum.
The Nursery is open every Sunday from 8:45 a.m. to noon for children six weeks through kindergarten, with classes grouped by developmental stage. Childcare is also available for church events on request with at least two weeks of advance notice, subject to staffing.
First Students: Middle and High School
Students in grades six through twelve gather as First Students. Sunday night life groups offer dinner, conversation, and a slower-paced chance to share life and grow in faith. Wednesday nights bring students together for dinner, games, worship, and teaching that connects faith to the everyday. Other traditions include a fall kickoff tailgate, a back-to-school bash, parents-and-pancakes meetings, and a summer mission trip. Students and families also staff the church's fair booth at the South Plains Fair each year, raising money toward church-sponsored camps and trips. The Stickin' Chicken work days in the CLC kitchen and Wesley Room kick off the fair booth season each fall.
Adults: Sunday School, Bible Studies, and More
Sunday School classes meet around 9:40 a.m., with most gathering by age or stage of life. The list includes the Ambassadors class for those fifty and older, the Generations class for all ages, the LEAP OF FAITH and Crosstrainers classes for young couples, the Through the Bible class for ages twenty-five to sixty, and Two or More, an online option for people who cannot attend weekly. Other classes include Fellowship Bible, H.I. Robinson, Homebuilders, McMillan, Pacesetters, Pathfinders, Seekers of Grace, and the newer Words of Faith class. Many of these classes are involved in missions such as supporting Bayless Elementary and the Lubbock State Supported Living Center.
Bible studies meet throughout the week. A Tuesday morning study, a Wednesday midday study, and a Thursday morning study rotate through books of the Bible and topical series, with a small charge for study guides. The Women's Society for Christian Service meets monthly. The college ministry gathers Sunday mornings at 9:45 in Room 5, and the counseling center offers lay, pastoral, and grief support. A spiritual growth and maturity assessment is available for those who want to take a next step in faith.
Care and Support for Every Season
A network of care ministries walks alongside members through every chapter of life. Treasured Times is a Wednesday respite program from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for those in the early stages of Alzheimer's or related dementia, providing a safe, theme-based morning of music, seated exercise, crafts, projects, and games, while giving caregivers a weekly break. The program follows the Lubbock ISD calendar and welcomes bilingual volunteers. Support groups meet for grief, single parenting, caregivers, and Alzheimer's. A Bereavement Ministry, Hospital and Homebound Ministries, a Shawl Ministry, a Quilt Ministry, and a Flower Ministry all share the load. The FUMC Counseling Center offers lay counseling, pastoral counseling, a community crisis line, and a single parenting group.
Serving Lubbock and Beyond
Missions at FUMC start in Lubbock and extend around the world. Second Helpings serves a free meal to people experiencing homelessness or food insecurity on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is a mobile distribution partner with the South Plains Food Bank, hosting twice-monthly food distributions on the second and fourth Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m. Helping Hands partners with Backyard Mission to make urgent repairs for elderly homeowners, including painting, replacing doors and storm windows, caulking, and rebuilding porches. Each November the church opens its doors to the community for a free Thanksgiving meal.
Long-term community partners include Family Promise of Lubbock, where members help provide meals for a Monday night gathering; Lubbock Habitat for Humanity, where members support housing efforts; and Lubbock Meals on Wheels, where members collect weekend snack bags each September. Since 2013, FUMC has partnered with Bayless Elementary, supporting staff and students through prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. An annual Alaska mission trip is part of the rhythm, and a missions volunteer interest form is available for those who want to serve.
Beliefs, Identity, and Mission
First UMC is rooted in the United Methodist tradition. The mission is to create grace-filled environments in which Jesus Christ transforms lives. Core beliefs include the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and grace. The church's stated identity centers on being Christian disciples in the body of Christ and living out the United Methodist distinctives of the sacraments, openness, unity of outreach and social consciousness, and sanctification that leads to holiness. Values named by the church are faith, hope, love that accepts, forgives, and serves, worship, and transparency. A John Wesley quote guides the spirit of the work: Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.
A Columbarium in the Courtyard
For members and their families, the church offers a columbarium in the courtyard north of the sanctuary and east of the choir suite. Each niche holds two urns, and the church provides the urns, engraving on the front of the niche, and the inurnment service. Members, former members, ordained Methodist ministers who have served the church, and current or former employees, along with their spouses, parents, children, and grandchildren, may reserve a niche. The cost of a niche, two urns, engraving, and the inurnment service is $5,000. The columbarium is accessible any time between daylight and dusk, daily.
On the Air Since 1978
The TV Broadcast Ministry has been part of First UMC since 1978. The previous week's 11 a.m. traditional service airs Sundays at 9 a.m. on KMYL, My Lubbock TV, channel 14.1, and again on Saturdays at 3 p.m. The broadcast reaches homebound viewers, the unchurched, and members who enjoy the service as they prepare for Sunday morning.
Worship, Visit, and Give
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1411 Broadway. Visitors are encouraged to park in the lot between Avenues M and N, accessible from Avenue L or O. The main phone line is (806) 763-4607; the general inbox is info@fumc.com. Online giving is available through SecureGive and PayPal, and members and friends can give to specific funds such as the Treasured Times Ministry or the Everliving Church Trust endowment. Sermon audio and video archives run back several years.
A church with a long memory and a long reach, First United Methodist Church of Lubbock sees itself as a mission tool for the twenty-first century and beyond, an oasis for families and a neighbor to those in need across the South Plains.