Royal Oak First United Methodist Church, known locally as ROFUM, has stood in the heart of downtown Royal Oak, Michigan for nearly two centuries. The congregation dates back to 1838, the year after Michigan became a state, when a small Methodist society began meeting on the edge of what was then a frontier township. A frame building followed in 1842, a brick church in 1893 (built with bricks donated by local mason Edwin Starr), and in 1918 a 150-member congregation raised what would be about $2.4 million in today's dollars to build the sanctuary that still anchors the corner of West Seventh and Washington. A century later, the church has grown into a multifaceted downtown congregation that balances traditional liturgy, contemporary music, a robust children and youth program, and one of the longest-running community feeding ministries in the city.
Worship on Sundays
ROFUM holds two Sunday services, at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., each lasting about an hour. The earlier service leans contemporary, led by a house band of guitars, bass, drums, and other instruments. The 11:00 a.m. service is anchored by the Sanctus Choir and the rebuilt Schantz organ (35 ranks, 2,050 pipes), giving it a more traditional choral feel. Both services include prayer, music, scripture, and a sermon, with lyrics projected on the front wall and hymnals available at each pew. Bulletins are distributed before each service and include an order of worship, weekly announcements, a prayer list, and a letter from the pastor.
The first Sunday of every month is Communion Sunday. The bread is gluten-free and the cup is grape juice so that no one is barred from the table. An FM broadcast-assisted listening system is available for those with hearing loss; ushers provide a wired headphone that is sanitized between uses (visitors may also bring their own 3.5 mm headphones). Coffee hour follows every service, with beverages and snacks available in the gathering space.
Both services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those who want to participate from home. Past services and sermons are archived on the church's YouTube channel.
Music for Every Voice
Music is woven through nearly every part of life at ROFUM. The Sanctus Choir is the adult choral ensemble that leads the 11:00 a.m. service and welcomes all voices for eight-week singing sessions. The House Band leads the 9:00 a.m. service and is open to guitarists, drummers, bassists, and other instrumentalists. Carillon Ringers is the handbell and handchime ensemble that plays in services and special events throughout the year. Children's choirs run alongside the Sunday morning program, and Holy COW (Church on Wednesday) gives kids a weekly musical experience as well.
For several decades, ROFUM has also taken children and youth away for a week of Choir Camp, a tradition that continues with games, crafts, Bible study, and swimming. Camperships are available so cost is never a barrier. The Music Guild, made up of congregational members and staff, supports all of this work and meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
Children, Youth, and Families
Children and youth are central to the congregation's identity. Sunday School is offered at both services for children age four (a year before kindergarten) through fifth grade. The children gather in The Village on the second floor, beginning in Bible Times Square and then rotating through different rooms to experience the same scripture four different ways over four weeks - through art, theater, science, or games.
Infants and toddlers are cared for in the Nursery on the first floor, just outside the Sanctuary. Parents can request a pager so the nursery staff can reach them if needed during worship.
For older kids, Royal Oak Youth welcomes 6th through 12th graders on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The evening includes dinner, discussion, games, and activities, with a summer service trip and fall retreat each year. At various points in the year, music, choir, or handbells are folded in so the youth can lead worship.
Holy COW (Church on Wednesday) runs weekly from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. through the school year for infants through fifth grade and their families. Preschoolers and up take part in devotions, music, and creative projects; younger children and a parent enjoy a musical playtime together. Vacation Bible School happens each summer for children in second grade and younger.
Family events, like a Christmas Cookie Exchange and Delivery, are scheduled throughout the year for parents and kids of all ages and stages.
Adult Discipleship and Small Groups
Adults at ROFUM have a wide range of ways to study, serve, and connect. The Knowledge Circle is a women's group that meets on the second Wednesday evening of each month for study, prayer, learning, mission, and fellowship. Moms at Pubs (MAP) gathers mothers of every stage on the fourth Thursday of the month at restaurants around Royal Oak for conversation and a meal.
The Pride & Ally Adult Social Group meets on the second Monday of the month from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., providing an affirming space for LGBTQ+ adults and their allies. ABIDE Men's Fellowship meets most Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. at the church for prayer, reflection, and fellowship. ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) meets weekly on Wednesdays at 11:15 a.m. at National Coney Island on N. Main.
The Young Adult Group meets weekly for book studies, social activities, and service opportunities. The Shawl Ministry gathers on the second and fourth Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. for knitting, crocheting, and other handiwork that creates items for comfort or celebration. There is also a Tuesday Night Women's Bible Study, and short-term small groups form around book studies, including an Enneagram journey and a six-week series on what it means to be a United Methodist.
Outreach and Community Partnerships
ROFUM has been feeding the hungry in Royal Oak since the 1930s, when the Ladies Aid Society opened the community's first food pantry in response to the Great Depression. That ministry continues today through several efforts:
- The sack lunch program invites volunteers to cook, prepare sandwiches, or serve lunches from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
- The church partners with NOAH (Project) in Detroit for an annual Sock-It-To-Me collection in September, with a goal of contributing 2,000 pairs of new socks and underwear between NOAH and Outreach on 7th.
- Monthly produce collections support the Redford Brightmoor Initiative Free Store.
- Members regularly volunteer at Welcome Inn in Royal Oak through the South Oakland Faith Alliance.
- Other partnerships include Cass Community Social Services in Detroit and a long-standing relationship with the Methodist Church of Lithuania.
The Compass Team, ROFUM's governing board, oversees the congregation's direction through 11 sub-teams that handle nominations, finance, endowment, personnel, building and grounds, parsonage, health and safety, missions, consecration Sunday, music, and lay representation at Annual Conference.
The Building and Its History
The 1918 sanctuary at the heart of the building was designed by Detroit architect William E. N. Hunter in a modern take on the collegiate gothic style. A community and education wing followed in 1927, and for the next 25 years nearly every major community event in Royal Oak was held there. The sanctuary, with its sloping floor and theater seats, doubled as an auditorium for concerts, meetings, and high school graduations, and the education wing's gymnasium served as the recreation center for the whole community.
In the late 1950s the building was extensively renovated; the sanctuary was reshaped into its current, more conventional form, and the gym was converted to classrooms. More recently, the Royal Oak First Rebirth renovation prepared the facility for 21st-century ministry and was the largest capital project since that 1950s work, financed in significant part by the church's Endowment Fund.
Over its history, ROFUM has helped found and supported Methodist churches in Ferndale, Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Berkley, and Oak Park. In 2013 it merged with St. John's United Methodist Church (originally Starr Avenue Methodist Church), making ROFUM, as it puts it, the oldest new church in the city.
What to Expect as a First-Time Visitor
Visitors are encouraged to come as they are - there is no dress code, and the building is a relaxed, welcoming space. Free parking is easy to find: the church's own lot is on South Lafayette across from the building, and a city parking structure sits on the corner of 6th Street and South Lafayette. There are four entrances to the building (two on Lafayette, two on West Seventh), all leading to the main gathering space; the Sanctuary Entrance on West Seventh, beneath the bell tower, is the ground-level entrance with elevator access.
A new visitor's opportunity called Pastor Chat offers a relaxed, informal time to meet the pastor, ask questions, and discover next steps. Sunday School, nursery care, and a coffee hour after each service make it easy to bring children along.
Leadership
Lead Pastor Jeff Nelson came to Detroit in 1997 for a year of volunteer urban missions work and stayed, going on to study at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Before entering ministry he worked as a social worker with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit and as a community organizer focused on human rights and racial justice. Jennifer Tripoli, Executive Associate Pastor, is a lifelong member who was baptized at ROFUM in 1973, married there in 1997, and joined the staff in 2017. Bridget Nelson, Associate Pastor of Programs, oversees the children, youth, and family ministries. Nicole Wilson, Worship and Formation Pastor, is completing her MDiv at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and preaches and leads formation work alongside the pastoral team. A full staff supports worship, music, communications, nursery care, missions, outreach, and operations.
An Open and Affirming Community
ROFUM describes itself as an open and affirming congregation learning to live as disciples of Jesus in today's world. Its mission is to be an inclusive Christian community in the heart of Royal Oak serving God, one another, and the world. The congregation's motto, drawn from 1 John 4:19, is We love because Christ first loved us, and its threefold rhythm is summarized in the phrases Real Love, Real Connection, Real Difference. Whether through Sunday worship, choir camp, the Wednesday evening program, the sack lunch line, or a small group on the Enneagram, the same conviction shows up again and again: the Christian life is something to be lived together, downtown, in plain sight.