At the Heart of Waxahachie Since 1852
First United Methodist Church of Waxahachie has been gathering for worship in Ellis County, Texas, since 1852, and today the congregation welcomes neighbors and visitors to 505 W. Marvin Avenue in the heart of Waxahachie. Three Sunday services, a children's preschool, a robust music program, and a long list of community partnerships all flow from the same mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The congregation repeats a simple promise whenever it gathers: Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.
Two Ways to Worship on Sunday
The church meets three times every Sunday morning. At 8:30 a.m. and again at 11:00 a.m., the Traditional service fills the main Sanctuary. Congregational singing from the Methodist Hymnal, the formal Methodist liturgy, and music from the piano, organ, choir, and wind ensemble give the service its character. Folks attending the Traditional service typically dress in their "church clothes," ranging from business casual to Sunday best, and guests enter through the west front door.
At 11:15 a.m., the Modern service begins in Fidelis Hall. A live band leads contemporary Christian music with vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keys, and drums, and the order of worship is more casual. Children sometimes dance up front. The Modern service draws a mix of ages but is especially popular with young families, and shorts and t-shirts are common. Guests enter through the east front door.
The 11:00 Traditional service is livestreamed on Facebook, and past services from both styles are archived on YouTube.
A History Spanning 170 Years
The congregation's first sanctuary was erected on East Franklin Street in 1852. Built of clapboards and measuring just 16 by 20 feet, it served as the place of worship for four years before a second structure went up on an adjoining lot in 1856. That second building was constructed from cypress and cedar logs chipped and hauled by ox cart from Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jacksonville, Texas. Each round trip took two to three weeks. The second church served the congregation for 37 years.
A third house of worship was built on College Street in 1893, but fire destroyed it in 1904. A new building went up on the same site almost immediately, and that fourth structure served until the mid-1940s, when continued membership growth demanded larger facilities.
The current church building was constructed in several stages between 1950 and 1967. When the congregation moved to its new home, the stained glass windows from the College Street church were carefully removed and reinstalled in the present Sanctuary, and the pipe organ was relocated to the same space. The Family Life Center was added in 2000, and the front parking lot and circle drive came in 2019. Together, those additions shape the campus that worshipers and neighbors know today.
Children, Funday School, and Youth
Children are welcomed from six weeks old through fifth grade. The Nursery is open Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Room 107, where parents check in their children before attending any service or Sunday school class. Children's Church meets at 11:15 a.m. for ages four through second grade. Kids begin worship with their families and are dismissed partway through to follow staff to the Gathering Room in the Family Life Center. On the first Sunday of every month, children stay in the Sanctuary with their families to observe Communion. Sunday school classes run from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. for ages three (potty-trained) through fifth grade: the youngest meet in Room 207, while kindergarten through fifth grade gather in the Gathering Room of the Family Life Center.
Midweek is Wednesday night for kids. From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center, children share a meal, play together, and learn about the Bible. The Pumpkin Party, a community-wide evening of pumpkin-themed games, crafts, and trunk-or-treat, happens every year on the Wednesday before Halloween. Each summer, Children's Ministry hosts field trips and family nights, and Vacation Bible School brings a new original theme to church kids and the wider community every year.
Funday School is the church's preschool and has been part of Waxahachie for more than thirty years. Children from six months to five years old meet two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. An additional Wednesday morning session called Kinder Readiness runs from 8:30 to 11:20 a.m. for pre-K four-year-olds. Bible stories, songs, and prayers are part of the curriculum, taught from a Christian perspective that respects parents' responsibility for the faith formation of their own children.
Youth Ministry serves grades six through twelve. Sunday school meets at 9:45 a.m. in the church basement. Sunday Night Society gathers in a small-group format on Sunday evenings, with Junior High from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. and High School from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m., often at the church or at local restaurants and coffee shops. Wednesday Midweek begins with dinner in the gym at 6:00 p.m. and continues with contemporary worship and small-group time. Every summer, youth and adult volunteers travel together for a week-long mission trip, building wheelchair ramps, roofing homes, gardening, and serving alongside other churches. Confirmation is offered each fall for students in seventh grade and up.
Adult Sunday School Classes
Eight adult Sunday school classes meet every Sunday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., between the worship services, and most also host social gatherings outside of church. The Connect Crew is a discussion-based group of families with young children. The Asbury Class is a multi-generational group for adults in their thirties to sixties that values differing opinions and good conversation. The Seekers Class is a Bible study group with singles, couples, and children from pre-K through adults. The ABC Class is for middle-aged adults who enjoy new friends and laughter, and it meets in the Chapel. The Agape Class dives deep into theology in Room 123. The Covenant Class is a smaller, teacher-led Bible study for retirement-aged adults in Room 122. The Builders Class is the largest, a lecture-based group for adults sixty and older that meets in Fidelis Hall and hosts regular social events. The Wesley Class is a small, teaching-style class for members in their eighties and beyond that meets in Room 106.
Women of Every Generation
United Women in Faith is the umbrella for women's ministry at the church, and Rooted Women's Ministry creates space specifically for women in their twenties and forties. Rooted hosts monthly gatherings built around friendship, faith, and real conversation, and a private Facebook group keeps everyone connected. First Monday Coffee meets at Fresh Market Coffee from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. A Sewing Ministry gathers twice a month, on the third Tuesday and the first Thursday at 10:00 a.m., to make dresses and britches for Little Dresses for Africa and to sew blankets for new babies in the congregation. A fall Women's Bible Study works through Luke in the Land: Walking with Jesus in His First Century World by Kristi McLelland, meeting weekly on Wednesday evenings. There are also ladies' nights out, a Soul Care Retreat each fall, and an annual Christmas Brunch.
Music as the Heartbeat
Music is woven through nearly every hour of the church's life, and opportunities exist for singers and instrumentalists of all ages. The Chancel Choir rehearses Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. and sings at the 11:00 Traditional service. The Modern Worship Band rehearses Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings and leads the 11:15 Modern service with vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, and occasionally brass, woodwind, or string instruments. The Wind Ensemble rehearses Sunday afternoons at 12:15 p.m. in the Sanctuary and plays featured pieces, accompanies the choir, and enhances congregational hymns, providing the foundation for the church orchestra that plays for special services during Advent and Holy Week. Glory Ringers handbells rehearse Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. and play for the early services once a month. The Early Risers choir sings at the 8:30 service once a month. Flame Worship Arts offers music and movement three times a year. The Community Band Fellowship is a newer ensemble for brass, woodwind, and percussion players that rehearses Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel to prepare concert pieces on and off the church's campus.
Worship Outside the Walls
Once a year, the congregation cancels its usual Sunday morning routine for Worship Outside the Walls, known simply as WOW. The morning begins with breakfast in the Family Life Center, followed by a brief large-group worship with a guest speaker, and then teams scatter to work projects and bring worship out to neighbors across the community. The nursery stays open for little ones too young to join in. WOW began in 2011 as a project of the Mission Committee and has grown into an ecumenical effort; since 2014 other Waxahachie churches have been welcomed in, and eight congregations now participate, including El Bethel Baptist Church, Primera Baptist Church, Central Presbyterian Church, Water Street Baptist Church, Zion Hill Baptist Church, and Ferris Heights United Methodist Church.
Serving Ellis County and Beyond
Outreach is part of the church's identity, not an add-on. The Pop-Up Food Pantry sets up on the fourth Saturday of each month at Care Services, 1208 Ferris Avenue in Waxahachie, where volunteers distribute food on a first-come, first-served basis. Blue Bag Sundays collect supplies for community needs. The Backpack Program sends food home with schoolchildren on weekends. Volunteers support Meals on Wheels deliveries, host a quarterly Carter Blood Drive on site, and prepare and serve a community Christmas Dinner each year. Every summer, youth and adult volunteers travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for UM ARMY, a week of free construction projects alongside other churches. The youth also take their own annual mission trip.
Beliefs, the Open Table, and Open Doors
First United Methodist Church practices an open Communion, welcoming anyone to participate in receiving the sacrament. The congregation affirms the Apostles' Creed and its core teachings: one God as Creator and sustainer of the universe, the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the full divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. Salvation is understood as an open gift from God, accepted by individuals according to their own free will, and the United Methodist Church is described as a "big tent" theologically, providing space for discourse and, at times, disagreement.
The Wesleyan quadrilateral shapes teaching: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. The congregation embraces science and inquiry, values ongoing learning, and believes that grace reaches every person through what John Wesley called prevenient grace, the movement of God toward humanity before humanity moves toward God. LGBTQ+ individuals and families are fully included in worship, community, and leadership. The United Methodist vision that animates the congregation is to form disciples who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.
Planning a Visit and Getting Involved
Guest parking is available at the front of the building facing Marvin Avenue. Visitors can register as a guest and receive a small welcome gift, and a New Faces Luncheon is hosted periodically by Pastors Adam and Val for anyone who wants to learn more. Children's programs run during every service and throughout the week. Adult Sunday school classes are open to anyone, and there are small groups for women, men, and youth. Volunteers are welcomed in greeting, the nursery, music ensembles, children's small group leadership, modern service tech and hospitality, and youth group leadership. Outside the walls, the Pop-Up Food Pantry, Blue Bag Sundays, the Backpack Program, Meals on Wheels, and the WOW service day all welcome help. Giving is available online, and prayer requests can be submitted confidentially to the pastoral team.