A Church on South Main Street, and a Preschool Beside It
Mt. Nebo United Methodist Church stands at 134 South Main Street in Boonsboro, Maryland, the largest United Methodist congregation in the Boonsboro area and a presence in town since 1832. The church shares its South Main address with the Mt. Nebo Christian Learning Center, a preschool and school-age care program that grew out of the congregation and now serves close to 250 children from the greater Boonsboro community. Pastor Bob Ruggieri describes the church's heartbeat simply: "Reaching Out in Christ's Love By Serving Others."
That combination of long history and active community ministry gives Mt. Nebo its particular shape. Visitors arrive for a 9 a.m. Sunday service, stay for Sunday School at 10, and find alongside the sanctuary a building dedicated to early childhood education, a SHARE Food Network distribution point, and a Volunteers in Mission team that has spent more than three decades helping with disaster recovery along the East Coast.
Sunday Mornings at Mt. Nebo
Worship begins at 9 a.m. each Sunday in person at the church and is also posted to Facebook and YouTube by Sunday afternoon. The style draws on both contemporary and traditional elements. A praise team and a choir fill the sanctuary with music each week, and Pastor Bob has emphasized that "after a service at Mt. Nebo, you will be ready to face the challenges of the week serving and transforming our community into the beloved community of faith."
Children are part of the service from the start. A Children's Message within the worship hour teaches kids things from the Bible that connect to the week's sermon. The church describes its welcome in plain terms: "EVERYONE is welcome at Mt. Nebo. Join us on Sunday or at any of our community events to get to know us." Services are livestreamed on the Mt. Nebo Facebook page and recordings are available on the church's YouTube channel.
Sunday School for Every Age
At 10 a.m. the education hour begins, and the church's Sunday School program is built around small classes grouped by age. The youngest learners, ages three to six, meet first, followed by a class for ages seven to ten. A middle and high school group gathers on the third floor, and an adult class meets in the parlor. The church's Children's Ministry covers elementary through high school, with singing, Bible lessons, and time to talk through faith and friendship.
The Wednesday-night and other short-term studies rotate through the year. The Beacon, the church's monthly newsletter, carries the latest announcements of Christian Education opportunities.
Vacation Bible School Each Summer
For one week each summer, Mt. Nebo transforms into an evening Bible school for children across the area. Vacation Bible School runs Monday through Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., with games, snacks, music, dinner, and learning stations spread across the building. The whole church and preschool pitch in, and children who are not members of Mt. Nebo are openly welcomed; in fact, the church encourages everyone to bring a friend. Details for the next VBS are typically announced by May.
The Mt. Nebo Christian Learning Center
The Mt. Nebo Christian Learning Center is the congregation's largest ministry by daily presence. It began in November 2004 as a small preschool serving about twenty children and has grown into a program for nearly 250 children, offering infant care, toddler care, preschool, an Outdoor Classroom, and before-and-after school care for students through fifth grade. The Learning Center operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with summer camp programming for school-age children. Care is available during in-service days, weather closures, and other Washington County Public Schools interruptions, with daily bus transportation from Pleasant Valley Elementary and Sharpsburg Elementary.
Director Kim Kelly holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and brings more than twenty years of experience directing child care centers in Washington and Frederick counties. The Learning Center uses The Creative Curriculum, blending child-initiated exploration with teacher-guided instruction, and weaves Christian teaching into the day through song, story time, crafts, centers, daily prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas are celebrated, and the program is designed to complement the religious instruction each family provides at home while welcoming children from a range of backgrounds.
Two enrichment programs run alongside the regular curriculum. Weekly Music Enrichment introduces children to structured music education in support of language, literacy, social-emotional, and motor development. Weekly Spanish Enrichment gives young children exposure to a second language during the years when language acquisition comes most easily, building cognitive and problem-solving skills and broadening cultural understanding. The Outdoor Classroom is the program's signature. Guided by Dr. Richard Louv's principles from Last Child in the Woods and structured around The Project Approach alongside Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Creative Curriculum, and HighScope methods, the outdoor classroom gives children long stretches of time to climb, dig, investigate, and journal through topics such as the life of trees, the movement of water, the life cycles of insects, and the impact of weather. Children spend time outside year-round, dress in layers, and have an indoor space to retreat to during storms or unsafe conditions.
Music as a Pillar of Identity
Music carries particular weight at Mt. Nebo. Each week the praise team and choir lead worship, and Pastor Bob has called music "an important part of our identity at Mt. Nebo." Rose Gamblin serves as Minister of Music, coordinating the choir and praise team that fill the sanctuary with what the pastor describes as "joyous music" and a sense of the Spirit. The sanctuary itself reflects this long investment in music: a pipe organ installed by the Moller Organ Company of Hagerstown was added in 1916 and electrified in 1941, and the organ was rebuilt during a Colonial-style sanctuary remodel in 1951 that also added a divided chancel and tower chimes donated by the Young Men's Bible Class in honor of those who served in World War II.
SHARE Food Network: Healthy Groceries at Half Price
Mt. Nebo is one of only a handful of remaining host sites in the area for the SHARE Food Network, a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to offering healthy, nutritious groceries at roughly a 50 percent discount through high-volume purchasing and thousands of volunteer hours. Monthly value packages cost $26 and include $40 to $45 worth of basic groceries, four to six pounds of frozen proteins, and eight to twelve pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, sometimes with seasonal extras. Packages are open to anyone who is interested, and each participant receives a newsletter with recipes and a preview of the next month's package.
The church's monthly distribution depends on volunteers who help bag dry food items like potatoes, rice, and onions in preparation for pickup day. Susan Barnes coordinates the ministry and can be reached at 301-432-8116 for anyone interested in volunteering.
Volunteers in Mission: Three Decades of Disaster Response
Mt. Nebo's Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team has been active in disaster relief for more than thirty years. The team's main focus is giving hope to people who have lost possessions, a place to live, and hope for the future. Members have traveled to New Jersey (2015 and 2016), to Richwood, West Virginia in 2018, and to Beaufort, North Carolina in 2019, partnering with other local Methodists on recovery and rebuilding projects. The congregation sees the work as a calling, and the team describes the experience in straightforward terms: "While we can see a change in the outlook of those we help, we get back more than we give, as our relationship deepens with our God and the other members of the VIM team."
A History Stretching Back to 1832
The congregation that worships at Mt. Nebo today has roots reaching back to 1750, when Reformed settlers built a log church building about half a mile northeast of Boonesborough. Known as "Shonk's Church," it stood before the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1780, when a new Reformed Church was built in Boonesborough, part of the original congregation stayed behind in the old log building and continued to worship there. That group eventually became United Brethren and worshiped at Shonk's Church for more than fifty years. Founders and famous preachers of the United Brethren Church, including Rev. Phillip Otterbein, Rev. Christian Newcomer, and Rev. George Adam Getting, all preached in that old building.
The old log church was abandoned in 1832, and the United Brethren erected a new log church in Boonsboro that same year. It had rough wooden seats and an elevated "Bird's Nest" pulpit from which the preacher could see if anyone was sleeping, and a shrill blast from a shepherd's horn called the congregation together. The first Charter of the Corporation for Mt. Nebo of the United Brethren of Christ was granted on July 31, 1858. In 1868 the present brick building was erected; it was remodeled in 1883 and again in 1905. A modern, well-equipped education building was added in 1929, and a hand-pumped Moller pipe organ arrived in 1916.
In 1946 the congregation became Evangelical United Brethren. In 1968 the E.U.B. merged with the Methodist Church, and the church became Mt. Nebo United Methodist Church. A sanctuary remodel in 1951 introduced the Colonial design still in place, with a rebuilt organ, new lighting, a Cellutex ceiling, divided chancel, and tower chimes honoring World War II veterans. Major renovations in 2009 added two modernized kitchens, classrooms for the preschool, the Family Life Center, and a large Gathering Area. The 1868 brick sanctuary, sandblasted in 1959 to match newer additions, still anchors the campus.
For more than a century, Mt. Nebo shared pastoral leadership with other charges, including a four-point charge with Benevola, Mt. Lena, and Monroe congregations. Sustained growth eventually made Mt. Nebo a station church and the largest United Methodist Church in the Boonsboro area.
Online Giving, the Beacon Newsletter, and Getting Involved
Mt. Nebo accepts electronic offerings via VANCO, a merchant services provider that has served faith-based organizations since 2002 and has been Mt. Nebo's online giving partner since 2015. Contributions can be set up as one-time or recurring donations, debited from a checking or savings account or processed by credit or debit card. Toni Wetzel coordinates electronic giving and can be reached at 240-217-1961 with questions.
The Beacon, the church's monthly newsletter, carries news, events, and a letter from Pastor Bob. The current and back issues are available. A Google Calendar tracks upcoming events. For members, a password-protected directory provides resources, and visitors are warmly invited to attend Sunday worship or a community event.
Pastoral and Program Leadership
Pastor Bob Ruggieri entered ministry after more than thirty years in the corporate world. He graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2017 and holds an MBA from Marymount University, with postgraduate work at Colorado Tech University in Colorado Springs. Before joining Mt. Nebo, he served the Ijamsville-Flint Hill Charge. He is accompanied at Mt. Nebo by his daughter Jade, a West Virginia University student. Rose Gamblin serves as Minister of Music, leading the choir and praise team. At the Learning Center, Director Kim Kelly oversees a large staff of teachers organized by age group, including infant, toddler, two-year-old, three-and-four-year-old, outdoor classroom, and school-age lead teachers. Brandi Wetzel serves as Administrative Secretary, Sara Halbritter as Sexton, Patti Watson as Bookkeeper, and Dennis and Sallie Dorsey as Sextons. The Learning Center's Advisory Board includes Katie Smith, Chrissy Pugh, Gary Harding, board chair Cindy Kauffman, Pastor Bob as Lay Leader, and Rob Wetzel as Lay Leader.
Where the People of Mt. Nebo Find a Home
Mt. Nebo puts it this way: "We have a beautiful worship space, Family Life Center and Learning Center to share, but at Mt. Nebo, our PEOPLE are the church. Come be part of our community." Sunday morning at 9 a.m., Sunday School at 10 a.m., a growing list of Learning Center classrooms from infant through fifth grade, a SHARE Food distribution once a month, and a VIM team ready to load up and travel when disaster calls. These are the rhythms of a congregation that has served Boonsboro for nearly two centuries and continues to expand what ministry on South Main Street looks like.