Two Campuses Across St. Louis
Salem United Methodist Church holds two distinct worship sites that anchor its ministry across the St. Louis region. The Mid-County site sits on the northeast corner of Lindbergh Boulevard and Highway 64/40 at 1200 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131, a location the church has called home since 1958. The South-City site, known as The Connection United Methodist Church since Salem and The Connection joined together in ministry in 2016, is located at 6701 Virginia Ave. off Loughborough Avenue in St. Louis, MO 63111. The two campuses share staff, pastoral leadership, programming, and a common mission: to connect all people with one another and with God through worship, service, learning, and community.
Worship on Sundays and Thursdays
Three Sunday services and a Thursday evening gathering offer different expressions of worship across the two sites.
At the Mid-County site, a Modern worship service is held at 9:30 am and a Traditional worship service at 11:00 am. The Modern service pairs contemporary music led by the Salem United band with engaging teaching, while the Traditional service is enriched by the Salem Choir, the Salem Chamber Orchestra, a Moeller organ, a Steinway grand piano, traditional hymns, classical pieces, and choral performances. Both services welcome children; nursery care is available at both hours, and Kids Connect classrooms are open at 9:30 am for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
At the South-City site, a Family-Friendly Blended worship service gathers at 11:00 am, weaving traditional and contemporary elements into a single gathering. The South-City site also hosts Dinner Church on Thursdays at 6:00 pm, a meal-plus-worship gathering where everyone is invited to share food, inspiring worship, and community.
Worship is offered online through a YouTube channel and a church online platform, with services livestreamed and rebroadcast through the week. A digital bulletin is available online for those using screen readers.
A Faith Tradition Rooted in 1841
Salem's story begins in 1841 when the Methodist Church of Cincinnati sent a German-born circuit rider named Ludwig S. Jacoby to St. Louis. Jacoby had been baptized into Christianity from a devoutly Jewish family in 1835, became a Methodist in Cincinnati, and married Amalie, a fellow German immigrant. He rented an old Presbyterian mission church on Seventh and Biddle Streets and began holding worship with 22 members, becoming one of the first German Methodist congregations west of the Mississippi. In 1842 the little congregation purchased property on Wash Street near Eleventh Street and built a 32-by-50-foot church.
By 1873 a much larger sanctuary at Sixteenth and Wash Streets earned the nickname "Cathedral of German Methodism," and over the following decades the church planted branch congregations across St. Louis. New buildings followed in 1905 at Page and Pendleton and in 1925 at Kingshighway Boulevard and Cote Brilliante Avenue, where members rallied during the Great Depression to "save old Salem" through pageants, fundraisers, and grassroots giving. In 1958 the congregation relocated to the current Mid-County site, building first a chapel and then, over time, an educational wing, fellowship hall, sanctuary, offices, and in 2005 a multipurpose room with a gymnasium and additional classrooms.
In 2016 Salem and The Connection United Methodist Churches formally joined together in ministry, allowing the two campuses to share resources and programming. The Salem Archives, available to researchers by appointment, traces this heritage back through baptism, marriage, and membership records, German-language documents, photographs, blueprints, and the ephemera of more than 180 years of congregational life.
Beliefs and Welcome
Salem is part of the United Methodist denomination, and the church's pastors are ordained United Methodist pastors who intend to remain United Methodist. The congregation seeks to be generous, kind, and open-minded followers of Jesus Christ, pursuing personal holiness through worship, study, and small groups while pursuing social holiness through service at home and abroad. Salem affirms that faith and intellect go hand in hand, and that the Christian life calls people to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves.
The church explicitly welcomes all people, stating that "every person matters to God, so every person matters to us." Salem respects diversity of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical and mental ability, family structure, marital status, socioeconomic status, education, political perspective, faith history, and experience. The congregation follows John Wesley's approach to differences: "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
Children and Students
Salem's Kids Connect program works alongside families as children grow in Christian faith. Nurseries welcome infants through four-year-olds during all Mid-County services. Kids Connect classrooms open at 9:30 am at the Mid-County site for kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade, with nursery care also available at 11:00 am. Parents check children in at a Kids Connect desk before worship, receive a security tag for each child, and pick up their children from classrooms after each service. Salem is also a foster-friendly faith community, and parents can connect through the Salem St. Louis Parents Facebook group.
Heart of Worship Collective (HOW) is Salem's vocal group for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, led by Sharifa Black. No auditions are required and scholarships cover participation. Rehearsals are held Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 pm, Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, and Fridays from 3:45 to 4:45 pm, with performances during Sunday services and the Christmas season.
For students in grades six through twelve, Salem offers a Sunday Night Youth Group meeting from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, mixing high-energy fellowship with space to explore faith. Each month wraps with a special IMPACT event. Confirmation is offered for students in seventh grade and older through sessions that explore theological topics and provide a framework for lifelong faith, led by Rev. Elisabeth Danielsons.
Music at Salem
Music is central to Salem's worship. The Salem United modern band, led by Rev. Tim Power and Rev. Nick Savage, features both professional and lay musicians who perform contemporary music. The Salem Choir rehearses on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 pm (September through May) and sings traditional hymns, classical pieces, and spirituals, accompanied by Salem's Moeller organ and Steinway grand piano. The Salem Chamber Orchestra, a professional ensemble, regularly enriches the 11:00 am traditional service. A Handbell Choir rehearses on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 pm and welcomes new members with no experience required. Salem also collaborates with guest performers from the St. Louis Symphony, Jazz at the Bistro, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Muny.
Holy Smokers Men's Ministry
Holy Smokers is a men's ministry focused on fellowship and service. The group gathers for breakfast and fellowship on the first Saturday of each month from 8:00 to 10:00 am at the Mid-County site, and throughout the year smokes and grills barbecue meats as fundraisers for outreach. In 2025 the team smoked, grilled, and donated more than 11,786 pounds of meat, feeding approximately 23,572 people through Epworth Children and Family Services, LifeWise STL, Haven Street, and the Ladue Police and Fire Department.
A Focus on Literacy and Nutrition
Salem's outreach centers on literacy and nutrition, two areas the congregation pursues through multiple long-standing partnerships.
On the literacy side, Salem supports tutoring at Lyon Academy at Blow and Walbridge STEAM Academy through St. Louis Public Schools, where adult volunteers serve as reading tutors for kindergarten through second grade. Story Spark Camp, a seven-week summer day camp for children entering first through fifth grade, uses the Project Transformation curriculum to combine reading, arts, movement, games, and faith exploration, with tuition set at a $20 registration fee through grants and church support. Ready Readers brings read-aloud experiences, free new books, teacher training, and literacy-themed field trips to children in St. Louis. The congregation also runs ongoing school-supply drives, supporting partner schools with disinfectant wipes, tissues, pencils, notebooks, glue sticks, and other supplies.
On the nutrition side, Haven Street is Salem's weekly meal ministry at the South-City site. More than 150 meals are served each Monday at 6:00 pm along with personal care items and clothing gathered through the Out of Our Bounty donations. Volunteers are welcomed on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Mission Nutrition gathers groups to cook meals at Salem's kitchen for youth at the Epworth Drop-In Center, with dates available throughout the year for families and friends to serve together. Holy Smokers' barbecued meats also flow into nutrition partners, and Lifewise STL receives ongoing food donations and volunteer support for holiday meal delivery. Salem also partners with Costa Rica Mission Projects to provide produce boxes to preschool families.
Disaster relief is channeled through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), with 100 percent of donations going to relief, refugee, and recovery efforts worldwide.
Costa Rica Mission Trip
Each year Salem organizes a trip to Costa Rica Mission Projects in San Isidro del General, where teams of volunteers from the church serve alongside the local church in general construction and relationship-building. Past teams have included members of all ages and experience levels, with transportation, lodging, meals, and insurance arranged by Costa Rica Mission Projects. The trip costs $1,900 per person, of which Salem subsidizes $900, with the remaining $1,000 paid by the participant.
A Labyrinth for Prayer
The Salem Memorial Labyrinth is an outdoor prayer walk installed during the pandemic as a testimony to God's presence in all places and times. Open at all times, the labyrinth invites walkers to release their cares at the entrance, rest in the presence of God at the center, and return outward to serve the world. A downloadable guide is available for those wanting to walk the labyrinth for centering, deep listening, and clarity.
Care Across Life's Milestones
Salem's Congregational Care Ministry offers prayer, encouragement, and practical support. Baptisms are offered to people of all ages, and Salem recognizes baptisms from other Christian churches for membership and confirmation. Members may hold wedding ceremonies at Salem or at The Connection. Pastors and staff lead funeral services at the church, the funeral home, or graveside according to the family's wishes. A prayer team receives prayer requests submitted online and offers follow-up care when requested.
Salem Foundation for the Future
The Salem Foundation for the Future supports long-term ministries that share the love of Jesus with a world in need. Gifts are invested at the Missouri Methodist Foundation and distributed in five areas: Music, Scholarship, Mission, Buildings, and Future Ministries. Planned gifts may come in the form of cash, securities, retirement plan assets, life insurance, charitable bequests, donor advised funds, or partial beneficiary designations. Donors are encouraged to complete a Donor Declaration to direct the use of their gift.
Getting Involved
Salem offers many ways to get involved. Small groups meet throughout the year to study the Bible, build friendships, and grow in faith. The Salem Social Club gathers people for live music, restaurant nights, cultural events, and seasonal outings. Hospitality, kids, youth, music, communication, building, and care teams all rely on volunteers. Newcomers can plan a visit through the church's online Plan Your Visit page, where staff will follow up to answer questions and help pre-register children.
Practical Information
- Mid-County Site: 1200 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131
- South-City Site: 6701 Virginia Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111
- Phone: (314) 991-0546
- Email: info@salemstlouis.com
- What to wear: Come as you are; there is no dress code.
- Children: Nursery and Kids Connect are available at the Mid-County site.
- Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrances, ramps, elevators at the Mid-County site, accessible restrooms with changing stations, hearing assistance with earpieces and induction loops at the Mid-County sanctuary, gluten-free communion at both sites, and an online digital bulletin.