Warren Memorial United Methodist Church has stood on the West End side of Atlanta since 1942, but the congregation traces its roots to a brush arbor on Bush Mountain in 1874, just over a decade after Emancipation. Today the church is known for blending traditional and contemporary worship, a roster of choirs that begins in childhood and runs through a senior adult fellowship, and a twice-monthly outreach that hands out clothing, snack bags, and a meal on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
From a Brush Arbor to Ashby Grove
The congregation began in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Bridges on Bush Mountain in the West End. In 1874, the Reverend John Crolley, an ex-slave who was twenty-nine years old at the time, organized the group under the latticed branches of a brush arbor and served as its first pastor for nine years. The little church met first in a one-room house and later in a two-room house before moving to a small frame building at the corner of Humphries and Chapel Streets, where it took the name Chapel Street Church. In later years the name was changed to Warren Chapel Church in honor of Bishop Henry White Warren, the Methodist Episcopal Bishop who took residence in Atlanta in 1831.
In 1890, Samuel Cunningham, a student at Clark University, organized the first Sunday school and served as its superintendent for forty-two years. Under the Reverend Elijah Henry Oliver, who pastored from 1906 until his death in 1920 and who was the son-in-law of the founding pastor, the membership swelled to roughly 1,400. The growing body dedicated a larger, modern edifice on Greensferry Avenue on April 19, 1914. A fire partially destroyed that building on December 2, 1929, and the Reverend S. M. Miller and the leaders of the day restored it.
The year 1939 marked the formation of the United Methodist Church through a plan of union. To guide Warren through that season, the Reverend J. Wesley Thomas was transferred from Philadelphia to the Atlanta Conference. The Greensferry building was sold to Clark College for its move into the Atlanta University Center, and the present property, the old Driskell home at the corner of Ashby Street and Ashby Grove, S.W., was acquired. The new building was completed and dedicated in 1942, and the name was changed to Warren Memorial United Methodist Church.
The sanctuary continued to take shape under successive pastors. Under the Reverend E. W. McMillan (1948-1958), a sacrament altar, new pews, and the beautiful stained-glass windows were dedicated in 1953, and the Gospel Choir was organized. The Reverend C. S. Stinson (1958-1966) added the Quiet Room in the balcony, an early morning worship service, the Children's Choir, and office space for the church secretary. On March 10, 1961, Warren opened its doors for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black community leaders, including his father "Daddy King" and the local NAACP head the Reverend Samuel Williams, who met with the Student Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. More than a thousand people gathered inside the sanctuary that day.
Under the Reverend A. C. Epps (1966-1972), the parsonage behind the church was converted into an educational building, central heat and air conditioning were installed, new Methodist Hymnals were purchased, and Warren took out a Life Membership in the NAACP. The Reverend P. Harold Gray (1972-1980) was installed as the twenty-fifth pastor. The Reverend J. D. Grier (1980-1985) oversaw a complete renovation of the physical plant, a new grand piano, and a state-of-the-art pipe organ installed with the assistance of the late David Stills. The Reverend Wimbley Hale, Jr. (1985-1995) brought in vans, reinstated the church planning retreats, reactivated the Warren Memorial Methodist Annual Scholarship Awards, and created an historical quilt for the 112th anniversary, displayed in a case in the Annex.
The Reverend Richard D. Winn, Sr. served from 1995 to 2006. The Reverend Yvette D. Massey (2006-2010) became the first female Senior Pastor and launched the Community Outreach Dinners that continue today. The Reverend Donald K. Reed, Sr. (2010-2016) restored the church's ties to the Atlanta University Center and incorporated seminarians from Gammon Theological Seminary into the worship service. Between 2016 and May 2026 the congregation was shepherded by three pastors: the Reverend Gigi Warren (2016-2017), the Reverend Lawrence Young (2017-2018), and the Reverend Leon Matthews (2018-May 2026).
Sunday Morning at 10:30
Worship is the rhythm of the week. Sunday service begins at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, with music drawn from both the traditional Methodist heritage and a more contemporary sound. Sunday School classes for all ages meet alongside the morning, and Children's Church runs as part of the Children's Ministry to help young worshippers broaden and deepen their spiritual faith. Visitors arriving for the first time will find a service grounded in scripture, prayer, and music, and a congregation that has welcomed newcomers for more than a century and a half.
A Sanctuary That Sang Through a Century
Music has always carried Warren Memorial's worship. The Gospel Choir took shape in the McMillan years, the Children's Choir under Reverend Stinson, and the church today is led by David Trofort as Director of Music, with Henry Kearse as Band Director. The Children's Choir Directors, Devina Miller and Earnestine Nelson, keep the youngest voices in the rotation. The pipe organ that Reverend Grier installed in the 1980s remains a centerpiece of the sanctuary, alongside the stained-glass windows dedicated in 1953 and the sacrament altar added that same year.
Children, Youth, and the Family Network
Children's Ministry encompasses the Children's Church Worship Program and gives the youngest members a place of their own inside the larger congregation. Youth Ministry nurtures young people toward a better relationship with Jesus Christ, with the stated purpose of embracing, empowering, and uplifting youth while they grow in faith. Girl Scouts, for girls between the ages of five and seventeen, is part of the church's mission outreach, with a focus on spiritual growth, leadership, respect, and service. The Boy Scout program is also supported through the United Methodist Men. A College Ministry walks alongside young adults as they explore the next chapter, and a Family Ministry connects households of every shape and size. Visitors with children can ask about Children's Church when they arrive on Sunday morning.
United Women of Faith and United Methodist Men
Two long-standing United Methodist bodies make their home at Warren. United Women of Faith offers the women of the church a creative and supportive fellowship and a way to expand the concept of mission through global ministries. The group supports M. Agnes Jones Elementary School students with school supplies, provides bereavement assistance for the Warren Church family, takes part in the UMCOR Relief Program by donating items for care packages, donates Christmas boxes to the women at the Atlanta Day Shelter, joins in the Action Ministry Programs of the United Methodist Church, walks in the Wesley Walk for Others, and sponsors the Annual Women's Day Celebration and Prayer Breakfast.
United Methodist Men, working under the General Commission's mission to help men know Jesus Christ, serve Him, grow spiritually, and seek daily to do His will, support the Girl and Boy Scout programs, provide bereavement assistance for church family members, sponsor and support the Upper Room Telephone Prayer Line Ministries, give financial support to the Youth College Exploration Trip for Warren and District Youth, deliver Christmas baskets to the sick and shut-in, sponsor and support the North Georgia Conference Rock Eagle Foundation, and host the Annual Men's Day Celebration.
Illustrious Seniors of Warren
Older adults are honored in their own organization, the Illustrious Seniors of Warren (ISOW), whose guiding Scripture is Ephesians 3:20: "With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine." The ISOW gathers for prayer and worship, fitness, oral reading and educational programs, field trips, and support of the Outreach Ministry, offering holistic support and fellowship while keeping seniors informed of services available to them.
Community Outreach on Every Other Saturday
Community Outreach at Warren operates on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, handing out clothing, snack bags, and a meal to neighbors who walk through the door. The dinner ministry itself dates to the Reverend Yvette D. Massey's tenure and continues today. Combined with the United Methodist Men's Christmas baskets to the sick and shut-in and the United Women of Faith's Christmas boxes to the Atlanta Day Shelter for women, the church's outward-facing calendar keeps a steady rhythm through the year.
The Present Chapter on Ashby Grove
Warren Memorial's vision is to be a beacon of hope and enlightenment through spiritual growth and Christian values, and its mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ through leadership, worship, and service. The Reverend Jacqueline Smith, who became the Senior Pastor in July 2026, grew up in the Atlanta area as one of seven siblings, earned her Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and spent more than twenty years in human resources and corporate management before stepping into pastoral ministry. She has served congregations in Covington, Ellenwood, and East Point and is a longtime member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church. Her office hours at Warren are Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., by appointment.
Worship is livestreamed through the Warren Memorial YouTube Channel, and recorded services are posted there as well. Giving is available online through a secure platform, and visitors with questions can reach the church office at 404-755-8931 or by email at Warren.Communications@WarrenMemorialUMC.org. The property at 181 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, S.W., in Atlanta remains the home the Reverend Thomas and the leaders of 1942 chose, and the congregation continues to fill it week by week.