HISTORY
The earliest records show church meetings in Cottonwood in 1875, which is 4 miles east of Staples. There was also a congregation formed in 1880 in Pleasant Ridge, about 3 miles north of Staples. A camp meeting was held by the San Marcos River in Staples in 1893. A parsonage was built in Staples in 1897, and the first church building was completed in August, 1901, for a cost of $1,185.The First Methodist Church of Staples was formed in October, 1902, with seventy members. In the early days Sunday school met weekly, but worship was only held once a month, led by a circuit preacher.
A new church building with its red brick and basement was constructed in 1925 for a cost of $15,000, although it was not fully paid for until 1935. The first Vacation Bible School was held in 1927. The church was destroyed by fire on January 6, 1936, but rebuilt and dedicated on October 4th of the same year. The new parsonage was completed in 1956. Air conditioning was added to the church building in 1969.
The church celebrated 100 years of ministry in 2002.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We are a United Methodist Congregation: We are part of the Rio Texas Conference, which consist of about 425 Methodist churches from Austin to the valley, the coast to San Angelo. Methodists are “connectional”, which means we believe we can accomplish God’s work by working together instead of just as one congregation.
We believe in God’s love for us: We are all God’s creation, and God reaches out with love to us. Even though we are imperfect, and we o act all commit sin, God forgives us and offers us grace and salvation out of love for us.
We believe we are called to be the hands and feet of God on this earth:As Christians, we are called to act in response to God’s love for us. We are called to reach out and help our neighbor. In addition to worshipping God, we must show acts of kindness to our neighbor so we can help bring God’s kingdom here.
We believe we are all on a journey to become more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: As Christians, we believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He is also our example on how to live our lives. Through worship, study, and actions we become more like Christ and share love with our world.
We believe we are called to share the Good News: We need to share our faith and the Good News brought by Jesus Christ. We are called to help other find the love offered to us by God through Jesus.
We are a United Methodist Congregation: We are part of the Rio Texas Conference, which consist of about 425 Methodist churches from Austin to the valley, the coast to San Angelo. Methodists are “connectional”, which means we believe we can accomplish God’s work by working together instead of just as one congregation.
We believe in God’s love for us: We are all God’s creation, and God reaches out with love to us. Even though we are imperfect, and we o act all commit sin, God forgives us and offers us grace and salvation out of love for us.
We believe we are called to be the hands and feet of God on this earth:As Christians, we are called to act in response to God’s love for us. We are called to reach out and help our neighbor. In addition to worshipping God, we must show acts of kindness to our neighbor so we can help bring God’s kingdom here.
We believe we are all on a journey to become more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: As Christians, we believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He is also our example on how to live our lives. Through worship, study, and actions we become more like Christ and share love with our world.
We believe we are called to share the Good News: We need to share our faith and the Good News brought by Jesus Christ. We are called to help other find the love offered to us by God through Jesus.