Pleasant Lake United Methodist Church, Inc.

History of the United Methodist Church

By John Riggs (edited)

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A frontier church, its services originally were held in members' homes and available public buildings, including schools and taverns, until a church could be built. The circuits usually were hundreds of miles long, the classes small and scattered, and the accommodations crude at best for members and clergy alike. The camp meeting and the stump preacher rang throughout the woods, clearings, and commons of original sin and eternal damnation. As the 19th Century advanced, and communities became villages, and villages grew into towns and cities, the church followed the people, and its houses of worship went from one room log cabins to white clapboard and brick and mortar, to large ornate edifices reminiscent of cathedrals. Sunday schools came into being. Music was added to some services. We built colleges and campgrounds, elected governors, and senators, and raised a mighty voice in religion, politics, and education. By the turn of the 20th Century, most United Methodist ministers no longer rode a circuit, and most of its members no longer fermented with the evangelical zeal that spread the faith across the frontier. We have never forgotten our mission, never turned our back on the enduring principles of "doing unto others" and "liberty and justice for all." Many roots. One church. One faith. That is our history, our strength, and our legacy.