The story of Ginter Park United Methodist Church began on October 11, 1917, when 17 persons met in the assembly room of the Ginter Park Public School to organize a Methodist Church in the community. At the first session of the Virginia Conference after the organization of the church, the Rev. L. S. Flournoy was assigned to the Ginter Park Methodist Church as its first pastor. During the more than 90 years that have passed since then the world has seen the Russian Revolution and the first free elections in the Soviet Union, the Great Depression and man’s first steps on the moon, the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall. While Ginter Park UMC has grown, two world wars and prohibition have all come and gone. Women have gained the right to vote. Members of our church have witnessed both segregation and the civil rights movement. During these years insulin was first used to treat diabetes and more than 500,000 people in the United States died from pandemic influenza. Technology has changed faster than the blink of eye, and peace in the Middle East still remains out of reach.
Throughout these changes, Ginter Park UMC has been a place of worship, praise and community. Today it is a growing and active church with two services meeting the worship needs of its active church community. It continues to be a sanctuary in which its members may question the challenges we face today and look to the Bible and time with God for guidance and mercy in a world still changing. We all share a faith in Jesus Christ, but The United Methodist Church encourages us to think for ourselves, so we don’t necessarily share the same opinions about every faith issue or social concern. And there are lots of us: 8.5 million United Methodists live in the U.S., and 1.5 million more worldwide, with the largest growth in membership occurring in Africa and the Philippines.
Our story began almost a century ago, but together we continue to share the greatest story of all: the story of God's unyielding and limitless love given to us through his Son, Jesus Christ.