Welcome to Fowler United Methodist Church!
We’re a church with a long history going back to Moses Fowler, and we take pride in our part in shaping this town. As a community of Christ-followers, our goal is to make disciples as we serve one another – always with an eye on our good shepherd, Jesus Christ. How that looks may change from year to year, but FUMC is a place where we believe open arms and open tables are a place to meet Jesus.
Our original church building was on Third Street in Fowler, but after a fire we rebuilt at our new location in 2002. The whole church came together as a community to contribute, and we salvaged the things from the old building that were meaningful to beautify the new church. This is a part of our spirit and tradition: to keep those things that spoke the faith into our parents and grandparents and speak the faith into a new generation looking forward. Our heart is to glorify God, spread the good news, disciple one another, and accept the changes that come with time while we renew our mind in Christ Jesus.
We would love to have you be a part of our community – where we open Bibles with the same hands that serve the naked and hungry and strive to be worthy of the name “Christian.”
Our History
The Methodist Episcopal church of Fowler was organized in September 1873. There were 12 charter members. By 1874, the church had 82 members. The original site of the church was on 3rd Street and was donated by Moses and Eliza Fowler. In the summer of 1874, the first building was erected at a cost of $1500. It was a frame building, 40×65 feet with a corner tower.
The first parsonage was erected in 1881-82. It too was a frame structure 24×28 feet, one and one-half stories in height. Its cost was approximately $1000. At that time, there were 146 church. IN 1920-21, the church had grown and a new church was built at a cost of $60,000. It was a brick facade trimmed with Bedford rock. The Mitten Memorial pipe organ was installed in the sanctuary and is in our sanctuary today.
In 1957, the church was totally remodeled, updating the electric in the entire church, installing a new commercial kitchen in the basement, installing a restroom adjacent to the nursery, and redecorating the entire church.
On October 22, 2001, the church at this location had an electrical fire that did considerable damage to the nursery area and smoke and water damage to much of the sanctuary. By a congregation vote, the decision was made to build a new building on 12th Street on ground donated by Dave and Gayle Guthridge. The construction began in fall of 2002 and the first service was on July 27, 2003. The approximate cost was $998,000.
After our groundbreaking ceremony on June 23, 2002, building began in August. The hymn to remember from the groundbreaking was “The Churches One Foundation.” A scripture given to the builders on 1/9/03 was 1 Corinthians 3:10-11:
“By the grace God has given, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”