Brief History………
In the early 1960’s Dr. Bruce Gannaway, District Superintendent of the Melbourne District of the United Methodist Church for saw the need for a church in Port St. John. He acquired a tract of land on Fay Boulevard and reserved it for a church site.
In October 1965, Dr. Wayne Furman, a retired Methodist minister, and his wife, Carrie, were called to form the Port St. John United Methodist Church. An organizational meeting was held at the parsonage at 961 Macco Road in November. On December 5, 1965, the first church service was held in a three room building that has served as an office for Cay Construction Company on the Fay Boulevard site. Sixty-seven prospective members attended the first service. On January 2, 1966, forty-two charter members were accepted into the church. On March 9, 1966, ground was broken for the first of three proposed buildings to be erected on the property. The building was consecrated at its first service held on December 5, 1966 with 125 persons in attendance.
On June 28, 1987, ground was broken for the second phase of building. The first Sunday service in this building was held on March 20, 1988 with 141 in attendance. Ground was broken for phase three of our building plans, which is our current sanctuary, on November 24, 1996. The first service in the new sanctuary was held on December 21, 1997, which included the baptism of two infants. On December 2, 2001, ground was broken for the construction of a new church parsonage. We celebrated our Pastor moving into the new parsonage in August 2002. Currently we have 317 members and have an average Sunday attendance of about 200. Through Christ, we have come a long way!
Our Pastors Through The Years
Dr. Wayne Furman October 1965 – May 1966
Rev. Robert McBride (Interim) June 1966 – August 1966
Dr. Wayne Furman September 1966 – May 1967
Rev. Larry Webb June 1967 – May 1970
Rev. Peter Richardson June 1970 – May 1971
Dr. Perry James June 1971 – May 1972
Dr. Russell Hubbard June 1972 – May 1973
Rev. Irvin Bookman (Lay Minister) June 1973 – May 1975
Rev. Leonard Vanderwater June 1975 – May 1985
Rev. Shelby Wilson June 1985 – May 1993
Dr. Richard Chandler June 1993 – May 2001
Dr. Daniel Parrish June 2001 – June 2011
Rev. Steve Hart July 2011 – Present