Jerome United Methodist Church

Traditional Service 8:30 am
Fellowship 9:30 am
Christian Education -all ages 9:45 am
Contemporary Service 10:45 am

10531 Jerome Road, Plain City, OH 43064
Phone: 614-873-8851
Click here for directions

Jerome United Methodist Church sharing God's love by words and actions

Common Questions and Answers

History of Methodist Church

History of Jerome Church

The history of Jerome Church dates back to 1835 when a “Methodist Class Meeting” was organized in the log house of Henry Beach.  The class was soon attached to the Worthington Circuit and services were held in a nearby school house.

     The congregation grew rapidly and in 1842 the first church building, constructed of logs, was erected near the old cemetery at the corner of Jerome and Brock Roads.  In 1851, it became a part of the Dublin Circuit.  In 1860, a second building was constructed at a site on Town Street.  About that time, the church became a part of the Plain City Circuit.

     In March of 1891, the construction of the present sanctuary was completed, with much of the labor and timber being donated by church members.  The dedication of the congregation is symbolized by a man, named Ashford Shover, who kept fires going in the church stoves for 41 nights to keep the new plaster from freezing.

     In 1955, a small education building was erected behind the church.  It was completely renovated in 1986.  A new parsonage was built at 7762 Brock Road in 1975.

     The 150th anniversary of the church was enthusiastically celebrated in August of 1985, and the 100th anniversary of the church sanctuary was celebrated in 1991.

     A major building project was completed in 1993 and includes a fellowship hall/gymnasium, narthex, kitchen, restrooms and accessibility ramps for those with limiting physical conditions.  Another building addition, with 12 classrooms, 2 offices and restrooms was completed in 2001.  In addition, a stage was built in the fellowship hall.

     Jerome Church has always been known as an active church where people care about their neighbors, as well as their faith.  We believe that tradition continues today, and will for many years.

COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ABOUT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

What is the structure of the United Methodist Church?

There are over 40,000 United Methodist Churches scattered all over the United States.  The UMC is made up of local churches, districts, and conferences.  The local churches are organized geographically into entities called “conferences.”  Each conference is then split up into “districts.”  There are eight districts in the West Ohio Conference. Jerome United Methodist Church is in the Capitol Area North District of the West Ohio Conference.

 How does Jerome get its pastors?

United Methodist pastors are “itinerant,” meaning they are appointed by the Bishop and Cabinet (all the District Superintendents) to the local church.  Each church works with the bishop and cabinet to receive or remove a pastor.  Church members don’t vote on these issues.  There is a committee of lay people (the Staff-Parish Relations Committee) who work with the pastor and conference to get this job done.

 I heard that United Methodist pastors move a lot.  Is that true?

Churches and pastors have a lot of say as to whether or not there will be a move.  While there are churches that seem to have a “revolving door” on their pulpit, there are many churches that maintain long and rewarding relationships with their pastor.

 Does this church have some sort of board or committee that makes important decisions, do the pastors make all the decisions, or is it a combination of both?

            (1) Staff-Parish Relations Committee:  Acts as the body that works out all the

                  details between the pastoral/lay staff and the congregation.

            (2)  Finance Committee:  Sets the budget, carries out the financial campaign each

                  fall, and works with the pastor and congregation  in caring for the financial

                  needs of the church.

            (3)  The Board of Trustees:  Maintains all property the church owns.

            (4)  Lay Leadership Team:  Makes contacts asking people to be on the various  

                  Committees.

            (5)  Missions Committee:  Spearheads mission opportunities locally, nationally,

                  and internationally – both financial giving and hands-on mission work.                   

 All of these committees and all the members of the church staff are ultimately responsible to the Administrative Council, which “OKs” every major decision of the church.

Who is on the Administrative Council?

Members of the Administrative Council are the pastoral and lay staff, the Lay Leader of the congregation, the Lay Member of Annual Conference, all Committee chairs and members- at- large who have been elected by the Charge Conference as members of the Administrative Council.

A BRIEF HISTORY AND INTRODUCTION TO THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

 Our Founder, John Wesley

While pursuing his education, studying to become an Anglican Priest at Oxford University in London, England in the mid-18th century, John Wesley felt like something was missing.  Wesley did not understand why his church seemed so “spiritually dead” and “out of touch” with an England that was rapidly changing (thanks to the industrial revolution).  It was at Oxford that Wesley gathered his brothers and a few of his friends for prayer and discussion of what God’s purpose was for their lives, scriptural study, and to figure out how they could begin to help address the real needs in people’s lives.  The group kept such a strict schedule and was so methodical in their record keeping and organization that people began to jokingly call them “Methodists.”  In time, Wesley and the others of his small group began to evangelize in the streets of London, calling people to begin to practice this new “methodical” approach to spiritual development and growth:  people meeting together for prayer, supporting each other to lead moral and ethical lives, while studying scripture and collecting money to address the needs of the poor – all as a means to grow in God’s grace and love.  With Wesley, Methodism was born!

 Methodism in America

By the end of the 18th century, the Methodist movement had spread all over England and America.  Wesley started a spiritual renewal movement that helped thousands of people establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Methodists were the first to establish “Sunday Schools” (schools that taught children working in factories how to read and write on their day off), hospitals and missions… real ministries that addressed real needs in people’s lives.  After the Revolutionary War, American people wanted no part of anything “British,” and so the Methodist Episcopal Church (USA) was born!  Still claiming John Wesley as his spiritual leader, Rev. Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the ME Church, worked hard, managing hundreds of “circuit riders,” pastors on horseback who traveled throughout the frontier, preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ.  Following his death, it was apparent that the job of ME Bishop had grown too large for one person, so two were elected by all the elders (full ministers in the church) to become their leaders.  Soon, as the church continued to grow, more bishops were elected and given territories (or conferences) to administrate the education and appointments of pastors.  The conferences were further divided into “districts,” led by “superintendents,” who helped the bishop take care of an ever-growing church.

 A Church Divided – A Church United

In the ensuing years after the Revolutionary War, the Methodist Episcopal Church split for a variety of reasons.  Various cultural, political, and theological issues which divided ME lay people and ministers alike have been responsible for the birth of many different denominations in this country (Disciples of Christ, Nazarene, Assembly of God, The Salvation Army, Church of God, Wesleyan, and the AME Church, just to name a few).  Various attempts have been, and are being made to reunite all of these “disgruntled Methodists” again into one denomination.  The successful reunion of the two largest “Methodist” denominations (Methodist Episcopal and Evangelical United Brethren) and many other small Methodist churches resulted in the birth of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in 1964.