Our History

The founding of the church occurred in 1856. Annual Conference for the year 1857 noted that the church had 47 members in the previous year, 1856. Services were held for some years in the homes of church members, then in a schoolhouse.

In 1870 a new church building was constructed. This building was used for 10 years. In the 1880s a building was erected on the present site. It stood there until 1907 when it was taken down in preparation for the current brick structure, which began in the spring of 1908.

The Tecumseh church was connected to many other churches in the conference over the years: Rockford, Crab Orchard, Upper Spring Creek, Lower Spring Creek, Sterling, Elk Creek, Blodgetts School House, Hook Creek, Vesta, Leona (now Adams), Long Branch and Illinois Settlement. As time went on, several of these places became heads of their own charges. Until 1934, Tecumseh and Graf were a circuit. Tecumseh remained alone until 1942, when Johnson was added. Tecumseh and Sterling became a charge until 2013 when Sterling closed. Tecumseh, Adams and Hopewell became a charge in July of 2013. 

The cornerstone of the present church was laid by Rev. John Gallagher, PhD. Dr. Gallagher was also present the day the church was dedicated and led a service in the afternoon. He also was responsible for lining up many of the contributions that helped pay for the church. The total project was estimated to be $20,000.

Many groups were formed throughout the years: Women's Groups, Men's Groups, Missionary Societies, Youth Fellowship, Bible Studies, Quilters, Sunday School classes, Adult Choir, Youth Choir and our newly formed Sewing Circle and Chair Yoga. These dedicated people helped sustain their groups and led their church to be the place that it is today.

At one point, the town of Tecumseh had a fairly large population of people from the country of Laos. Our church applied for grants and was able to get a Laotian pastor to minister to those Laotians in the community. Some of them became members with Rev. Dr. John Kounthapanya's encouragement. Our members gained great benefits from learning the culture of the Laotian people. The Laotian culture would not be the only culture we would gain knowledge of. Rev. Angie Vertz was our pastor in 2021. She was from South Korea and we once again gained knowledge of another country. After Angie, our church family learned about Kenya from Pastors Charles Kitua and Makena Riungu, a husband and wife team. It is good to embrace change and learn from others in our small world.

We must remember that a church grows strong when each gives of him or herself and their gifts as they are able. We must never forget the many members who, because of their love for God and their church, made it possible for this building and the church family that inhabits it, to be a part of the community today.

The history of a church is, in reality, a history of the generations of its loyal members. They have given of their time, money and talents to their church. The amount of time this church has been here is a long time by human standards, but it is only a tomorrow to God.

Blessings to you, our reader!