History
Strawbridge United Methodist Church (SUMC) was named for Robert Strawbridge, the first Methodist lay preacher in America. Strawbridge was the organizer of the first Methodist Society in the Baltimore area in 1753. He formed societies and converted the first native American preachers, including William Watters, Phillip Gatchand and Freeborn Garretson, Methodism’s “Paul Revere.” The vision for what was to become SUMC began to materialize in 1982 when the Board of Missions purchased a 4.4 acre site for the second Methodist church in Kingwood. The congregation began worshiping February 19, 1984 at Creekwood Middle School, with The Rev. C. J. Taylor as organizing pastor. The church was chartered on May 20, 1984 with 137 members. The church moved into the new facilities at Kingwood Drive and Willow Terrace in August, 1987. A second addition was completed in Spring, 1997.
The Reverend. B.T. Williamson became the pastor of Strawbridge in June, 1992. Dr. Todd Miller joined the staff as Director of Music Ministries in 1994 and built a solid music program that continues today under the leadership of Richard Aslanian who succeeded Todd in 2008. Beth Chenault joined the SUMC staff in 1994 as Youth Director, and helped establish a vibrant youth program which remains one of the largest and most active in Kingwood.
The Reverend Dr. Brad Ramsey was appointed Senior Pastor of SUMC in June, 1998. Once again, growth in membership and activities began to strain the limits of the church facilities, and in 1999 the church began planning for the next building expansion. Senior Pastor, The Reverend Ken Archer and Associate Pastor, The Reverend Jeff Gage lead the groundbreaking for a new sanctuary in 2000.
Due to the continued growth in children’s programs at SUMC, the position of Director of Children’s Ministries was created in 2000. By Christmas, 2001, worship services had moved into the new sanctuary and the old sanctuary was converted to the multi-purpose Strawbridge Activity Center.
In 2002, with the departure of The Reverend Jeff Gage to become pastor of Hooks United Methodist in Hooks, Texas, Beth Chenault began taking on Associate Pastor duties while training to become a lay pastor. The Reverend R. Winston Goens, Jr. was appointed Senior Pastor of SUMC in June, 2004. In September 2008, with the departure of The Reverend Winston Goens to become pastor of Sunset United Methodist Church in Pasadena, Texas, The Reverend Dr. James H. (Jim) Reiter was appointed Senior Pastor of SUMC.
