Our Vision and Mission

The VISION of Anaheim United Methodis Church is:
to REACH OUT, SERVE, and INVITE with the LOVE of JESUS CHRIST.

• We REACH OUT to those in need;
• We SERVE the people God sends to us;
• We INVITE people into lives of worship and discipleship;
• all with the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Our MISSION
To fulfill our Vision we will

• Serve children and their families through a Christian preschool program
• Serve homeless families with a variety of hands-on mission projects
• Serve area youth by developing a plan for a youth center
• Serve the entire community with multiple worship services of differing styles
• Develop a leadership that pipeline that effectively identifies, recruits, trains, deploys and supports spiritual, committed leaders

The History of Anaheim United Methodist Church

It is the aim of this Church to make religion
as considerate of persons as the teachings of Jesus;
as devoted to justice as the Old Testament's Prophets;
as responsive to truth as Science;
as beautiful as Art; as intimate as the home;
and as indispensable as the air we breathe

Methodism came to what is now Orange County in the early 1870's. The first Methodist minister in the area was a circuit rider. Rev. J.D. Miller, who preached one Sunday a month. The record of Methodist work in Anaheim dates back to September, 1878. The first Methodist church in Anaheim was built on South Philadelphia St. and was dedicated on September 29, 1880. This church, known as the Anaheim Methodist Episcopal Church, served the community from this location until 1916. Having outgrown the little church, the construction of a larger one on the corner of Philadelphia and Broadway was begun. The new church was dedicated April 11, 1920, and was named the White Temple Methodist Episcopal Church in honor of Rev. Harry White.

In 1926, White Temple divided. A new church was formed and it was called the Peoples Church. For the next 43 years these two churches created their own history. After several name changes and a move, the Peoples Church was located on East Romneya and was named East Anaheim United Methodist Church. In 1968, First Methodist and East Anaheim were both facing some perplexing problems. A plan developed to re-unite the two churches. On December 14, 1969, the union took place.

In 1971 the combined congregations, now known as the Anaheim United Methodist Church, began worshipping at Katella High School. The united congregation met at the school for two years while new facilities were under construction. On Palm Sunday, April 15, 1973, our present sanctuary was dedicated. However even these new facilities soon proved to be inadequate for the growing needs of the church. A new fellowship center was added in 1981.