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The History of Sugar Grove United Methodist Church
In 1851 eleven Christians met at the home of John Wann and organized the first Methodist church in the village of Sugar Grove, Ohio. Church services were held in the local school house for the first year with Samuel Harbey and A.B. See serving as the pastors.
In 1852 lot number two was purchased in the village of Sugar Grove from Mr. and Mrs. Gully. Soon there were ninety-seven active members of the Sugar Grove Methodist Church and a building was soon built on the newly purchased land.
The next big event in the
 history of our church occurred in the year 1877 when the “Sugar Grove Circuit” was organized. In Methodism, a “circuit” is a grouping of churches which are served by the same pastor(s). The Sugar Grove Circuit consisted of eight churches: Sugar Grove, Pleasant Hill, Mt. Tabor, Keary, Harvey, Centenary, Emony, and Maxville. The total membership of all eight churches was two hundred sixty-six!The first pastor appointed to serve this new circuit was a gentleman by the name of J.S. Adams. Because of his hard work the Sugar Grove Circuit grew and grew. Two years later, he was followed in this position by Charles Banks who served as pastor for only one year.
The next pastor to serve the Sugar Grove Circuit was a local Deacon, and Ohio Wesleyan University student, W.E. Shim. For three years he successfully led the church. In fact, one hundred fifty people came into the church during his first year alone!
During Rev. Shim’s second year at Sugar Grove a horrible small pox epidemic broke out causing most schools and churches to close. For several months no worship services were held due to the fear of small pox. Despite this difficulty, church records indicate that nearly sixty people came to know Christ during this period.
In 1894 lot number three was purchased in the village of Sugar Grove as the church continued to expand.
Modern History
 The Sugar Grove Church continued to grow. By 1954 the church building was again enlarged and a basement was added to the facility. In 1967 the sanctuary was enlarged due to the many new folks worshiping here at Sugar Grove.In 1968 the name of our church was changed to Sugar Grove United Methodist Church after the merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Church denominations which formed The United Methodist Church in that same year.
Over the years, several of the churches assigned to the old Sugar Grove Circuit were removed and replaced by other congregations. The last churches dropped from the circuit were Webb Chapel (1956), Mt. Tabor (1958), Pleasant Hill (1967), and Fairview (1977). In 1977 Sugar Grove United Methodist Church officially became a “single charge,” which means that we no longer shared a pastor with another congregation.
In 1978 the north wing of the church was remodeled and the vestibule and entryway was enlarged.
Over the years there have been many changes and several major remodeling projects. In 1982 the sanctuary was again enlarged with Larry Schluer providing the architectural design and Orval Lavey providing the construction leadership.
The church continued to grow and by 1983 the membership of Sugar Grove United Methodist Church was over three hundred with the average worship attendance being around two hundred and fifty.
In 2003 the church purchased fifteen acres of land at the corner of Sugar Grove Road and Savage Hill Road. This land will be used for future expansion and new ministry opportunities.
Sugar Grove United Methodist Church continues to serve Christ in the Sugar Grove area as we enter a new millennium.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
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