A Brief History of Montgomery Square United Methodist Church (1842-2017)
In Celebration of Our 175th Anniversary
- In 1842, a small group of local people led by a retired Presbyterian minister, Rev. Charles Nassau, built a one room building which became a Methodist Church.
- The two acre plot was on the southwest corner of State Road and Bethlehem Pike in Montgomery Square, PA.
- In 1879, another acre of ground was purchased for use as a cemetery.
- The North Wales Methodist Church was dedicated in 1870 built by members from Montgomery Square.
- The outreach of Montgomery Square Methodist resulted in additional churches in Ambler and Lansdale.
- Extensive improvements were made to the church in 1897 including stained glass windows. This was done through the leadership of Rev. W.P. Hass.
- The church celebrated its first 100 years in 1942 but had to share a minister with Chalfont Methodist due to the necessity of men in World War II.
- In 1960, Rev. Hans Schroeder was sent to Montgomery Square with orders to close the church due to declining membership. Instead, he grew the church to over 200 members. He was the minister for 32 years until his retirement in 1992.
- In 1992, Rev. Dr. Maxime Jaouen became the pastor with the tough job of following a man who served 32 years. At this time the church went from one service to two, with one being a traditional service and one a praise service.
- Under the guidance of Pastor Max, the church’s mission statement, “Praising God, Making Disciples, and Caring for All” was formulated.
- In 1997, the church had a ministry audit done through Dr. Bill Easum’s 21st Century Church Strategies by Rev. Dr. Dave Loughery. He recommended that the church relocate to a larger property due to its small size and being surrounded by a cemetery.
- In 2000, Rev. Dr. Menno Good was appointed as “Retired Supply Minister”. He was sent to reinvigorate the church. He began a Wednesday night Prayer meeting.
- In 2002, Pastor Good dedicated an entire service to praying for guidance on whether to move and a location for the new church. The next day, our prayers were answered as ten acres were available in the nearby village of Eureka for $500, 000.
- In 2003, the land was purchased and consecrated and in 2004, a buyer was found for the original church property. On May 14, 2006, the congregation began to worship at their temporary site at Highpoint Sports Club. It turned into five years.
- After three years of engineering, permits and land development, at a cost of $700,000, construction on the new church began in 2010.
- In 2011, Pastor Good retired just seven weeks shy of the completion of the new church building.
- July 1, 2011, Pastor Steven J. Handzel, was appointed to serve at Montgomery Square and on Labor Day weekend of that same year, the church officially moved into its new location at 1900 County Line Road.
- In October 2012, Mike Spencer completed construction of the Labyrinth Prayer Walk for his Eagle Scout Project.
- Pastor Lorraine Foster became Montgomery Square’s first female Pastor in 2016.
- In July 2017, Rev. Dr. Max Jaouen returns as a part time pastor having retired from Lansdale United Methodist Church.
- October 1, 2017, Montgomery Square United Methodist Church celebrates its 175th anniversary.