Our History

“Throughout the Years”

About 1940, the property on which Old Mission United Methodist Church now stands was designated by the J.C. Nichols Co. to be reserved for a church.

The approximately 165 people who formed Old Mission Parish Methodist Church first met on September 20, 1942 in what was then the Fairway Theatre.  Soon, the space in the theatre was not meeting the needs of the growing congregation.

Even though in the throes of World War II, the Old Mission congregation agreed to purchase the property (at Johnson Drive and State Park Road) for $6,500 from the J.C. Nichols Co.  The Kansas City Methodist Missionary Society loaned Old Mission $5,000 and the J.C. Nichols Co. donated $1,500 in order to close the deal.

In approximately August, 1943 the Building Committee and the Board of Trustees accepted a proposal for the overall church plans, which included four units.  Although building materials were difficult to obtain, plans went forward and the cornerstone of the first unit was set in place in the spring of 1945 with consecration taking place on May 12, 1946.  That first unit represented approximately $61,000 in total cost and about 7,000 square feet in size.

The second unit, consecrated on May 23, 1948, provided larger office space and a library on the first floor and several classrooms on the second floor.  The third unit included Fellowship Hall (in the basement, with a stage at the east end and a kitchen in the west end), the sanctuary and the narthex.  Its total cost was about $246,000.  The consecration services for the sanctuary were held September 12, 1954.

Finally, the fourth and final unit of the overall church plans was consecrated on December 13, 1959 and included the tower, chapel, reception room, bride’s room, music room and three additional classrooms.  The total cost, including furnishings, air conditioning and architect fees, was approximately $260,000.

Then in 1967 with a need for additional classrooms, the original sanctuary in the first original unit was remodeled into five classrooms at a cost of about $49,000.

Almost thirty years later, in 1995, a Long Range Planning Task Force was created to look at needs of the church that had not been addressed in those many years.  Shortly thereafter, in 1997, a Ministry Design Team prepared plans that added about 9,000 square feet to the existing structure and renovated the remainder of the building.  Those plans were presented to the congregation in 1998 as a Capital Campaign, totaling approximately $3,000,000.