Our Story

In February 1886, two men from southern Illinois, who had married sisters, settled in the Gering Valley. These men were R.M. Hanks and E.P. Cromer. It wasn’t long before they wanted a bit of ‘civilization’ and thus started a Sunday School in the Cromer’s home. Mr. Cromer was the first superintendent and Mrs. Hanks the secretary. When a schoolhouse was built in early 1887, the Sunday School moved there. In 1888, this Sunday School became the nucleus of a Methodist church when Rufus Cooley read the Methodist vows and the Cromers, the Hanks, and Mr. & Mrs. J.H. Vickery responded.

This means the Gering United Methodist Church has been here since the beginning of the town, and because of that we want to continue to be part of the history of the community. This has meant that while we had been on O Street for 137 years when that building became too much for us to maintain we unanimously voted to put it on the market and find a new home. As you can see from the pictures we have rebuilt, and renovated several times over the years each time so that the building could be an asset to our ministries. This time we knew smaller was better, because it would be easier to maintain, and be less of a burden on future generations. We were blessed to be welcomed to share a building with the Rejoice Lutheran Church in Gering! It allowed us to continue to be part of this community, and move forward in ministry together.

As a congregation we are committed to continuing so that future generations will have the same opportunity that we have had to gather and grow in their faith with close friends who encourage and walk with them through the journey of life.

We have been excited to continue our missions and to grow new ones, as we continue to look for ways to be a positive part of our community.