About our church...
In 1923 Brother Parker, a Methodist
evangelist came to Wallins and held
meetings in a tent set up on Front Street
where the Church of God is now located.
Cuba Howard, 18 years old and her
neighbor Ida Ally attended the tent meeting together. Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Ally both responded to the altar call and were baptized in the Cumberland River before Brother Parker left. Brother Parker stayed for two weeks in Wallins and later came back to hold another revival with Brother Clay Milby singing. The Wallins Methodist Church was formed and Mrs. Howard became one of the charter members. Mrs. Howard died at the age of 99 still a member of the Wallins United Methodist Church .
Church services were first held on Sunday mornings at the Wallins Theater, then owned by Bill Miller. Rev. Griswold was listed as the pastor in 1924 and Rev. Lacks is listed as the Evangelist in 1925. In 1925, Creech Coal Company deeded a lot, the present site for Wallins United Methodist Church , for the sum of one dollar to trustees C.E. Humphrey, R.S. Hoy, and E. Collier for the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Wallins Creek, Harlan County, Kentucky. A white wood-framed church was constructed by Isaac Honeycutt and his brother.
The church caught fire once before being destroyed in a January 1964 fire. Worship services were held at the Wallins School until the current fellowship room and Sunday School classes were built. Services were held in the fellowship room while the sanctuary was being constructed by several of the members.
An unofficial history written in 1981 by Carol Doerr, spouse of the pastor, Rev. Edwin Doerr, lists pastoral history. Pastoral tenures are reported to be no more than two years each (no service record is given for 9 years between 1927 and 1938 until Lloyd Stokes, a local pastor, served from 1953 until 1980. Four females were listed as pastors from 1944 until 1951 with males serving during two of those years. Three female pastors have been appointed to serve the Wallins Church since its transfer from the Kentucky Conference to the Red Bird Missionary Conference in 1985.
Transforming lives...transforming communities...
Current ministries and programs include five Sunday School classes (2 adult, 2 children, and 1 youth); 11:00 a.m. worship; youth fellowship at 4:00 p.m. on Sundays, evening worship and Bible Study at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays; fellowship lunch on Mondays from 11 until 1:00 p.m.; G.E.D. classes and Kids Bible Time on Tuesdays; a Mission Sewing Group and Women's Bible Study on Thursdays; First Priority in the local Elementary School and visitation and Bible Study with the home bound on Fridays; and Men's Breakfast and Bible Study Group and the Elijah Project with teenage boys on Saturday. The newest ministry that will begin in January of 2006 is a Celebrate Recovery meal and worship service on Wednesday nights for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics in the Wallins Creek area along with their families and friends.
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