Our Story
every story has a beginning
Christ Crossman United Methodist Church was formed on June 29, 1997 when the congregations of Christ United Methodist Church and Crossman United Methodist Church merged.
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Crossman United Methodist Church traced its beginnings to a small, energetic group that began meeting around 1770 in the home of William and Ann Adams. The group soon built a church building they called Fairfax Chapel, which was located near present-day Seven Corners. Francis Asbury, the first Methodist circuit rider in America, preached there on several occasions. In 1819, a new red brick chapel was built. That church survived until the Civil War when Federal troops tore down the building and used the bricks to build troop quarters.
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The Civil War also divided the congregation of Fairfax Chapel. A group of seventeen members who opposed slavery split from the Church and formed Crossman Methodist Episcopal Church. The Church was named for Isaac Crossman, a distinguished local civic and farming leader, who donated the land for the new church and was instrumental in its formation. The first building was consecrated in 1876. In 1951, the Church purchased land on East Columbia Street from Columbia Baptist Church to build a new sanctuary. Susie Crossman, daughter of Isaac Crossman, later donated adjoining land and additional construction was completed in 1965.
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Just two miles up Lee Highway in Arlington, Christ United Methodist Church had formed in 1941 with a nucleus of members from Cherrydale Church. The new group, called Lee mission, held worship services in the neighboring Robert E. Lee School. The Church constructed its first building in 1944 and called it the Wagner Chapel. A new sanctuary was built in 1965 and an educational wing in 1967. Throughout its forty-six years on Lee Highway, Christ United Methodist Church supported missions, prayer groups, and worship services. The church put out a helping hand to Argentina, and to a refugee family from Vietnam.
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The Christ Church building and parsonage were sold following the merger with Crossman United Methodist Church. The proceeds provide an endowment that helps to fund the mission areas now actively pursued by Christ Crossman United Methodist Church.