Our History

United Methodist Church of the Cross was first organized in February 1895 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, a Protestant and Arminian denomination. After building a church at 231 S. Ninth Street, and following the United Brethren’s merger with the Evangelical Church in 1946, the congregation became First Evangelical United Brethren Church. As the first EUB church in Salina, First welcomed many airmen who trained at Schilling Air Force Base.

First became known for its women leaders, and strong youth and music programs, including several choirs. By 1941, with 320 members and an average Sunday Service attendance of 175, the congregation outgrew its building and purchased land for a new building at the intersection of Highway 81 and Cloud Street. Ground was broken on May 15, 1960, with Bishop L.L. Baughman in attendance. (This was his last act as bishop before he passed on to glory that same evening.)

On April 16, 1961, the newly constructed Sanctuary, education rooms, and administrative offices were dedicated. A new parsonage was built on Coronado Street. And more classrooms, a kitchen, and fellowship hall were dedicated on December 12, 1965.

In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church merged, forming The United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The congregation selected a new name for itself: United Methodist Church of the Cross.

In September 2023, the congregation adopted an inclusivity statement, welcoming all people into the full life of the church regardless of age, race and ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, and more.

On November 10, 2024, the congregation gifted its building to Kansas Wesleyan University, entering into a first-of-its-kind partnership between a United Methodist congregation and a denomination-affiliated university.