History

Schweitzer had a modest beginning in September 1951, when 30 worshippers gathered in the one-story concrete block building on the edge of a pear orchard on Oak Grove. Services were led by the Rev. Fred Gilbert, who had been charged with building the church and assembling the congregation by the Southwest Missouri Methodist Conference. A sum of $1000 was designated for the building. The name Schweitzer Memorial Methodist Church came from the John Schweitzer family, which donated an acre for the church site.

When membership topped 200, the seven-year old congregation purchased the John Schweitzer home and five acres at 2747 E. Sunshine for $50,000. First services were held in the L-shaped living and dining rooms of the house in September 1958 and continued there until October 1960, when the $60,000 chapel was completed.

The 1968 national merger of the Methodist Church with the Evangelical United Brethren Church resulted in the joining of Brentwood EUB with Schweitzer in 1969. The name of the church was then changed to Schweitzer United Methodist.

As the church continued to grow so did the building and property. The current church sits on 8.5 acres. In 1986 worship began in a beautiful new sanctuary, and in 1999 a 35,000 square-foot addition that included the Family Life Center, new offices, classrooms, youth room and Grow to Know Preschool were completed.

Under the leadership of seven previous senior pastors, current pastor, Bob Casady, and a committed staff and congregation, Schweitzer is a church dedicated to God and to “transforming lives by making disciples of Jesus Christ.” Who knows what God has for our future!!