Times of Worship

Sunday School       9:15a.m.
Worship Service   10:17a.m.

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Our Church History

Our church began in 1943 as Garden Oaks Methodist Church. The first services were held in the Garden Oaks Civic Club Building, about two blocks west of North Shepherd Drive on 34th Street. By January 1944 the membership had grown to 135 members. Sunday school classes for children and youth met inside the building. The one adult class met in the deserted shell of an old school bus behind the Civic Club.

In 1947, the congregation voted to change the name from Garden Oaks Methodist to St. Matthew’s Methodist Church, and the church moved from the Civic Club building to the first unit built at its new home at 4300 North Shepherd Drive. In 1949 a second unit was added.

In September 1953, the new educational wing was opened and air conditioning was installed in the sanctuary (now the Fellowship Hall). By 1954 the congregation had grown to a membership of 1,372. Because of the growing congregation, the need for a new sanctuary became apparent. Architect C.A. Johnson and Associates was hired and the ground breaking ceremony was held the first Sunday in January 1958. The old sanctuary was moved to its present location and converted to the Fellowship Hall. During this transition, church school and worship services were held in Garden Oaks Elementary School. The new sanctuary was formally opened for worship on November 2, 1958.

In 1959, the St. Matthew’s Garden Club began its ministry to help beautify the church grounds. In 1961 the two-story Oliver Educational Building was added in memory of long-time dedicated treasurer Robert J. Oliver.

In 1964, the present parsonage, located in Shepherd Park Plaza, was purchased.

The General Conference of 1968 brought about the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The union resulted in The United Methodist Church.

A very successful Mother’s Day Out program was founded in 1974 under the directorship of Mrs. Mabel Easley. The program provided a place for mothers to leave their children on Thursdays and Fridays during the school term.

In 1980, the pipe organ was installed under the leadership of organist Paul Jernigan. Paul enlisted the assistance of choir members and other parishioners in this ambitious undertaking.

In 1989, St. Matthew’s became a sponsor of MANNA (Ministry Assistance of the Near Northwest Alliance). MANNA is a coalition of churches and community partners that provides social services in near Northwest Houston.

In 2009, St. Matthew’s celebrated 65 years of ministry with taking part in a new church start on the premises of our campus. Rev. Frank Coats came as pastor of St. Matthew’s, and Rev. Deborah Vaughn was appointed as pastor of a new church. Instead of starting the new church by meeting in homes or schools on the weekends, the Texas Annual Conference came up with the innovative plan of shared space between two congregations. The church that came to be known as Abiding Faith United Methodist Church began meeting in worship in October 2009 and gradually grew until they were able to relocate to their own location in June 2014. St. Matthew’s changed worship times to accommodate the new church and to help to build the Kingdom of God. Both churches grew during this pivotal time in the history of St. Matthew’s.  

Additionally in 2014, the Children’s Weekday Ministries marked its 40th anniversary, with graduates and family members coming to mark the special day and for the opening of the Mabel Easley Playground, named for the founder of the program.  

The partnership in ministry between St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church and the the Child Development Center has done much to grow the church and to bring in more children and their parents to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fulfill the mission statement: “To Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World to the Glory of God.”  

Our Organ's History

St. Matthew’s is fortunate to have a pipe organ to help lead the congregation in worship services. Here is a brief description of the organ. The original organ was made by the Wicks Organ Company of Highland Illinois as their Opus 3258. This organ had a 3 manual console and 8 ranks of pipes.

In 1982, additional ranks of pipes were added to the organ. Most of these ranks came from the Kilgen Organ at St. Paul’s Methodist in Houston.

In 1987, the organ was upgraded with a Gallery Division. The Gallery is composed of ranks of pipes from the Methodist Temple in Port Arthur and from the Methodist Church in Alvin.

In 2000, the organ was completely rewired. In addition, a new control system by Peterson was installed giving the organ a total of 99 possible memory levels. This enabled multiple organists to save registrations on the organ. Today, the organ is composed of 5 divisions and over two thousand pipes.

Today, the organ is composed of 5 divisions and over two thousand pipes.