One of the oldest churches
in the area, the people of Pleasant Hill have been sharing God's message and
love in North Topeka for over 120 years. On March 20th 1881, the Pleasant
Hill Sunday School began meeting at the Pleasant Hill School in North
Topeka. In November of 1883, the people began to construct a church building
near 62nd St. and Rochester Rd. One family was so excited about the building
project that they donated the money they had been saving to build a new
house for themselves. Built by the people themselves and financed through
sacrificial giving, the completed church building was dedicated on January
4th, 1885 as a Methodist Episcopal Church. The church building was a
charming, classic, white, gothic style, country church with stained glass
windows, a tower and steeple.
The people gathered to worship God, study the Bible, share in fellowship, and serve the community. The project was not without controversy - some members chose to leave the church and start a new church at Elmont. In that same year, the church collected its first missionary offering. From the beginning, the people of Pleasant Hill understood the importance of sharing of God's message and love throughout the world.
Our church received its
current name in 1968 when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren
Church merged to become the United Methodist Church. During the mid-1960s it
became evident that the old church building was not meeting the ministry
needs of the congregation. Easter Sunday 1972 construction began on a new
building at a new 5 acre site - 5919 NW Glenwood Dr. Once again, the people
rallied around the project volunteering labor and financial support. On May
20th, 1973 the new building was dedicated. The new
building provided more
space for worship, fellowship, education, and service. The old church was
sold to the Topeka Southern Baptist.
Pleasant Hill, like most "mainline" Protestant churches, had been declining over the past thirty years. Now, we are experiencing a revival led by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a growing church in a growing community! In the last several years, our church membership, worship attendance, and financial giving have grown significantly. We have renovated our entire church building, added an elevator, paved the parking lot, installed a new sound system, and built a new garage - to name a few projects. We have gone from a part-time student pastor with no paid staff to a full-time pastor with several paid staff positions. Our mission and ministry is expanding to meet the needs of our members and the surrounding community. Many of our long-time ministries are bursting at the building seams!! Ultimately, it is not about growth for growth's sake, but people - lives are being touched and transformed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ! We have much to be thankful for, and, as with all blessings from God, we have a responsibility to continue sharing with others the joy, peace, hope, and love that we are experiencing.
The conference is offering 15 acres of land at NW 46th and Button Road for a United Methodist presence in that booming area. Pleasant Hill UMC convened a Futuring committee and, based on their research and recommendations, commissioned a Building Committee. Based on their research and recommendations, Steve Clark of Gould Evans has been chosen and hired as our architect for "Raising Him Up". We will use Kansas Building Systems when we build. Alpha Omega, a capital campaign firm, has completed a Readiness Assessment. A church conference vote on April 5, 2009 approved the start of a Capital Campaign.
Our Sunday schedule is:
Sunday Worship Schedule:
Worship Service: 8:15 am - 9:00 am
Sunday School: 9:15 am - 10:00 am
Worship Service: 10:30 am - 11:30 am