Hi! Thanks for stopping to look at our web site. The picture on this page shows me (Andrew), my wife Kelly, and our children Ceanna (our oldest), Abi (our middle child), and Micah. We, and the people of First, welcome you. First Church has been around since 1869. That's a long time and you might expect a church that's that old to be set in its ways - we refuse to be. We celebrate our past, but we are also very intentional about moving forward into the future. As a church, we are intentional about our mission: First UMC is here to Win disciples for Jesus Christ, Build them up in their faith, and Send them out in service. This church has shown a passion for several things over our history. We are a church that reaches out to our community. We are deeply committed to missions, we want to reach kids, and we want to grow. Over all this time, Jesus' call to those areas still inspires us. So, let me give you a quick tour of our church. First is a growing church in two locations. Our main campus is located about two blocks from the center of downtown Berkeley Springs. We hold two services there on Sunday mornings. The first is a contemporary service at 8:15 am (yes, it really is that early!) that has a band, relaxed dress (not that there is ever a dress code at First), and a more flexible order of worship. The second service is a traditional service at 10:45 am. We sing hymns, have a choir, a handbell choir, and folks tend to dress up more for that service. Sunday School is also held on this campus at 9:30, and we have classes for all ages. Our second campus is at Rankin Physical Therapy which is located about a mile south of the center of Berkeley Springs. We started a 10 am service at this campus in November of 2009. The building there has a gym where we meet and worship. That service is contemporary and informal. Almost everyone dresses very casually, we share coffee and snacks, and the service has a much more conversational atmosphere. Now that you know a bit about our services, let me spend just a minute telling you more about our ministries. We are committed to our community and to missions, and we support and work with ministries that are local, national, and international. Each year we send out missions teams around the world, work in community agencies, meet the needs of local people in the community, support missionaries, and a broad range of other things to share the saving news of Jesus Christ and meet the needs of the poor. First UMC generally spends at least 10% of its budget in missions and outreach. We work hard at reaching out to the kids in our community, too. On staff, we have a full-time youth pastor, a full-time children's pastor, and a part-time family ministry staff person. They lead before and after school programs, retreats, concerts, programs to grow spiritually, and Bible Studies.  We have middle school and Senior high youth groups, and we have a growing children’s ministry. We also have a part time pastor of visitation on staff who does visitation and counseling to meet the needs of people in the congregation and the community.  First Church is a wonderful place to be. Like any church, you really have to visit to get a flavor of the place, but I hope this gives you some idea of who we are and what God is asking us to be and do. Stop by and visit us. We look forward to meeting you. Pastor Andrew