First United Methodist Church 64 Rebecca Street, Shinnston, WV 26431 Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.                Sunday School 9:30 a.m.
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History   Sometime in 1786 a Methodist circuit rider organized a class meeting in the home of Jonathan Shinn, one of three brothers who settled in the area in 1776.  John Smith, Robert Ayers and Stephen Deakins were the pastors appointed to what was then known as the Redstone Circuit of the Baltimore Conference.  The original Methodist society is the oldest congregation in the area.  The circuit included much of the Southwest Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia.   A year later the Clarksburg circuit was formed which included Shinnston and all the territory to the Ohio River.  Robert Cann and Richard Pearson were appointed it first pastors.  In 1825 the Pittsburgh Conference was formed.  Soon after Shinnston was made part of the Pruntytown Circuit.  The West Virginia Conference was formed in 1884 and Shinnston was then part of the Bridgeport Circuit, until 1887 when it was formed into a smaller circuit of its own.  In 1911 Shinnston was able to support a pastor on its own.  The First Church building in Shinnston was erected in 1835 and was known as the “Union Church”.  It was used  by three congregations.  Until that time public worship was held in private homes.  In 1854 the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal group were  able to erect its own building.  In 1911 the congregation was able to fulfill a dream and need with a more modern facility.  In 1963 an adjoining lot was purchased and the Epworth Center was built for class rooms and fellowship hall.  In 1977 a new sanctuary was built. The local church has been part of the larger church from its beginning.  It was part of the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1939 when the M.E., the M.E. South and the Methodist Protestant churches merged to form the Methodist Church.  It was this time the local  congregation became known as First Methodist Church in Shinnston.   In 1968 a merger with the Evangelical United Brethren Church formed what is today called the First United Methodist Church.  The record of pastors for the most part is complete and accurate, especially after 1848.  Keeping in mind that in the days of large circuits, two and sometimes three pastors were appointed at a time, over seventy regularly appointed traveling preachers have filled the pulpit in what is now First United Methodist Church Shinnston.