Two Sunday Mornings on Prospect Avenue
Faith United Methodist Church sits two blocks south of Kirby on Prospect Avenue in Champaign, Illinois, and welcomes neighbors into two very different Sunday morning services that share one common thread: a commitment to follow Jesus together. At 9:00 am the lights come up in the Worship and Life Center for Fusion, a casual contemporary service led by the Fusion Band. At 10:30 am the congregation gathers in the North Sanctuary for Celebrate, a traditional service marked by classic hymns and choral music from the Sanctuary Choir.
Friendly greeters and ushers help newcomers find seats at either service. Dress ranges from jeans to suits, and the church encourages visitors to come as they are. Children are always welcome, and a nursery is available for infants through age five. Coffee and donuts are served between services from 10:00 to 10:30 am, giving the two congregations a chance to mingle. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and at other times throughout the year.
A Step of Faith in 1959
Faith United Methodist Church takes its name from a story told at the very first meeting of its members. On the evening of July 12, 1959, ten couples gathered at the District parsonage with their new pastor, the Rev. Robert S. White, to launch a new congregation in Champaign. As they tossed around names for the church, White shared a story about a father working in a yard who told his daughter to jump into a manhole opening. She could not see him but trusted he would catch her. When she jumped, she learned what faith was. The name Faith stuck, and the overwhelming vote that evening gave the new church its identity.
The first worship service was held at Bottenfield Elementary School on September 3, 1959, with 130 worshippers. The congregation was officially constituted during a communion service on November 22, 1959. Less than a year later, ground was broken for the first building on South Prospect Avenue. Over the following decades the sanctuary grew, an education wing and Fellowship Hall were added, and in 1985 the current North Sanctuary opened its doors.
A LEED-Certified Green Building
The most ambitious building project came in the mid-2000s. Following a ten-year planning process, construction began in 2005 on an expansion that would double the size of the church. In September 2006 a bishop dedicated the new Education Wing, Worship and Life Center, and Gathering Area, along with a new kitchen and a thoroughly remodeled existing structure. The expansion was a LEED-certified Green Building, the first of its kind in the Champaign area and the first church in Illinois to receive the designation.
Today the building houses the Worship and Life Center on the northwest side, the North Sanctuary on the north side, classrooms, the Gathering Area, the Memorial Garden surrounding the columbarium on the east side, and Faithful Friends Preschool. The entire building is fully handicap accessible.
Children and Youth at Faith
Children and youth are central to life at Faith. At the 9:00 am Fusion service, kids are invited forward for a special Children's Moment after the opening songs and then dismissed to Sunday school. Classes for preschoolers through 8th grade use a curriculum called Celebrate Wonder and have dedicated teachers. The 10:30 am Celebrate service provides nursery care for infants through age two and care for preschoolers and elementary children.
Acolytes in grades 3 through 8 serve the 10:30 service, with training in November and December. Each year every third grader receives a Bible at Bible Blast, an evening designed to teach them how to use it. Vacation Bible School runs for one week in June for children ages 3 through fifth grade, complete with crafts, games, music, a mission project, and Bible stories.
Faith Youth Group (FYG) meets Sunday evenings during the school year from 5:30 to 7:00 pm, with dinner at 5:30 pm and programming from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. The program brings together middle school and high school students for small groups, service projects, and fellowship events. Confirmation for 7th through 9th graders meets Sundays at 10:30 am. A girls small group for 8th through 10th graders meets at 9:00 am on Sundays, and a high school small group meets at 6:00 pm.
Small Groups and Spiritual Formation
Faith offers one of the most active small group ministries in the area. The church believes that small groups are essential to growing in Christ and building friendships of faith. Most groups meet on church grounds, and childcare is available upon request.
- The Discovery Class meets Sundays at 9:00 am for adults of all ages, currently studying The Holy Spirit by Adam Hamilton.
- Disciple Bible Study meets Sundays at 1:30 pm and is working through Disciple 1.
- For Those That Love Teens meets second Sundays at 6:00 pm, led by Pastor Miriam Snider, and covers parenting teens.
- Monday Night Life, a women's group, meets Mondays at 5:30 pm and is studying Adam Hamilton's Simon Peter.
- Reaching Out meets first, third, and fourth Tuesdays at 10:00 am and combines book discussion with service.
- Covenant Life Group meets Tuesdays at 7:00 pm in a mixed-generational format.
- Wednesday Warriors gathers Wednesdays at 10:00 am for prayer and Bible study.
- Contemplative Prayer and Christian Meditation meets Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6:00 pm in the South Sanctuary, led by Pastor Justin.
- Reflections Study Group meets Wednesdays at 6:00 pm and discusses the current sermon text.
- Thursday Morning Study meets Thursdays at 9:00 am with a mostly retired group.
Common-interest groups round out the picture. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses Wednesdays at 7:00 pm and leads music at the 10:30 service from Labor Day through Pentecost, opening each rehearsal with prayer and devotion. Handcrafters meets second and fourth Mondays at 12:30 pm. Faithful Free Timers (also called Older and Wiser) is a monthly fellowship for retirees who gather for conversation and a shared meal at a local restaurant. Grief Share, a grief recovery program, runs in seasons and welcomes people regardless of church membership. A Sports Ministry plays in the Champaign County Church Sports League and hosts weekly pickleball in the Worship and Life Center.
The Emergency Food Pantry
What began in 1981 as a small effort has grown into one of the largest ministries of the church. The Faith Church Emergency Food Pantry is entirely volunteer run and now distributes prepacked grocery bags to around 100 families, or roughly 400 individuals, every month. It operates as a partner agency with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.
Pantry hours are Mondays and Tuesdays from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Guests may visit the pantry once a month so that as many neighbors as possible can be served. Volunteers can shop for groceries, unload food deliveries, pack bags, make home deliveries, donate through the church's Amazon wish list, drop off food in baskets outside the office or sanctuary, or pray for the ministry.
Appalachia Service Project and Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Faith has sent youth and adult teams to Central Appalachia through the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) for over forty years. The senior high mission trip, held most summers, repairs homes so families can stay warmer, safer, and drier. Faith youth and adults have repaired more than 155 homes since the partnership began. Adults and young adults also serve as leaders, and the church celebrates the long partnership with anniversary mugs each year.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors, launched in 2019, brings that same spirit of home repair to the Champaign-Urbana area. Volunteers tackle minor home repairs, including doors, windows, handrails, grab bars, painting, and siding, for homeowners with physical or financial obstacles. Labor is free; homeowners cover materials, and the team works with those who cannot afford the full cost.
Local and Global Mission Partners
The church supports a wide network of local ministries through financial gifts, volunteer hours, and in-kind donations. Local partners include:
- Courage Connection, which provides housing for women and children affected by homelessness and domestic violence.
- C-U at Home, which shelters neighbors experiencing homelessness.
- Cunningham Children's Home, a residential treatment center for children and youth.
- Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, serving around 200 guests daily.
- DREAAM, which reaches, teaches, and empowers Black youth. Faith hosts DREAAM educational readiness programming in its building.
- Feeding Our Kids, providing weekend and holiday food for children facing food insecurity.
- Salt and Light, which fights poverty with dignity and connects families with clothing, food, and household items.
- Sola Gratia Farm, which grows produce for those with limited food resources.
At the national level, Faith partners with Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Illinois, assembling health kits, school bags, flood buckets, and more for shipment around the world. Young adults from the church have also traveled on winter-break disaster relief trips, most recently to the Gulf Coast.
Affirmation and Inclusion
Faith United Methodist Church is an intentionally affirming congregation. The church displays a butterfly in rainbow colors inside a heart filled with diverse people as a symbol of its commitment to welcome and include all of God's children. The church holds that every person is of sacred worth and embraces differences as a gift of God.
The church's resources on affirmation and inclusion include the Reconciling Ministries Network, United Methodist Insight, The Reformation Project, The Widening of God's Mercy by Christopher and Richard Hays, and Adam Hamilton's writings on unity and inclusion. Faith is connected to The UP Center in Champaign County, which advocates for LGBTQ+ equality, wellness, and visibility.
United Women in Faith
The local chapter of United Women in Faith, the United Methodist women's organization, gathers women of all ages for fellowship, mission, and spiritual growth. The Kathryn Wood Circle meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 9:00 am, with childcare available on request. Activities include an annual fall fundraiser, UWF Sunday, Church Women United programs, and workdays at Midwest Mission Distribution Center. Through fundraising and pledges, the group supports Cunningham Children's Home, the Faith food pantry, Appalachia Service Project, Faith youth, the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen backpack project, and global missions.
Faithful Friends Preschool
Faithful Friends Preschool is a ministry of the church and a half-day program serving children ages 2 through 5. Three classrooms, named Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Fireflies, are organized by age. The preschool uses a play-based, child-led approach consistent with the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Classes meet from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, with three-, four-, and five-day options. Director Belinda Courtney and her staff keep adult-to-child ratios well within NAEYC recommendations. The preschool is open to children of all backgrounds and embraces each child as a child of God.
The Columbarium and Legacy Society
Just outside the North Sanctuary, in the Memorial Garden on the east side of the building, sits the church columbarium. The 120-niche columbarium, with each niche capable of holding two urns, is open to current and former church members, immediate family members, and ordained United Methodist ministers. A niche costs $1,500, which includes the niche, one urn, one inscription, opening and closing fees, and perpetual care. Fees may be financed at zero interest for up to 36 months.
The Faith Legacy Society honors members who have included the Faith UMC Endowment Fund in their estate plans. Income from the endowment supports outreach, programs, and facilities, supplementing annual giving. Planned Giving Coordinator Keith Zimmerman works confidentially with those considering such gifts.
Worship Online and Giving
Both Sunday services are livestreamed and archived online. The 9:00 am Fusion service and the 10:30 am Celebrate service can be watched on the church's Facebook page. Electronic giving is available through VANCO Services, the United Methodist Church's preferred transaction vendor, with no additional fee for contributions drawn from a checking or savings account. The church also accepts online giving for the food pantry, supports an Amazon wish list for pantry donations, and United Women in Faith maintains an online store for donations and pledge payments.
Staff and Leadership
Faith is led by Co-Pastors Rev. Miriam Snider and Rev. Justin Snider, who began their joint ministry in July 2025. Both are 2006 graduates of Duke Divinity School and 2002 graduates of Greenville University, where they met as cross country and track athletes. They have served United Methodist churches in Marshall, Urbana, Danville, Springfield, and Chatham.
Mieke Blackwell serves as Director of Children and Youth and oversees the Appalachia Service Project trips. Simon Tiffin is Director of Music, leading the Sanctuary Choir and Fusion Band. Belinda Courtney directs Faithful Friends Preschool. The church office is staffed Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and Friday from 8:30 am to noon (closed Fridays in summer).
Beliefs and Practices
Faith's mission statement reads: "Faith is a beacon of light, a center of faith and a refuge of hope, sharing Christ's love abundantly with all people." The church belongs to the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church and aligns with global United Methodist ministries.
The congregation holds up five essential practices: all are welcome, with an invitation to grow; meaningful worship that centers on Scripture, sacraments, and shared life; formation through study and Christian conversation in small groups; holy friendship rooted in the love described in 1 Corinthians 13; generosity of time, presence, prayers, and financial gifts; and service to neighbors in Champaign-Urbana and beyond.