A Church on Main Street in Rowlett
First Rowlett United Methodist Church occupies a campus on Main Street in Rowlett, Texas, just east of George Bush Drive. For more than 125 years the congregation has been a steady presence on this stretch of road, hosting worship, schooling young children, feeding neighbors in need, and turning its grounds into a community gathering place each fall. The church is led today by Co-Pastors Rev. Andy Nelms and Rev. Melissa Nelms, both ordained Elders in the United Methodist Church, and a staff that runs everything from a Sunday morning nursery to an early childhood academy next door.
Two Sunday worship services, a deep children's and youth ministry, and a network of adult small groups, mission work, and care ministries define the rhythm of the week. The church's mission is straightforward: building connections with God and with one another, and living out that faith through service to the surrounding community.
Sunday Worship, Old and New
Two distinct services meet in the Worship Center each Sunday morning. At 9:00 am a traditional service draws on the liturgy, scripture, and great hymns of the faith, with the Sanctuary Choir, the Handbell Ensemble, the organ, and frequent contributions from the Kids Choir and Youth Choir. At 11:15 am a contemporary service features a praise band, a hopeful sermon, and a more casual style of focused prayer. Both services are livestreamed on YouTube.
Visitors are pointed toward reserved guest parking at 4405 Main Street and an entrance through the main doors on the George Bush side of the building; most other doors are kept locked for security. A welcome desk just inside offers maps, directions, and answers to first-time questions. Dress is whatever makes you comfortable: most people come casually, while a few dress up. A cry room is available for restless little ones.
Music plays a central role in both services. Don Shelley directs the Sanctuary Choir and the Handbell Ensemble and oversees a roster of instrumentalists, praise team members, and volunteer sound and tech crews. The contemporary service is led by an auditioned praise team of professional and non-professional musicians.
Kids and Family Life at First Rowlett
Children from birth through fifth grade have a full Sunday routine. A nursery for ages three and under is open from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm and stays available for most church events at no charge. During both worship services, children are invited forward for a special blessing before Children's Ministry volunteers escort them to Coyle Chapel for Kids' Church, an age-appropriate Bible lesson with crafts, games, and prayer. They return to their families before the service ends.
At 10:00 am, between the two services, Little Life Groups meet for children ages four through fifth grade. Sunday afternoons and evenings add more: Kids Choir for ages four through fifth grade at 4:30 pm during the school year, followed by Kids in Community at 5:15 pm. Both choirs sing in worship several times a year and are led respectively by Karen Burt and Breelyn Zimmer.
Throughout the year, special events layer on for kids: Advent activities, the Easter Extravaganza, Vacation Bible School, Back to School, and FallFest. Parent's Night Out runs several Friday or Saturday evenings a month from 5:00 to 10:00 pm for children four months through fifth grade, with dinner, crafts, games, theme nights, movies, and playground time.
Youth at the Lighthouse
Across the parking lot from the main building stands The Lighthouse, the church's dedicated youth facility. The middle and high school program gathers there for Sunday Life Groups and Confirmation at 10:00 am, a rehearsal of the Youth Worship Team at 3:30 pm, a full evening of youth group from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, and Youth Choir rehearsal at 7:00 pm.
Confirmation is a yearlong journey for sixth graders and older who want to learn the history of the Christian faith and what it means to be a member of a United Methodist Church. The class meets every Sunday and exposes students to a range of Christian expressions, including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and African American Methodist traditions. The Youth Choir, directed by Nancy Farrell, sings once a month in worship and performs at assisted living and memory care facilities around the Dallas area, with an annual summer tour that has carried the group through Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri. No audition is required, only a desire to make a joyful noise.
The Youth Worship Team, open to any seventh through twelfth grader, leads Sunday night worship with guitars, keys, drums, and vocals. Sunday Night Youth begins with dinner at 6:00 pm, followed by games, music, and talks from the youth directors and other adults, with periodic outings such as Whirlyball, progressive dinners, and scavenger hunts.
Adults in Life Groups and Bible Study
For adults, the church's small-group network is the main doorway into the congregation. Most adult Life Groups meet on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am to study and apply the Bible together. Young families also gather on Sundays at 4:00 pm in the lobby couches after dropping kids at Kids Choir.
A women's Bible study led by Pastor Melissa meets Wednesdays at 9:00 am in Room 140. A Thursday evening women's Bible study meets at 7:30 pm in Room 140 and online. A Thursday morning Bible study for men and women gathers online from 9:00 to 11:00 am. MomCo offers monthly meetings, play dates, and mom's nights out for mothers of all backgrounds. United Women in Faith works on ministries with women, children, and youth and welcomes any adult woman who wants to participate in mission and outreach.
For men, the Men's Night Out meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 pm at Bankhead Restaurant, and the Men's Monthly Prayer Breakfast gathers on the first Wednesday at 7:00 am in Room 140. Golden Classics, an active community for those 55 and up, meets on the second Thursday of each month for a $5 potluck, fellowship, and entertainment. For those interested in more intensive spiritual formation, Walk to Emmaus is a three-day retreat that has equipped over 100 church members, including pastors, for lay leadership.
Wesleyan Christian Academy
Wesleyan Christian Academy has been a ministry of First Rowlett United Methodist Church for more than 30 years. The faith-based, nonprofit school serves children from six weeks old through private kindergarten and follows the GISD school calendar from August through May. Liz Harper directs the academy, with Roberta Smith as assistant director and Robin Forbis as office manager.
Programs offer two-day, three-day, and five-day options for infants through pre-K, plus a five-day private kindergarten. Regular school hours run 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, with extended care from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Frog Street Press curriculum and thematic units lay the foundation for the toddler and pre-K classrooms. Specials woven through the week include art, music and movement, physical education, Spanish, technology, library, chapel, and science.
Serving Rowlett and the World
Outreach is woven into the church's identity. The Hope in Hand Food Pantry, run in partnership with First Christian Church of Rowlett, supplies groceries to under-resourced neighbors. Weekend food packs go home with at-risk GISD students during the school year. School supplies, breakfast items for kids who miss the cafeteria breakfast, and holiday meal boxes at Easter and Thanksgiving are collected and assembled by church members. The Reindeer Project, one of the largest ecumenical Christmas assistance programs in the area, partners with ten area churches to interview families and fulfill angel-tag wishes for GISD children.
Globally, the church partners with ZOE Empowers in Kenya, a working-group program that helps orphans and vulnerable children become self-sufficient members of their community through education in food and housing, hygiene, healthcare access, child rights, vocational training, and spiritual support.
Inside the building, the Help Your Neighbor Fund makes it possible to bless families struggling with bills through designated donations. A Christian Art Wall displays congregants' artwork near the Worship Center. A Welcoming Ministry staffs the entrance on Sunday mornings with greeters, signage helpers, and a parking lot crew.
Caring for One Another
A team of church members gathers weekly to pray over every prayer request submitted to the church; the staff joins them each Tuesday to lift the requests up as a group. Congregational Care Ministry pairs trained lay members with those who may be going through illness, divorce, unemployment, the death of a loved one, or other crisis.
Two specialized support groups meet on campus. The GriefShare Support Group runs three times a year in 13-week sessions, meeting on Sundays in person in Room 182 and on Zoom. A Dementia Care Partner Support Group, led by certified Positive Approach to Care Trainer Tim Verville, gathers on the first Wednesday of each month from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in Room 140. The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets Wednesdays from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in Room 178 to knit or crochet shawls that are blessed and distributed to shut-ins, newborns, and anyone in need of extra care.
Scouts, Pumpkin Patch, and FallFest
First Rowlett has hosted a scouting program for almost 50 years. Cub Scout Pack 1020, open to girls and boys in grades K-5, meets Tuesdays at 6:45 pm at the back flagpole. Troop 1020G for girls and Troop 1020B for boys, ages 11 to 18, gather on Mondays at 7:00 pm.
Each October the front lawn becomes Pumpkin Patch on Main, a free community pumpkin patch open daily through Halloween, with extended hours on weekends and a special all-day Saturday close to Halloween. Volunteers handle artwork, table setup, delivery, and shifts throughout the run. On the same Saturday, the church hosts FallFest, a free community festival from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with a craft and vendor fair, silent auction, country store, and a Children's Jamboree of bounce houses, a petting zoo, face painting, games, snow cones, and popcorn.