White's Chapel Methodist Church sits along White Chapel Boulevard in Southlake, Texas, in the northeast corner of Tarrant County. Its white-steepled campus of chapels, classrooms and gathering spaces serves a congregation of more than 16,000 members, with roughly 5,000 people gathering in person or online for worship on a typical weekend. It is a large United Methodist church, but one that still claims a small-church heart, where the story begins with a wagon train from Georgia and continues through five weekend worship services, a recovery ministry, an in-house counseling center, an arts academy, a theater program and mission trips that reach from Southlake to Kenya.
150 Years on White Chapel Boulevard
The congregation's roots reach back more than 150 years. Settlers came by wagon train from Rising Fawn, Georgia and, in 1871, began meeting in a simple wood-frame house in what was then the surrounding countryside. The first formal service in a newly built chapel took place in February of 1872. Known at first as Oak Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South, it was the first Methodist congregation in northeast Tarrant County, and people traveled as far as 20 miles to attend.
One of the early circuit riders who filled the pulpit was the Tennessee-born Rev. Lewis M. White. The new church blossomed under his leadership, and the people who kept showing up each week began calling the place by his name. Eventually "White's Chapel" stuck. In 1971, the church celebrated its centennial and the State of Texas presented a historical marker. By the 1980s the population of northeast Tarrant County was booming, and the original sanctuary could no longer hold the crowds; a new worship space was built for about 300 people and a choir of around 30, with the first service in that room (now known as Grace Chapel) held on Easter Sunday 1988.
That pioneering spirit still shapes the church today, which describes itself as "a church Where Tradition Meets Today." Its mission is straightforward: "To make more deeply committed followers of the way of Jesus Christ," rooted in Matthew 28:19. A four-part vision calls the church to engage the heart through missions and outreach, stir the soul through worship, challenge the mind through discipleship and Christian education, and connect the body through evangelism, community and involvement.
Worship Across Five Weekend Services and Three Venues
Worship at White's Chapel is the center of gravity for everything else. Each weekend the church offers six services, spread across Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Sunday late morning, in three different rooms.
- Saturday at 5:30 p.m. - A contemporary service in The Foundry with a full band and vocal team.
- Sunday at 8:20 a.m. - A traditional service in the Sanctuary, featuring traditional hymns led by a song leader with piano and organ.
- Sunday at 9:30 a.m. - A contemporary service in the Sanctuary with a full band and vocal team.
- Sunday at 9:30 a.m. - The Founders Service in Walton Chapel, a gathering of community members for liturgical worship, prayer and Holy Communion.
- Sunday at 11:00 a.m. - The Foundation Service in the Sanctuary, a traditional worship service featuring a full choir and orchestra.
- Sunday at 11:00 a.m. - A contemporary service in The Foundry with a full band and vocal team.
Four of those services - Saturday 5:30 p.m., Sunday 8:20 a.m., 9:30 a.m. (both) and 11:00 a.m. (Sanctuary) - are livestreamed, and recordings of previous Sundays and Saturdays are kept online for later viewing. Two more weekly services round out the rhythm of the week. A Midweek Meditation is held each Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. in Grace Chapel (September through May) and is also livestreamed. An Oasis Contemplative Service gathers on Tuesdays from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. in the Center for Spiritual Care, offering a quiet half-hour of contemplative worship rooted in ancient prayer practices.
The musical backbone of those services is large and varied. The music ministry is co-directed by Shaunna Fuller and Rev. Clint Blalock and includes a Sanctuary choir, the Cantaré vocal ensemble, a handbell program with two choirs that rehearse on Monday evenings in the Ensemble Room, and an orchestra of experienced adult instrumentalists and advanced high school players who rehearse Sundays from 9:30 to 10:20 a.m. and help lead the 11 a.m. services. The handbell program is overseen by Dr. Arnold Rawls, the church's Artist in Residence.
Beliefs Shaped by Grace
White's Chapel belongs to the historic Methodist tradition and leans on Wesleyan language to describe its theology. Scripture is described as "the decisive source of our Christian witness, and the authoritative measure of the truth in our beliefs," studied in community and read in dialogue with other Christians.
The church confesses the Trinity: one God known in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, also referred to as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Jesus Christ is understood as fully human and fully divine, the Son of God, crucified and raised, "our Savior" through whom "we receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins." The Holy Spirit is described as "God with us," who comforts, convicts, awakens and empowers. Salvation is described not merely as a future event but as a present healing of alienation from God, from others, from creation and from one's own best self, "a new quality of life in unity and relationship with God, a life that begins not at death, but in the present."
Grace is the heart of the church's teaching. "Salvation cannot be earned." Three phrases of grace are held together: prevenient grace that goes before us and woos us back, justifying grace that meets us in faith and declares us "not guilty," and sanctifying grace that works in believers over a lifetime so that "the believer's all-consuming love for God grows to overflow in an outpouring of love to our neighbor and to creation itself." The church baptizes by sprinkling, immersion or pouring and welcomes people of any age to the sacrament, including infants. It celebrates open communion, welcoming all who love Christ, repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.
Children, Students and the Arts
Children have a prominent place in the life of the church. The WC Kids ministry, co-directed by Denise Bennett and Hannah Robbins, runs during the 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday services with age-appropriate large-group, small-group and Sunday-school environments from infants through sixth grade. Childcare is also offered during the 8:20 a.m. Sunday service and on Saturday evenings at 5:30 p.m. On Sunday mornings, families check children in at a station in the Children's Wing and pick them up right after the service ends.
Older students have their own world. WC Students, co-directed by Floyd Joseph and Michelle Joseph, gathers seventh through twelfth graders throughout the week. Sunday school for seventh through ninth graders is at 9:30 a.m., while tenth through twelfth graders serve across the church before gathering for an 11 a.m. huddle in the Sanctuary or Foundry. Middle School Worship meets Sundays at 4:30 p.m. in The Foundry, and High School Worship meets Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the same space. On Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m., gender-specific Bible studies called Girl Dinner (for high school girls) and Manistry (for high school guys) build mentoring relationships with adult leaders. Annual trips include a middle school fall retreat at Sky Ranch, a seventh-grade DFW trip, a middle school mission trip to San Antonio, a high school mission trip and the simultaneous Two is Better (girls) and Manistry (guys) overnight retreats on the church campus.
Two programs round out the church's creative work with young people. WC Theater, directed by Julie Blalock, mounts three full productions a year - Disney's The Aristocats KIDS for fourth and fifth graders, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer JR. for sixth through eighth graders, and Disney's Frozen for high schoolers, who also mentor the younger casts. Arts Academy, coordinated by Erin Schechter, offers weekly classes in preschool dance, a kindergarten-through-fourth-grade variety rotation (art, cooking, LEGO, science, music, STEM), and Broadway Bound musical theater for first through third graders, each ending with a short devotional and a time of creative exploration.
Bible Study Every Day of the Work Week
Adults at White's Chapel can study Scripture almost any day of the week. Three signature studies are led by the co-pastors themselves:
- JumpStart Bible Study meets Mondays from 7:15 to 8 a.m., with breakfast served from 6:30 a.m. Drs. McKellar and Renner walk verse by verse through the Book of Hebrews.
- Tuesday Morning Pastors' Bible Study runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., with breakfast from 9 a.m., continuing the journey through Hebrews in a conversational format.
- Between the Lines meets Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m., preceded by a church dinner at 5 p.m., and is described as a "reimagined" Wednesday night experience going verse by verse through Ecclesiastes.
Sunday mornings offer a parallel track of more than a dozen adult classes meeting at 9:30 and 11 a.m. across Evans Hall and the Adult Education wing. Among them: Suburban Singles for adults in their thirties through fifties; Single Together Singles for single adults 55 and older; WC College and Young Adults for ages 18 to 30; The Vine for parents of elementary and middle schoolers; God's Special Servants for adults with disabilities; Rooted and Rising for younger couples; the Week Ahead class and Faith and Family Enrichment class for sermon-focused discussion; the Empty Nesters, Faithbuilders, Fellowship and Trinity classes for older adults; the Christian Family class; and the Open Doors class in the Center for Spiritual Care, a progressive and inclusive group that welcomes questions and explores interfaith voices.
Other adult offerings include Classic Adult Fellowship (CAF) for ages 55 and better, the Singles ministry, the WC Men ministry directed by Rev. Jon Reeves, and the WC Women ministry led by Rev. Joy Roberson. Spiritual Formation is led by Rev. Victor Resendiz and includes contemplative classes, book studies, podcasts, the Enneagram series and walking the labyrinth. A library of interest groups rounds out the week - Fiber Friends (knitting, crocheting, embroidery, macramé, cross stitch, quilting) on Thursdays, Fore! Fathers golf for young dads, an adult hockey team in formation, the Intrepid Travelers club, Mah Jongg, Middle School vs. Dad's Basketball, Religious Fiction Readers, and a monthly Settlers of Catan and strategy board game fellowship.
Chandler's Hope and the Recovery Ministry
Among White's Chapel's most distinctive ministries is Chandler's Hope, an addiction and recovery ministry directed by Spiritual Formation Pastor Rev. Victor Resendiz. It was created to answer the immediate questions families face when "the bottom falls out of life": what to do, where to go, who to turn to. The ministry offers individual, teen and family support; family evaluation and assessment; family intervention; spiritual guidance (in person and over Zoom); Chandler's Friends companion relationships; individual and family therapy support; book studies; substance awareness education; and ongoing AA and Al-Anon support groups.
A series of podcasts collects conversations with members of the Chandler's Hope leadership team about the impact of addiction in their lives and the resources available through the church. A periodic workshop called "Becoming Me While Raising You," co-led with parent coach and author Kim Muench, focuses on healthy boundaries and avoiding enabling behavior. The recovery page also points visitors to a long list of outside resources - Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Co-Dependents Anonymous and more - along with recommended books and podcasts on addiction and recovery.
A Network of Support Groups
Beyond recovery, the church hosts a wide range of monthly support groups that meet on the campus under the direction of Alynne Rivers, R.N., Director of Wellness:
- Alzheimer's Support Group - third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 2233, for caregivers of loved ones with dementia.
- Children of Aging Parents (COAP) - second Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Room 2234, for adult children caring for elderly parents.
- Christians Facing Cancer - second Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 2129, for cancer patients, caregivers and family members.
- Moms Missing Moms - second Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Room 2234, for motherless daughters and mothers of any age.
- The Compassionate Friends - fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Room 2129, for families who have lost a child at any age from any cause.
- Peace in Estrangement (PIE) - second Monday at 10 a.m. or 6:30 p.m. in Room 2235, for those dealing with relational disconnection.
One-on-one care is offered through Stephen Ministry, a program of trained lay caregivers who meet confidentially with people facing hospitalization, aging, terminal illness, disability, transitions, separation, divorce, job crises or loss. Female Stephen Ministers are paired with female care receivers and male with male. The Pastoral Counseling team, the Pastor on Call line (available 24 hours a day at (817) 881-2124) and the White's Chapel Counseling Center - staffed by professionally trained and licensed counselors who integrate Christ-centered biblical truth with clinical training - extend this care. The Counseling Center works with couples, teens, families and adults on issues from communication and intimacy to anxiety, depression and addictive disorders.
Health, Wellness and Practical Care
Two part-time registered nurses - Katie Park (Director of Health) and Alynne Rivers (Director of Wellness) - oversee the church's health ministry. A volunteer medical team of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants provides medical support during services, special events, VBS and mission trips. The team also trains staff and volunteers in health and safety and maintains a Medical Equipment Share Closet that loans wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and other assistive items to anyone in need, free of charge. Quarterly on-campus blood drives are held in partnership with Carter BloodCare, and an educational series throughout the year covers a variety of health and wellness topics.
Congregational Care extends the church's presence beyond the campus. Care Ministries include Flower Delivery (redistributing Sunday altar arrangements to homebound members), Meals in Time of Need (a MealTrain-based meal ministry), Funeral Ushers and Funeral Reception Hosts, Stephen Ministry, and Good Samaritans who visit the homebound, those in assisted living and those in hospitals. Pastoral Care appointments can be scheduled through the Care and Support ministry.
Wesley Café, the Bookstore and the Campus
Hospitality at White's Chapel is itself a ministry. Wesley Café, open Sunday mornings through Friday (with shorter Saturday hours), serves coffee and a place to sit, meet a Bible study or get some work done. Wesley Playground, attached to the café and governed by a clear set of safety rules (children must be accompanied by an adult, no shoes, socks required, toddler area for ages two and under), lets parents of young children linger on campus. Circuit Writers Books & Such, the on-campus bookstore, stocks books, Bible studies, home décor and gift items; its fall hours run Sunday through Thursday.
Three other campus amenities deserve mention. The Chapel Hill Children's School operates as a separate preschool on the property and is linked from the church's site. The Arts Academy and WC Theater programs share space on the campus during the week. A Columbarium on the grounds provides an inurnment option for members and their families, with pre-planning materials available through the Care and Support ministry.
Weddings, Funerals and a Campus in Transition
White's Chapel hosts both weddings and funerals for its members and, in the case of weddings, for the wider community. Four worship spaces are available for weddings: the Sanctuary (capacity 2,500), Grace Chapel (225), Walton Chapel (65) and Spell Chapel (65). Couples work with the church through a four-step process that begins with the Wedding Policy Handbook and ends with payments through the church's online system.
Funerals and memorials are handled through the Care and Support ministry, with Pastor on Call available around the clock and a Funeral and Memorial Packet that walks families through the planning process. The Columbarium offers a permanent memorial option on the church grounds.
The campus itself is currently in the middle of a major construction project. Church leaders have described the work as transforming the physical campus from "a construction zone" into the long-envisioned design, with simultaneous upgrades to technology infrastructure across the campus. Visitors during the transition are asked to follow posted signage, watch social media for updates and be patient as the new look takes shape.
Missions from Southlake to Kenya
Service to the wider community is built into the church's identity. Mission efforts are organized in three streams - campus ministries, community missions and mission trips.
Campus ministries keep the work close to home. The Dirty Dozen (no longer just a dozen) handle construction, plumbing, electrical, painting and flooring projects on an as-needed basis. Filling the Gap packs grocery sacks every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Main Concourse for at-risk students in local schools, with a separate team delivering them on Fridays. Food Share Connection delivers surplus food from Wednesday night dinners and other church events to the Community Food Bank in Fort Worth and partners with Presbyterian Night Shelter. Mary and Martha volunteers respond as needs arise with errands, organizing, gardening, letter writing and administrative help. Soldier Care, a 20-plus-year ministry, sends care packages filled with handmade cards, letters, Bibles, toiletries and food to soldiers around the world.
Community missions extend the church's reach into the wider DFW region. The Trinity Service Project helps eligible homeowners with essential home repairs at no cost. Agape Meal, the Dental Clinic, Angels' Attic (clothing), the Mobile Market, Cooking with Care, Patriot House (a monthly birthday celebration for veterans in transitional housing), Serving Dinner with Love at the Presbyterian Night Shelter, Feed Our Kids (three weeks of summer lunches in partnership with GRACE), Home with a Heart (preparing transitional housing units), the Refugee Initiative and the Disaster Response Team all give church members regular, concrete ways to serve.
Mission trips span the country and the globe. The annual Adult Mission Trip has worked with McCurdy Ministries in Espanola, New Mexico. WC Women alternate between a trip to Belize (working with a local Methodist elementary school) and a trip with Blueprint Ministries in San Antonio. WC Men serve in San Antonio through mensmissiontrip.com. International trips cycle through Costa Rica (partnering with Roblealto Bible Home), Guatemala (partnering with House of Hope in San Lucas Sacatepéquez), Kenya (working with Trinity Methodist Ministries in Gilgil, including a medical clinic, two high schools and a primary school), and Peru (rebuilding a parsonage for two Methodist churches in Chincha).
Volunteers, Acolytes and Sunday Morning Burritos
Behind the scenes, a small army of volunteers keeps the church running. Acolytes light and extinguish candles during traditional services. Golf cart drivers shuttle visitors from the back parking lot to the welcome doors. The Burrito Ministry serves hot coffee, donuts and burritos on Sunday mornings. Ushers hand out bulletins and help people find seats. Greeters offer a warm smile and a handshake at the door. The Parking Lot Ministry directs traffic each weekend. Pew Angels prepare the pews with hymnals, Bibles and pens. Seasonal Decorating transforms the campus for Christmas and Easter. Wednesday Night Dinner Servers feed hundreds during the school year. Worship Assistants are paid high school students who help prepare the Sanctuary, Walton Chapel and The Foundry and assist with Holy Communion.
There is also a Bread Ministry that delivers fresh bread to new members and visitors, and a Flower Delivery ministry that recycles Sunday altar arrangements to homebound members. Newcomers can learn more at WC Orientation, a relaxed monthly gathering held on the first Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Rawlins Hall (A.E. Room 3103), where they can meet staff and other newcomers.
"God Is Big Enough" and Global Outreach
One long-running outreach project reaches well beyond the Southlake campus. "God Is Big Enough" began as a simple idea - bracelets stamped with the words "God Is Big Enough" - and has grown into a worldwide conversation starter. The number 8,230,277,900 (roughly the population of the earth) appears on the bracelets as a reminder that every person on the planet has a name, a need and a soul. To date the church has distributed more than 600,000 of the bracelets in English, Akan (Ghana), Chinese, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Swahili and Vietnamese.
Leadership
The church is led by Senior Pastor Dr. Todd Renner and Co-Pastor Dr. John McKellar. Dr. McKellar, with a long tenure at White's Chapel, casts vision and provides foundational leadership; Dr. Renner often focuses on preaching and teaching, and together they shape the church's strategic direction. The associate team includes Dr. Judy Hunt, Rev. Lori Cotton, Rev. Steve Lallier, Rev. Sam Robbins (Executive Pastor), Rev. Joy Roberson (WC Women's Pastor and Missions), Rev. Jon Reeves (WC Men Director), Rev. Victor Resendiz (Spiritual Formation and Chandler's Hope), Rev. Kyle Roberson and Rev. Sterling Smith. A large lay staff supports the church's ministries in music, children, students, missions, care, counseling and operations.
Joining the Church
Becoming a member at White's Chapel is described as "more than just membership" - it is a step into discipleship. People can join through profession of faith and baptism, through reaffirmation of faith (for those previously baptized), or through transfer of membership from another Methodist or Christian church. Baptisms and professions of faith from all Christian traditions are honored.
Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The main office can be reached at (817) 481-4147, the Pastor on Call line at (817) 881-2124, and giving is available online through Pushpay. From its wood-frame beginnings in 1871 to a five-service weekend and an international mission footprint today, White's Chapel continues to describe itself simply: a church where it's all about Jesus, real people make genuine connections, grace is a lifestyle, and everyone has a place.