OUR HISTORY

The Lone Oak Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized in September of 1905 by the Rev. T.J. Owen. The charter membership was sixteen persons. Worship services were held once a month, and Sunday school classes met weekly. The church gathered in the Western Kentucky College building for three years.

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In 1907 a parsonage was built on a lot donated by J.J. Sanderson. In November 1908, a one-room church building was constructed on a lot donated by E. Futrell. The Rev. W.J. Naylor was pastor at the time, and the building was dedicated in 1909 by Bishop Hendrix.

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By 1920, the membership had grown from 16 to 165 and Sunday school enrollment was 100.  Thus the need for a new and larger building was realized. Work on this facility began in April 1920. The Rev. S.C. Evans, who’d been a carpenter before he was a pastor, was the architect, carpenter, laborer, and general superintendent of the work, serving in this capacity without remuneration. Work was completed in June 1920.

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In 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church and Methodist Episcopal Church, South merged to form The Methodist Church––at which time the congregation became Lone Oak Methodist Church.

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In 1940 a new parsonage was built on the same ground as the old one. In 1946, plans were made for the construction of a new church building. In 1948, a large lot was bought on South Friendship Rd. for the proposed building. In 1951, the old church building was sold. A brick building with a full basement was begun in 1951. On Easter Sunday 1952, the first service in the sanctuary was held with the Rev. Guy Pittman as pastor. The men of the church labored night and day to keep building costs low by doing much of the work themselves.

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The need for more room for educational purposes made it necessary to add an annex after the church was free of debt. This annex was built in 1957.

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The sanctuary of this church building was air conditioned in 1960, during the pastorate of the Rev. G.E. Clayton. In 1968, with the merge of the Evangelical United Brethren and The Methodist Church to create The United Methodist Church, our congregation became known as Lone Oak United Methodist Church.

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The congregation resided at the Friendship Rd. location until February of 1999 when it relocated to its present location on Hwy 45 S.  Dr. Rick Dye was pastor at the time of relocation.  The major reason for this move was to provide an accessible worship center that would be both attractive and practical.

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Lone Oak UMC celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005. To quote from the pictorial directory for that celebration: “This church is not stone, mortar, wood, and glass, but the people who worship, work, and support the ministry that takes place within and without the walls of the physical building called Lone Oak United Methodist Church.”

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Lone Oak United Methodist Church has developed a compassionate spirit that actively supports missionary efforts and mission work, locally and worldwide. The members of the Lone Oak congregation value questions and faithful searching in order to grow a discipleship that is theologically sound and spiritually passionate.