Our History
Lake Washington Methodist Church held its first service on August 30, 1959. It was created by members from the Redmond Methodist Community Church. The first services were held at Rose Hill Elementary School.
As a mission church, we received help from the conference to purchase a five-acre farm along the fairly remote 132nd Avenue N.E. and broke ground on July 9, 1961. The Worship Service of Consecration was held in the unfinished chapel on December 17, 1961. The Education wing was added in 1964. The old farm house, situated under the trees at the entrance of the parking lot, served as the parsonage until the new one was built in 1967.
From the beginning, church members desired to create an atmosphere of friendliness, warmth, and happy fellowship with emphasis always on family participation. This tradition of family involvement, mutual caring, and community outreach continues today.
The church grew steadily throughout the 1960's and early 1970's, but then encountered a troubling period of decline as the congregation grappled with its vision and sense of ministry. This period of inner turmoil culminated in a transformation process in the mid-1980's that sought to once again answer the call to reach out in effective ministry.
The vision began to come true in the late 1980's and early 1990's, as Lake Washington became one of the fastest growing congregations in the Pacific Northwest conference of the United Methodist Church. This rapid, but steady growth is symbolized by the completion in 1991 of a new multi-purpose Celebration Space, significantly expanding the ministry space of the congregation. A new, larger sanctuary was complete in July 1997.
-- Information gathered from various Lake Washington United Methodist Church brochures