About

The first Methodist minister to come to the Willamette Valley was Jason Lee in 1834 from Independence Missouri. The first land claim on Molalla Prairie was made in 1843 by William Hatchett Vaughan and in the Great Migration of 1845-46 more people came to Molalla Prairie. Charles and Mary Boynton received their Donation Land Claim in 1850 of Elliot Prairie and gave five acres for a meeting place and burying grounds. This was called Rock Creek and is about five miles west of today’s Molalla.

An advertisement in the Oregon Weekly Times on May 22, 1852, called attention to a Camp Meeting: “There will be a Camp Meeting at Rock Creek, fifteen miles below Oregon City, on the 28th of the month, to hold over the Sabbath.”

On April 2, 1854, a group of Methodists held the first quarterly meeting at this meeting place for the Butteville Circuit composed of Butteville (Aurora), Rock Creek, Molalla, Grassy Pond, Marquam, Glad Tidings, and Champoeg. At that meeting a Sunday School was organized with six teachers and forty scholars.

The Molalla United Methodist Church has deep roots in the community.

Today the church is located on the Eastern part of town at 111 Mathias Road. We meet every Sunday for worship at 11:00 a.m.

The Church provides space for Boy Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous, CoDA, and 4H, as well as other groups to meet through the week. Contact the church office at office@molallaumc.org if you would like more information about hosting your group at Molalla UMC.

Our current pastor is Rev. Jon Hughes, a graduate of the Iliff School of Theology.