our history

old & new.

get to know more about what makes us different.

a sepia-toned photograph of miss eliza perkins from central's early days in her yard.
And so 130 years later, we find ourselves as a new grassroots movement again. We officially re-launched in February of 2015, hoping to be a church known for our radical hospitality, irrational generosity, and unmerited love. We believe that if we rebuild Central, we can offer hope  and grace and imagination to the surrounding community and beyond.

So we're a new church, but sort of an old church too. Most importantly, we're a church that's different, a church that's for Galveston, and a church that's for you.

We're just getting started, and we invite you to come be a part of what God is doing here.
What if old and new weren't opposites? What if tradition and innovation weren't necessarily exclusive? What if the church reclaimed her position as the cultural center of creativity?

Welcome to Central.

Central had begun as a grassroots movement in 1885, playing a key role in reaching out to the community, and growing to a membership of almost 900 people. Following Hurricane Ike, those numbers dropped dramatically into the single digits.

In the summer of 2014, a group of folks moved to Galveston with the hope of revitalizing Central United Methodist Church. While the membership numbers had shifted in recent years, the passion, excitement, and love for Galveston had not.