Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church has been in existence since 1835. At first, a small band of Methodists gathered for worship in their homes under the leadership of Rev. Thomas Ray and Rev. John St. Claire. It was a part of a much larger circuit that covered congregations in Vigo, Parke, Clay and Putnam Counties.
In August of 1836, an evangelistic meeting was held, said to be led by the famous Peter Cartwright, that caused a great desire for a church building. Mr. and Mrs. William Stevenson donated an acre of ground (located in the extreme northeast corner of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery) for a church house along with $100. The first building was dedicated in May of 1837 by the Reverend Thomas Ray.
In 1906 the congregation expanded the size of the building. The new larger building essentially encompassed the old one. This allowed more space not only for worship but also for Sunday School.
In 1937, even more space was added when a basement was dug by hand under the church.
In 1967, under the leadership of Rev. John Thrasher, the church purchased five acres to the north, across the road from the church. This decision came as the result of a decision to move the church instead of building a new one. After the site was prepared, the old church was placed upon the trailer of a large truck and moved to the new site. In doing so, the congregation turned the church around so it would face south. Even though there was a period when there was no furnaces and when there was much carpentry going on, the church never missed a Sunday at worship. The entire bill for moving, remodeling and furnishing was approximately $55,000.
In June of 1985, under the direction of Pastor James White, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new addition onto the west side of the sanctuary. This two level structure added Sunday School space to the basement level and an additional 100 or more seats to the upper level.
The chancel was made larger also. In the summer of 1995, the church broke ground for a new Fellowship Center. The building was built by Rick Jenkins and was consecrated by the congregation under the leadership of Pastor Aaron Wheaton in March of 1996, Dale Harner being superintendent at the time. The spacious gym allows us to invite the public in for large fund-raisers and allows us to come together for fellowship meals and recreation. Shortly after completion of this project, the old basement was remodeled under the direction of Mr. Chet Richardson. The old fellowship hall was turned into two large rooms and the kitchen was transformed into a nursery. New carpeting was installed after the rooms received a fresh coat of paint.
On December 23, 2001, the congregation moved from the old sanctuary into a new 500 seat sanctuary built onto the east side of the church. The lower level under it was dedicated to children and youth ministry. After moving into the new sanctuary, workers began remodeling the old worship area into six office rooms, two rest rooms, a chapel and a music room. During the construction, offices were moved from the church building to the parsonage, which had been vacated by the Wheatons since August of 2000. Once the offices were moved into the new space, the parsonage was put up for sale. Because of the projected difficulties and expenses recognized in moving the parsonage, trustees decided to raise the parsonage in the summer of 2003. At present the congregation continues to grow both in spirit and in number. The mission of the church is to help bring people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to equip and mobilize them for ministry. Our motto is, "We’re Family." We believe that if we continue to build lives, God will build the church.

This Narrative Written by Pastor Aaron Wheaton
(Senior pastor 1993 to present)