Our Mission
The Mission of St. Stephen Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will transform the world by loving, knowing, and serving our God. We proclaim the good news of God's grace and exemplify Jesus' command to love God and our neighbor in all that we do. In carrying out this mission, we are seeking the fulfillment of God's reign in the world.
Our History
A Dream Takes Form – From the outset, our St. Stephen United Methodist Church was planned to provide a smaller, family-oriented church experience for the Arlington, Texas community. We have been providing that experience for Arlington for 62 years. St. Stephen UMC starts its journey with its first service on June 7, 1959, in the National Guard Armory down the street from our church current location. Worshippers met there throughout the summer, sitting on borrowed folding chairs on three of the four Sundays of each month. One Sunday a month, the Guard had weekend duty and services had to be held at the Wesleyan House on the University of Texas at Arlington campus.
Roots Are Grown – On September 27, 1959, St. Stephen United Methodist Church officially became a church in the Methodist denomination. In November 1960 the sanctuary, fellowship hall, offices, kitchen and choir room were completed that November. Church members graciously helped finish the interior to save money and speed up the process. In 1965, the education building was completed.
In 2023, after much careful prayer and reflection, the majority membership at St. Stephen voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Conference after more 60 years with the UMC.
In January 2024, St. Stephen changed its name to St. Stephen Methodist Church of Arlington and chose to affiliate with Global Methodist Conference to better align with the Wesleyan teachings and beliefs.
Still Growing – In continuing to provide that family-oriented environment, St. Stephen Methodist Church has increased its footprint to support children’s church, youth ministry, and adult groups, a playground, an indoor basketball court, and an outdoor family picnic area. There are future plans to open a sports fields for youth soccer and nature path around the campus. The goal for the nature path is provide an opportunity for exercise, an area to enjoy God’s creation, and to provide butterfly gardens. Pastor Pistol Robinson and the congregation of St. Stephen invites you to continue our history and grow the church, congregation, and love for our Savior Jesus Christ.
Our Staff
Pastor Pistol Robinson
Pastor
Marjorie Pike
Organist
Susan Hoar
Office Administrator