Christ United Methodist Church (Portage, Ohio) records

Christ United Methodist Church, Portage, Ohio resulted from the union of three local churches: Portage Methodist Episcopal, Portage Evangelical United Brethren and Mount Zion Evangelical United Brethren. Long before they were officially united these churches had a shared history which often is hard to separate. The following history is based on E.G. Wallen's, "History of Christ United Methodist Church, Portage, Ohio" and records of the Christ United Methodist Church, Portage, Ohio.

A United Brethren minister first visited Wood County in 1832 at a private home in Haskins, Ohio. Portage was believed to have been a preaching station in the Maumee Circuit in 1835. A combination meeting house/school house was built in Portage in 1840 when Portage was part of the Swan Creek Circuit (1839-1847). Circuit boundaries changed frequently at this time and from 1847-1857 Portage was part of the Beaver Creek Circuit. Then in 1857 a Portage Circuit was formed. The Portage Circuit included classes from throughout the area at various times including: New Rochester, Center, East Portage, Pemberville, Carrolls, Mt. Zion, Cloverdale and South Liberty. The Mt. Zion class was organized in 1855 and is sometimes referred to as the Osborn Class. The Mt. Zion United Brethren Church was located at the corner of Portage and Steen Roads. Mount Zion merged with the Portage United Brethren in 1963.

The Methodist Church history in Portage can be traced back to 1835 when the Bell School House was built and both Portage and Bowling Green classes met there. The Portage class was part of the Waterville Circuit at in 1836 and then later became part of the Perrysburg Circuit in 1840. In 1856 lots were purchased for the Portage Methodist Episcopal Church on which a church was built in 1858. Services were held at this church until 1963 when the Portage Methodist Church united with the Portage Evangelical United Brethren. The united congregations merged as a Methodist church and services were held at the former church of the Evangelical United Brethren. The church from this point on became known as the Christ United Methodist Church.

The above history was compiled based on information derived from a number of sources including the following: "History Christ United Methodist Church" by Fred Holloway, Christ United Methodist Church programs and bulletins, Portage Evangelical United Brethren Church programs and bulletins, and church records of Christ United Methodist Church, Portage, Ohio.