Asbury UMC (Savannah) - Coastal

   The roots of this church extend to the beginnings of Methodism in Savannah with the early Societies, Wesley Chapel, and Andrew Chapel. With the disruption of the Civil War, there was a period when a small group of blacks continued services without affiliation with any major body. In 1871, Rev. Charles O. Fisher of the Methodist Episcopal Church organized Asbury with 50 members. First a mission, then a chapel, it moved from a storefront on Gwinnett and West Broad to a church building near the old Union Station, then to the newly erected building on Gwinnett and West Broad Streets. This was a simple frame construction with steps leading up to the main entrance with a steeple overhead. The windows were replaced by stained glass about 1900. In 1927, the church moved to the present site on Abercorn Street, which was purchased from Bull Street Baptist. It is brick with modern gothic design and stained glass windows. Haven Home was begun in 1881, by the Woman's Home Mission Society of the Northern Church and the students and teachers of this school were a vital part of this church. The first troop of Boy Scouts for blacks in Savannah, organized by Mr. S. L. White, a member of Asbury, met in the church. A parsonage was bought and furnished in 1942-1948, under Rev. L. Scott Allen. Mrs. J. H. Taggart, wife the pastor of Asbury from 1948-1956, started the Bethlehem Center, a daycare facility for children. Later in cooperation with the Woman's Division of the Board of Mission and other churches' women's societies the center was enlarged and developed into the Wesley Community Center. Bishop L. Scott Allen served as pastor of this church before he was elected a bishop in 1967. This church became a part of the Savannah District when the Coastal District of the North Georgia Conference merged with the South Georgia Conference in June 1972. In the period of the Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church, Asbury was host to the annual meeting of the Savannah Conference in 1940, 1944, 1948 and the Georgia Conference in 1965.
During the late 1950s, the Adult Fellowship was organized and a nursery was opened. In 1974, Asbury was designated as a Historic Landmark because of the location in the Historic Savannah Victorian District. During 1977-1996, under Rev. Lenton Powell, a Children's Choir, Children's Sermons, United Methodist Men and United Methodist Young Adults were organized and the first church pictorial directory was published. Additional Choirs, including the Gospel Choir and the Men's Jubilee Choir, were started in the late 1990s. In 2005 members of the Asbury UMC Liturgical Dance Company performed at the Super Bowl. During the 2000s, the church was active in Prison Ministry, operated a successful community center and summer camp, and partnered with the Salvation Army in feeding the homeless.  In 2005-2012, the church's first female pastor, Beverly A. Flowers, also served as a volunteer Chaplain for the Savannah Chatham County Police Department.

1201 Abercorn Street

Savannah GA 31401