The Wesleyan Methodist Church has grown out of a revival movement which has historically given itself to one mission – the spreading of scriptural holiness throughout every land. The message which ignited the Wesleyan revival was the announcement that God through Christ can forgive man his sins, transform him, free him from inbred sin, enable him to live a holy life, and bear witness to his heart that he is indeed a child of God. The message was based on the Scriptures, was verified in personal experience, and came not only in word but in the power of the Spirit. It was dynamic and contagious, and was communicated from heart to heart and from land to land. It adapted itself to and gave new vitality and purpose to various kinds of church organisations.

This local church has also grown out of that message and since 1990 has continued to spread the message of Scriptural holiness to the people of the Gympie and Cooloola region. The Holy Spirit is able to break the bad habits of my life and truly transform my life into His likeness.

The Gympie Wesleyan Methodist Church began as a Church plant from the Mary Valley Wesleyan Methodist Church in March 1990, with an average attendance in its first year just 21. The Church began under the ministry of the Pastor of the Mary Valley Church, Rev. Stan Baker, but within 2 years Rev. Stuart Hall was appointed to the position at Gympie.

Rev. Stuart and Lyndell developed a strong base from which to grow, leading the church through periods of consolidation and growth. That growth didn’t come easily but the disciples that were made not only grew in maturity, but many moved on to other areas and ministries, including 2 people now who are in fulltime ministry.

During the time of Pastor Stuart’s ministry, the church moved location two times. Beginning at the CWA hall in the centre of Gympie, the church moved to a hall about 3 kilometres away to enable further growth. At this time the Church also became involved in the establishment of the Cooloola Christian College, and is to this day one of the four associated Churches with this Christian School.

Pastor Stuart Hall accepted a call to the Townsville Wesleyan Methodist Church at the end of 2000 and Pastor Adrian McClintock was given pastoral oversight by the DBA for 2001. Attendance at the Church had fluctuated over the previous 5 years but at the end of June 2001 was recording an average Sunday morning worship attendance of 40.

At the beginning of August 2001 the District Board appointed Rev. Gary McClintock as Pastor of the Gympie Wesleyan Methodist Church.

With the foundation that had been laid and God’s sovereign timing, we began to see growth to the extent that had not been experienced before and it wasn’t long before we had exceeded the 100 mark for Sunday morning attendnaces.Apart from our Sunday morning worship attendances, other ministries also began to grow.

In 2002 we outlined a vision for what God wanted us to be doing for the Kingdom in Gympie. That vision was shared with the leadership team and then in November 2002, it was shared with the Church congregation as a whole. As a Church we adopted a motto which simply says, “A Place Where Lives Are Changed”. Part of seeing that motto become a reality is a dream of a Church where people are responding daily to the life changing gospel of Christ and learning what it truly is to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

On the night that we shared the vision, God touched the heart of people and an excitement began to grow about the possibilities God had in store. The Church continued to grow which, although exciting, created a number of difficulties, not the least room in the building in which we were meeting.

At the beginning of 2003 we established a Future Planning Committee which investigated a number of possibilities for future growth and Church building sites. One of the fastest growing residential areas in town is found on the Southside of Gympie and it is in this location that we believe God is calling us to minister. We purchased a 2 acre block of land right in the midst of a booming housing estate at a cost of $135,000 in September 2003.

Building began on Stage 1 of our building project, a hall to be used as a Church building, in May, 2005 and on January 15^th, 2006 we held our first service in our own building at 70 Exhibition Rd.. Ministries continued to flourish and the dream of reaching the near neighbourhood of the Church building began to become a reality.

In January, 2007 we began Stage 2 of our building project with an Administration building and Sunday School class rooms with this completed in July, 2007. The carpark was completed in early 2008. The Ministry Centre was officially opened on June 7 2008.

Over the years we have seen people come and go but the dream continues. As of the end of 2023, we are now beginning Stage 3 of our Building Program, establishing a place of connection for people in our Community. Our new facility will house all of our ministries and have a fully equipped commercial kitchen to enable us to develop and grow our outreach to Gympie and beyond.

And so continues the dream of establishing a Christ-centred ministry in Gympie that touches the world.