The story of our church, the first organized Methodist Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg, began on December 29, 1826, when Thomas McGee, a circuit rider and a preacher of the Carlisle circuit, responded favorably to a request to include the Mechanicsburg community in his regular preaching ministry. The church remained a part of the Carlisle preaching circuit from that earliest date until 1859, when it became a station. It has been continually served by the annual conferences since that time. In 1831, the congregation built its first church as two story brick structure in the Gothic style. Prior to the completion of the building, the members met in private homes or shared the facilities of the Union Church located on East Main Street.

The new church was built on the southeast corner of Locust and Arch Streets at a cost of $2,500 as the church continued to grow, in 1853, a new church was built on the corner of Main and Market Streets. In serving the spiritual needs of generations of Mechanicsburg residents, the church on the square became a symbol of the strong foundation upon which the lives of people should be built. Due to the growth of the congregation, in the spring of 1953, ground was broken to build a new church on the corner of Simpson and Filbert Streets with accommodation for a Parsonage. The forces of nature have greatly influenced the history of our church.

On December 4, 1891, a tornado struck the community causing the church roof to collapse and on July 14, 1954, Hurricane Hazel caused the 125 foot steeple to topple and the walls of the 101 year old church to be sprung by the collapse of the steeple. During the two and one-half years following this destruction while the new church was being built, the congregation was graciously hosted by the Presbyterian Church, the Washington Firehouse and the Union Church. During the two and one-half years without a permanent church facility, the faith, spirit and resolve of the Methodist congregation grew, bringing the members of this church closer together as Christians.

During the span of 113 years, this congregation was identified as the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mechanicsburg. As a result of the nationwide Methodist Union in 1939, the word "Episcopal" was dropped from the official name. The name was then changed to Mechanicsburg Methodist until the historic merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren denominations of January 1, 1970. Prior to that merger, the congregation chose to adopt as its official name, Wesley United Methodist Church.