The Rev. F. H. Barnhouse held the first recorded church services in Odem in the home of J. W. Wright in 1909, and soon afterward Sunday School services met in a vacant store at 400 Main Street, formerly the site of the Gisler blacksmith shop. In 1910-11 the First Methodist Church of Odem was organized under the leadership of the Rev. J. A. Pledger, and the Rev. W. N. Carl organized the congregation's efforts to build its first small church building at 401 Main Street. Its nine charter members were Mr. and Mrs. George Humphries, Sr., George Humphries, Jr., Otto Humphries, Alva Humphries, Zula Humphries, Jarred B. Clark, Mrs. Anna Clark, and Miss Lula Williams. As the congregation grew, it purchased its first parsonage at 306 Kline Street in 1922, where the Rev. W. F. Buss became the first pastor to live there. Several hurricanes damaged the original church building over the years, and in 1949 the congregation broke ground for a new sanctuary, dismantling the old frame church and using its lumber in the new construction. Services were held in the Odem High School auditorium until the new building was completed in 1951. The new sanctuary included stained glass windows paid for by family donations, and an electric carillon was placed on the roof in 1964. Hurricane Celia badly damaged the sanctuary in 1970, but repairs were covered by insurance and volunteer labor. The First United Methodist Church of Odem continues to thrive, has expanded to include educational services, and supports numerous civic activities in Odem.