The United Brethren in Christ grew from the beginnings of the congregation known as Highspire United Methodist Church, which had its origins in the preaching of Father Neidig and Father Jacob Roop in or about the years A.D. 1793 or 1794 in the village of Highspire. The words “Wir sind Bruder” and “We are Brethren!” are associated with Philip William Otterbein in 1767, and the two hundredth anniversary of the congregation’s beginnings was observed on Anniversary Day, June 13, 1993.