Channing was organized in 1890 as a general headquarters and supplier for the vast XIT Ranch, and in the fledgling town the Rev. E. T. Harrison organized the Channing Methodist Church, identified in records as the first Methodist church north of the Canadian River. Its earliest members included XIT Ranch manager A. G. Boyce, his wife Annie, and their daughter Bessie; plumber Bertie Cherveny; Rivers Hotel keeper Jacob P. McLain and his wife Elizabeth; and Hereford cattle breeders James Powell and William and Marilla Powell. Trustees purchased property on this site in 1901, the building was completed the following year, and a fellowship hall and other additions were made in 1958. The Channing United Methodist Church continues in the traditions of its founders.