Lincolnia United Methodist Church

Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

Our history
The first known Church in this area was LEBANON UNION CHURCH, built about 1855 and burned by the Northern army in the retreat after the Battle of Bull Run. Prior to the Civil War, Lincolnia was called LEBANON. A Methodist Church was chartered in Lebanon on May 11th, 1864. In 1870, Levi Deming suggested naming the community Lincoln to honor President Lincoln. A post office was established in 1875 and as another Lincoln, Virginia, existed it was renamed Lincolnia. In 1876 a Methodist Church was built on Lincolnia Road on land given by Levi Deming. In 1905 a parsonage was built on Lincolnia Road on land given by Eunice Barnum.

In the early days, our church was on the Fairfax circuit, later it was on the Arlington-Lincolnia Circuit. In 1912 we became a part of the East Fairfax Charge in the Baltimore Conference. Our Minister often served seven churches. We became a two-point circuit in 1942 with Franconia. In 1953 we became a separate Charge with our first full time Minister. After 79 years on Lincolnia Road we had outgrown that space and on May 8, 1955, land was purchased at the corner of Route 236 (Little River Turnpike) and Lincoln Avenue. Opening day services were held in the new Educational building one hundred years after the first church was built in Lebanon in 1855.

In May 1964, we held a four-day celebration of our 100th year. A new sanctuary was built and consecrated May 9, 1965, on our 101st anniversary. In May 1986, the church note was burned, and our sanctuary was dedicated.

In 1968, when the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church merged, we became the “Lincolnia United Methodist Church”.

In the 1970s, besides already being a multi-generational congregation, Lincolnia UMC started becoming multi-ethnic. By the 1990s on any given Sunday, attendees might be from 10-20 nations, including natives of Northern Virginia, various other states in the United States, Sierra Leone, Ghana, the Philippines, Canada, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Korea, Madagascar, Myanmar (Burma), India, Afghanistan, and several other countries. Because of various transitions over the last several years – and most notably in 2014 when Arlington UMC closed and the West African congregation that had met there joined the Lincolnia congregation.

Our worship services continue to reflect our Wesleyan heritage.

Meet Our Pastor:
Rev. Raymond A. Max-Jones (Pastor Ray) has been the Pastor here at Lincolnia United Methodist Church since 2014. He received his theological training from the Sierra Leone Theological College and Church Training Center Freetown in Sierra Leone, West Africa and the Virginia Theological Seminary in Virginia. He owns a Bachelors in Theology, Masters in Christian Education and he also owns a Post Graduate Diploma in Ecumenism, Business Management, Security Police Sciences, Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies and Private Investigation.

Pastor Ray served the Methodist Church Sierra Leone as Local Minister from 1988 to 1992 and was received into the Itinerant Ministry of the Methodist Church Sierra Leone in 1992 and served in various capacities as Circuit Minister, Circuit Superintendent and District Synod Secretary. He has also served as Associate Minister in Wesley Methodist Kumasi Ghana, Bethel World Church Dakar Senegal, the Methodist Church Banjul Gambia, the Arlington United Methodist Church in Arlington Virginia and the Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church in Tacoma Park Maryland. He is currently serving the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist as Pastor in Charge (OE), Other Elder, On Loan to serve the Virginia Conference from the Methodist Church Sierra Leone Conference. His theme for Mission and Ministry is, “Working Together Works.”