Although efforts had been made (1835, 1860 and 1864) to establish a Methodist Society, it was not until1873 that an official Certificate of organization was issued to the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Grand Haven.

The Grand Haven congregation met in the Old Courthouse until the completion of their own building in 1879. That church was on Columbus Street, on the site of the present library, but burned down in 1889.

A new brick church was then built in 1890, containing beautiful stained-glass windows and a fine church bell. As World War I came to an end in 1918, the church had grown greatly during those 28 years, so they sold the church intending to build a new one. Business conditions were such, however, that the congregation had to meet, for a time, in other churches—Unitarian Church, the Congregational Church, and the Christian Reformed Church school house. With commitment and persistence, the new church, on Washington and Fourth Streets, was dedicated on January 28, 1923.

In another 28 years, the congregation had grown enough again to begin discussion of what to do—continue to patch the current church or find some place to build a new one. In 1953, a committee was formed and a building fund was established. Negotiations with the Hoffma Estate trustees eventually resulted in the erection of the Methodist Church of the Dunes, which held it first worship service on February 19, 1962.