The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first church to be established in the Pecos Valley. Helen Johnson started a small Sunday School in a tent on her property in 1885. The start of this class was brought about when the Johnson's 21-year-old son drowned in the Pecos river.  Discovering there was no minister in the area, Mrs. Johnson conducted the funeral services herself.  This Sunday School class became a Methodist Sunday School in 1886. Mrs. Johnson rode through the village of Roswell with her children in a spring board wagon, inviting people to attend the class. In 1888, permission was granted to construct a church building, thus the beginning of First Church.

The church has always been very active in the community of Roswell, and after 112 years, the church is still growing, reaching out. to members and the community, through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.