German Methodist Episcopal Church

A lay preacher, Brother Boess, came to the area from Ann Arbor in 1853, preaching in homes. In 1853, a German Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Lansing. People from the Delhi area attended this church until they organized as a separate unit of the Lansing circuit in 1860. The Delhi congregation held services in the brick North School and Lott School until 1868. In 1868, the 23 families built a frame church building with a steeple and bell at the Five Corners. The Five Corners is the area at the intersection of Cedar Street, Aurelius Road, and Keller Road. It was also known as North Holt. The English M.E. congregation used the German M.E. building from 1868 until 1873. 

In 1873, the German Methodist Episcopal Church became an independent unit with its own minister and built the first parsonage across from the church building. In October 1894, the German congregation (comprised of about 170 members) moved its frame building and built a new brick sanctuary on the same site. The new brick building was designed by William Appleyard of Lansing and construction contracted by Alpha Douglass of Holt. Until 1930, the 1894 structure served as the German Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1931, the German and English congregations combined and formed the First Methodist Church of Holt.

English Methodist Episcopal Church

The Holt English Methodist Episcopal congregation was permitted to use the German Methodist Episcopal Church's frame building from 1868 to 1873. In 1873, the German congregation became their own unit and ceased the permission with the English congregation. 

In 1876, the English M.E. congregation built a white frame church on the west side of Cedar Street south of Holt Road. The English M.E. Church building stood until December 19, 1930 when it burned. When the English church burned, those who attended that church joined the German congregation. In 1931, the German and English congregations corporately formed the First Methodist Church of Holt. 

First Methodist Church of Holt & Holt United Methodist Church

The First Methodist Church of Holt was established in 1931. It was formed through the consolidation of the German and English M.E. congregations, initiated by a fire at the English M.E. Church in 1930. Today the First Methodist Church of Holt is known as the Holt United Methodist Church. The current United Methodist Church was built in 1969. The Holt Jaycees converted the 1894 building into a library in 1970. The old building served the community in various capacities until October 1982 when it was razed. The two buildings stood together on the same corner for over a decade.