In April 1954, as construction was finishing on Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, the Dallas Board of Methodist Church Extension purchased a 4.2 acre tract of land where Lovers Lane and Rexton Lane meet.  Reverend Bill Stephenson of University Park Methodist Church was asked by the Bishop to organize a new church on this piece of land.  With help from University Park, Highland Park, and Oak Lawn Methodist Church laymen, Rev. Stephenson surveyed the residential area to locate Methodist families and others interested in the new church. On July 6 of that year, the first organizational meeting was held in the backyard of Bill and Ina Gillespie, whose home adjoined the church property. The name “Ridgewood Park” was chosen since that was the name of the subdivision development in which it was located.

The first worship service was held in the chapel of Crane/Longley Funeral Home on Northwest Highway on Sunday, August 8. One hundred thirty-nine persons attended, and 32 people joined the congregation that night.  The funeral home allowed the congregation to worship rent-free the entire time (nearly two years) until the new church facility was built. The owners even moved the caskets and such out of the way so that Sunday School classes could be held there.

Meetings of men’s, women’s, and youth organizations took place in homes, other churches’ facilities, and even at SMU. Following a pledge drive, the groundbreaking for a new church building took place on April 15, 1956 and was completed in six months’ time.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the church membership grew to 563 with an annual budget of $62,000. A day school was added, as well as a new educational wing.  In the 1970s, the family center building was completed, adding a gymnasium, classrooms, and a kitchen to facilities which served the entire neighborhood.  The 1980s saw the gift of a beautiful bell tower, given in memory of Mrs. Frances Thomas.  It features three large bells cast in France.

In the year 2000, Ridgewood Park built a new sanctuary on the property.  Since the early days, Ridgewood Park has gone from that initial back yard meeting, to Crane/Longley, to what is today the original church building plus three additions. We have had 13 pastors over that time and numerous associate pastors, music directors, and youth directors. Currently, the congregation has 350 members, three Sunday morning worship services, study groups, and ministries to the elderly, sick, and bereaved. Ridgewood Park expects to be a loving and caring family to its members and the neighborhood for many years to come.

Pastors of Ridgewood Park have been:

Bill Stephenson
Wally Chappell
Henry Lawson
Dick Freeman
Bob Young
Don Renshaw
Jim Brown
Dan Williams
Tom Brown
Fred Durham
Gene Wisdom
Ben Read
and our current pastor, Mark Vowell.