Worship with our whole lives
We gather to honor God, pray honestly, sing together, and carry faith into the rest of the week.
About us
Rooted in Tonawanda. Growing in grace.
We’re a loving, compassionate church seeking to follow Jesus in this particular place, with these particular neighbors.
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TFMC is a neighborhood church at 207 Grove Street in Tonawanda, a short walk from downtown and the Erie Canal. For more than 160 years, this congregation has gathered in the Tonawandas to worship God, grow through Scripture, love people, and make disciples of Jesus in everyday life.
We are not interested in putting on a polished show. We hope to be a grounded, compassionate community where questions are welcome, relationships matter, and people of different generations can grow in faith together. As our longtime description puts it: we are small enough to know your name.
Our shared life
What we keep coming back to
Grow through Scripture
We open the Bible together, ask thoughtful questions, and seek the way of Jesus with humility.
Love our neighbors
We believe every person has equal value and that compassion becomes real through welcome, service, and friendship.
Local, regional, global
We belong to one another
TFMC is locally led and locally present, but we are not an independent church. We share accountability, resources, mission, and friendship through the Genesis Conference and the wider Free Methodist family.
Here in Tonawanda
A local church with deep roots
TFMC began gathering around 1860 and was incorporated in 1862. Today we remain a neighborhood-sized church near downtown and the Erie Canal.
Read our local story →Across our region
Part of the Genesis Conference
We belong to a network of roughly sixty churches and ministries seeking to be Spirit-fueled, develop leaders, resource churches, and make way for a new generation.
Meet the Genesis Conference ↗Across the world
Free Methodist in a global family
We share a Wesleyan evangelical mission to bring wholeness by loving God, loving people, and multiplying followers of Jesus.
Explore Free Methodist Church USA ↗Our pastor
Meet Pastor Ariel
Get to know Ariel’s heart for TFMC and the Tonawanda community.
Read Ariel’s story →Our faith
What we believe
A plain-language introduction to our Christ-centered, Free Methodist faith.
Explore our beliefs →Our roots
Our local story
From worship in Tonawanda homes to more than 160 years of life together.
Explore the timeline →