As early as 1852, the circuit rider came through regularly preaching and organizing Sunday School classes. The services were held in various homes and buildings until 1862. The present church building was begun in 1861 and completed in the winter of 1862. Six families mortgaged their property so the church would not have a debt. Dedication services took place early in February of that year. The Reverend A.A. Dunton was the first pastor to hold services in the building. The first female pastor, Reverend Linda Stoddard, was appointed in 1972.

The original church had a high, slender steeple, but it was struck by lightning and was repaired, or remodeled, to its present form. The bell now in use is the old one and weighs 1-1/4 ton. The church was lighted by kerosene lamps. A chandelier suspended from near the center of the ceiling held a large circle of kerosene lamps and bracket lamps along the walls. The church was built without a basement. In 1908, the basement was dug and dirt walls plastered. The first organ was purchased for the church in 1865.

There was a long shed across the back of the church property, having stalls for horses for folks coming to church by horse and buggy. In 1950, Burl Boyer hand made a redwood cross that hangs in the front of the sanctuary. The church was first remodeled in 1879, again in 1975 and 2001. A large addition was added to the east side of the church, known as the Fellowship Hall dedicated to Estella Meyers. Oakwood
United Methodist Church closed and merged with Oshtemo in 2002.