As the first organized congregation in La Mesa Village, La Mesa First United Methodist Church has held continuous services on Palm Avenue since 1895. The church campus houses La Mesa United Methodist Children's Center, a preschool operating under Community Care License 370800634 with capacity for 87 children on the same Palm Avenue property. United Methodist denominational affiliation places the church under the California-Pacific Annual Conference, with 252 professing members and 22 active small groups reported in the most recent conference data filing. A monthly Fresh Start outreach program prepares and serves meals for approximately 180 unhoused community members, coordinating volunteer teams and resource distribution alongside pastoral-visitation partnerships with senior-care providers like Westmont of La Mesa. The colonial Spanish-style sanctuary dates to the early twentieth century and sits in the 91941 ZIP at the heart of La Mesa Village, where the La Mesa Village Farmers Market draws foot traffic every Friday.