History
Bethlehem Baptist Church had its beginning in the summer of 1918, when a group of believers met together for worship services under a brush arbor on Mr. Russ Jean's property. Then, in 1920, they began meeting in an old store building owned by Mr. Bryant. At this time, there were only two other churches serving the area, which makes Bethlehem the third oldest church in the community. People in the community made repairs and fixed seats from planks and stove and wood blocks. They later relocated across the street from Mr. Jean's, to an acre of land on Will Holt Road, donated by Mr. John L. Honea. Here, on December 19, 1920, eight charter members and two new members organized the church.

In 1924, Rev. W. H. Malone donated an acre of land on Elkwood Section Road. The membership erected a new building that still stands today. It was not until 1948 that electric lights were installed. Over the years, they were able to add a vestibule, four classrooms, butane heat, a baptistery, indoor restrooms, a nursery, and even air conditioning in 1967. A pastorium was purchased on Butter & Egg Road in 1965, but was later sold in 1975. Then, the church bought the house and 26 acres across the road for $30,500. Thirteen acres of this land was sold one year later to clear the debt on the property.

Several determined members, led by Mr. John Jones, had a vision for a new, larger building on this land and they made a pact, “Together We Build”, in 1981. While the construction process for this building differed greatly from the log rolling of the earlier one, the same results were achieved. Four years after the groundbreaking ceremony of August 23, 1982, after much hard work, prayer, and unwavering faith, their dreams were realized. Just hours after the last pew was installed, the first service was held on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1985!

From 1985 until 1992, Bethlehem continued on a steady and consistent cause of ministry and outreach to the surrounding community. In the spring of 1992, with a renewed commitment to the power of prayer, our church began to explode with numerical and spiritual growth. With overflowing worship service crowds and attendance in Sunday School swelling to over 300 at times, Bethlehem once again took a step out on faith.

In the fall of 1992, our church voted to go forward on a giant project of building a Family Life Center complete with 15 additional Sunday School classrooms with accessible restrooms with shower facilities. After months of hard work and effort, our contractors turned over the keys to our building in late summer/early fall 1993. In the midst of our Family Life Center project, our church voted in January of 1993 to expand the present sanctuary and to add on a beautiful, spacious foyer area and wheelchair accessible restrooms.

In 1996, with a new vision for the future, we continued to grow both in numbers and spiritually. Because of that growth we moved from our beautiful sanctuary that seated approximately 330 people to our gymnasium. With creative vision we transformed our gym/fellowship hall into a beautiful “sanctinasium” that seats approximately 550 people. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 173.

In 1997, after a change in our music ministry and a renewed passion for our Sunday School ministry, we saw incredible growth in our choir and Bible study ministries. A full praise band was formed with overhead projection screens in the front and back of our sanctuary to accommodate our choir and congregation. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 203.

Growth and healing continued to be the theme in 1998. Our numbers continued to rise as we expanded our children's and youth ministry. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 203.

As 1999 rolled in, our Vision-Steering ministry team led the church to enlarge our parking lot and to build a large storage facility on-site. The storage facility was built by volunteers in the church while the new parking lot was being prepared. In the fall of 1999, our new expanded parking lot was completed. The top-level parking could now accommodate 163 spaces plus the bottom level. The church also added new lighting to the parking lot for better visibility and safety. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 251.

The year 2000 was an incredible year of spiritual and numerical growth. The church voted to finish all the landscaping needs, secure an up to date topographical survey and purchase additional gravel to help with the parking “opportunities”. On Easter Sunday of 2000, we became debt-free and burned the note for our “sanctinasium”. On October 1, 2000 , we brought on staff a full-time pastor who heads up our educational ministry. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 287.

The year 2001 was an incredible mountain-moving year for us as a church family. We broke ground on our new Family Life Center in February, and took residence in November of the same year. From the walking track to the youth café to the new classrooms to the new office space, we are a blessed people. We expanded our parking lot(s) again to accommodate our growing crowds. It was all good in 2001! Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 359!

2002 was a blessed year for evangelism! We baptized 119 souls and saw another two hundred or so join by statement of faith or by letter. We added another full-time staff member to help with our growing ministry. Our Sunday School finished the year with an average of 407! Every phase and ministry of our church is focused and passionate for the future.

2003 was also a blessed year for evangelism. We baptized 132 souls and added another 115 to our membership by statement of faith or by letter. Our average attendance in Sunday School was 433.

In 2004 we baptized 105 souls and saw another 119 join our membership either by statement of faith or by letter. Our Sunday School attendance continued to climb with an average of 499.

2005 was another great year! Ninety-three souls were baptized into our fellowship with another 83 joining by statement of faith or by letter. Our average Sunday School attendance climbed to 544.

As we reflect over these last 89 years, the church has had eighteen pastors and made many changes to meet the needs of the growing community. From its earliest days, believers made their way to Bethlehem Baptist Church – first by foot across the field to the brush arbor; then, by covered wagon to a converted store building, and today by automobile or our very own church vans and busses. God has recently blessed this community and church with many believers and hard workers to bring these visions to life. With continued faith, sacrifice, and prayers of its members, the future of Bethlehem Baptist Church promises to hold tremendous blessings for us all – second only to those we will share in heaven.