The History of our Church
In the spring of 1987, several families started meeting together in one another's homes for Sunday worship. They began to talk about starting a church. Rev. Timothy Hoganson and his family were preparing to serve as missionaries to Brazil when the group asked him to be their first Pastor and to help get the church started. He agreed to postpone his Missions service for two years.
The fledgling congregation began meeting in the historic Beaver Brook Chapel (built 1861) at 77 Beaver Brook Rd. in Danbury and drafted a Statement of Faith and Constitution. The church was chartered as Faith Fellowship Baptist Church on October 18, 1987 with 35 adult charter members.
As the church grew, services were held in elementary schools in Danbury (Pembroke, then Park Ave.) while maintaining offices and some services at the Beaver Brook Chapel. The need for a more permanent location led to the rental of a storefront on 2 Garella Rd. in Bethel in November 1993.
In June of 1997, the church called the Rev. Daniel Kelly to be its new Pastor. This signaled a new beginning for the church, which was outgrowing its Garella Rd. location.
Pastor Kelly saw that the church needed not only a larger building but a more visible location. The former St. Mary's building on Greenwood Ave. in Bethel had been vacant for two years. Our first service in this historic (1882) church took place on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1998. In recognition of having a new Pastor, a new building and beginning its second decade, the church voted to change its name to "The Church of Bethel."
Just two years later, in May of 2000, the church purchased the building here at 239 Greenwood Ave. (It had been leased up to that time). A great deal of improvements have been made - especially downstairs where a bright and airy nursery and Sunday School classrooms have replaced the dark and outdated church basement. The furnaces were replaced. A baptistery was installed. We have updated our media capabilities, including an updated sound system, a sound booth, a media room, projectors and screens. The garage has been heated, air conditioned and remodeled for our youth ministry. New windows have been installed and the doors refinished. Office spaces have been created. A storage shed has been added. The bathrooms have been completely renovated and an upstairs bathroom was added. We also rent an apartment next door which has been used for Church activities when not needed as a parsonage, and is now the residence of our new Pastor.
The church supports 5 missionaries, as well as the MANNA Worldwide ministry. We also have run week-long missionary trips to build playscapes for MANNA feeding centers in Ukraine, Panama and Kenya, as well as more locally at a camp in Carmel, NY.
Most of our members and regular attendees live in the greater Danbury area, although some reside outside this area.
After 10 years at the church, Pastor Kelly moved on. Dr. Charles Schleich was brought in, first as a special speaker beginning in Nov. 2007, and confirmed as Interim Pastor in Dec. 2007, and we began the search for a new Pastor. Dr. Schleich served until April 2009. On June 7, 2009 our new Pastor, Rev. Doug Stevenson, began his ministry, with official installation June 21.
The Church of Bethel is an independent church. We believe in the Bible as our ultimate authority. Our church family is here to minister to the real needs of our community.
