Our church was founded on April 18, 1903, by Lysander Coleman.  But its roots go back to the first sermon preached in the Bickleton area in 1876 by Methodist minister, Reverand J.H. Allyn at the R.M. Graham ranch on Alder Creek.  

 

The current church building was dedicated in April 1905. Fifty years later, a Sunday School building was established next to the church and served in this capacity for many decades. Eventually, that building was purchased by a local family and moved to their home just a block away to make room for a larger and more modern building to serve as space for Sunday School classes and the pastor’s office. This building was dedicated in November 2001, and in DATE, we added a fellowship hall, complete with a full kitchen to greater serve our church and community. The Lord has blessed us repeatedly with the financial stability to grow, expand, and maintain these facilities, ensuring that our church continues to be a welcoming place of worship, fellowship, and outreach for generations to come.

 

Pastor Matt’s ministry here began on June 1st of 2025. He had served as a Ruling Elder of the congregation for many years when he received the Lord’s call to step into ministry in the summer of 2023. He began a training program and will become a Commissioned Lay Pastor in October 2025. When he began, the church was marked by declining attendance and a lack of young adults and young families. His calling as pastor is to be actively engaged in the life of our community—reaching out with Christ’s love, building meaningful relationships, and welcoming families and individuals into the fellowship of the church. His desire is to see the church grow not only in numbers, but in spiritual depth, as we follow Jesus together.

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The future of our church consists of living out our Vision, Mission, and Purpose. We do not know if God will bless us with large or small increases in number. What is important is that we remain faithful to Jesus and His Word. With that in mind, we long and pray for the following in the years to come:

• That people in our community, our nation, and throughout the world would come to know Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Friend.
   

• That the Word of God would shape our daily lives, bringing guidance, strength, and joy.
   

• That genuine relationships within the church would flourish, allowing us to celebrate triumphs together and honestly share our struggles.
   

• That our worship would exalt the name of Jesus, marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and expressed in ways that honor Him and invite freedom in worship.
   

• That we would grow in our ability to make disciples of all nations, actively participating in church planting and the mission efforts of our denomination.
   

Through it all, we trust that the Lord will continue to guide, provide, and use our congregation for His glory—whatever the future may hold.