• Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • About
  • Home

Pathway

Missouri Baptist Convention's Official News Journal

  • Missouri
    • MBC
    • Churches
    • Institutions & Agencies
    • Policy
    • Disaster Relief
  • National
    • SBC Annual Meeting
    • NAMB
    • SBC
    • Churches
    • Policy
    • Society & Culture
  • Global
    • Missions
    • Multicultural
  • Columnists
    • Wes Fowler
    • Ben Hawkins
    • Pat Lamb
    • Rhonda Rhea
    • Rob Phillips
  • Ethics
    • Life
    • Liberty
    • Family
  • Faith
    • Apologetics
    • Religions
    • Evangelism
    • Missions
    • Bible Study & Devotion
  • E-Edition

More results...

Old Bethel church building rises from the rubble

December 5, 2006 By The Pathway

Old Bethel church building rises from the rubble

By Brian Koonce
Staff Writer

CAPE GIRARDEAU – All that was missing was a birthday cake ablaze with 200 candles.

The 200th anniversary of Old Bethel, the beginning of Baptist life in what would become Missouri, was woven throughout the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) annual meeting Oct. 30-Nov. 1. It found its way from the executive director’s address to the resolutions and motions submitted for votes on the floor to just 11-minutes away from the Show Me Center, outside Jackson, where messengers and visitors braved the mud to tour the historic church building. The Missouri Baptist Historical Commission even sold small blocks of wood left over from the original poplar logs deemed unusable at its exhibit.

John Marshall, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, spoke about Old Bethel during the annual meeting. He has been prominent in the reconstruction efforts of the 200-year-old church and Second Baptist was instrumental in recovering the original 80 timbers that were used in construction.

“In 1806, Old Bethel constructed its first building,” Marshall said. “It was the only non-Catholic church building between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean.”

Eight years later, a larger building measuring 20 by 34 feet was constructed. This is the newly rebuilt building the public can see today in Jackson.

“By 1824, Bethel had started nine missions and had helped form the Cape Girardeau Association,” Marshall said.

The church thrived up until the 1840s, when it was struck by the “anti-mission” movement. Records of business meetings show they voted not to associate with missionaries or other Baptists who associated with missionaries. The church, which began because of missionary efforts, turned its focus inward and eventually died. It disbanded and the site was abandoned in 1861.

The site was largely forgotten except for memorials made during the 1906 and 1956 annual meetings of the MBC in Cape Girardeau. Second Baptist Springfield bought logs in 2001 and in 2004, David Clippard, executive director of the MBC and a Jackson native, began the efforts to rebuild the building. Today, the building itself is near completion but plans still call for a protective awning, and improved road access to the site. Those plans will progress as soon as the Historical Commission can raise the funds.

“An ancient piece of history is being resurrected before our eyes,” Marshall said. “The pioneer spirit of our forebears is rising from the rubble.”

Comments

Featured Videos

Lick Creek Fellowship - A Story of Cooperation

A declining rural church faced closure after years of dwindling attendance and aging members. But after the doors closed, a small group stepped in to build something fresh from its legacy. Watch this video to hear this story of cooperation and new life.

Find More Videos

Trending

  • Eight resolutions proposed for 2025 SBC Annual Meeting

  • IMB trustees appoint new missionaries, elect first woman chair

  • HLGU’s ‘Freedom on the Inside’ celebrates first class of graduates inside Missouri prison

  • Missouri lawmakers approve bill allowing school chaplains

  • Tornado strikes St. Louis, Missouri Baptists quick to respond

  • Southern Baptists to vote on Business and Financial Plan that emphasizes trustee governance

Ethics

Supreme Court unanimously sides with Catholic Charities in religious liberty case

Timothy Cockes

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a Catholic benevolent ministry qualifies for a tax exemption granted to churches.

Pro-life, pro-adoption bill awaits Missouri governor’s signature

Timothy Faber

More Ethics Stories

Missouri

SBU to host higher ed panel at 2025 SBC annual meeting

Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University will be hosting an expert panel of higher education leaders at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Dallas to discuss the value of and challenges facing Christian colleges and universities.

Copyright © 2025 · The Pathway