In 1822, Rev. Humble, a great-great-grandfather of L.N. Humble, came from Mississippi to the Old Bethel community. After his death in 1829, Rev. Mercer, great-grandfather of J.J. Mercer of Old Bethel, carried on the mission work, and in 1831, the first church was erected. The building that now stands is the fourth to stand on this historical site. The dedication ceremony was held on Easter Sunday, March 24, 1840. More than 800 people gathered from throughout the state for this long-awaited occasion. Several additions have been added over the years, the first being three Sunday School rooms behind the baptistry in 1960. The addition of the fellowship hall (now classroom space), Sunday School rooms, and kitchen was built in 1976. The activity building across the road from the church was built in 1983. Four additional Sunday School rooms were added to the church in 1988. In 1999, Old Bethel embarked on a major expansion of the sanctuary to accommodate an overflowing crowd. The sidewalls were knocked out, almost doubling the size of the sanctuary. The most recent addition was the Sunday School wing in 2000, adding a nursery and four more rooms.
The succession of pastors that we have record of are as follows: Rev. J.H. Brooks, 1933-?; Rev. Jones, 1941-?; Rev. Elton Henderson, 1945-?; Rev. I.O. Dunn: Rev. Johnnie L. Kelley, 1949-1960; Rev. C.H. Dalton, 1960-1961; Rev. Wilburn Glen Hodges. 1961-1962: Rev. Johnnie L. Kelley, 1962-1964; Rev. Johnny Young, 1964-1965: Rev. I.O. Dunn. 1966-1967; Rev. Larry K. Tradewell, 1968-1971; Rev. John Oxyner, 19~2: Rev. Lavelle Grain. 1972-1973; Rev. Denver McBroom, 1974-1976; Rev. James Edmond. 1976-1977: Rev. Larry Adkins, 1977-1984; Rev. Jimmy Goodman, 1984-2001; Rev. Benton Moore. 2002-2004: and presently Rev. Keith Thomas serves as pastor. He began in 2004.