Chester Bethel United Methodist Church
Wilmington DE

Chester Bethel United Methodist Church welcomes you to be an active part of our family!

We encourage all our members to be involved in worship, study, outreach, and fellowship.

It is important to discover our God-given gifts and to use them in service to Jesus Christ through the church.

Perhaps you are new to the neighborhood Maybe you have been away from church for a while and want to reconnect It might be that you have never gone to church and are wondering if church is for you. No matter your reasons, you are welcome at Chester Bethel where you will find friends and other seeking souls to share your faith journey.

 

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Chester Bethel United Methodist Church is located on Foulk Road, just south of the Delaware-Pennsylvania state line. It is the oldest Methodist congregation which has continuously gathered in the state of Delaware. Dating back to before the Declaration of Independence, this Methodist society originally met in the homes of its members, notably that of Robert Cloud.

Cloud's Chapel, a log meeting house, was built in 1789 on an acre of land; this building was torn down and replaced, in 1799, by a stone church christened Bethel.

In 1873, the serpentine church was built and the name was changed to Chester Bethel, commemorating the previous church and the original preaching circuit of which this congregation was a part.

In the 1900s, other growth and expansion projects were completed: a new parsonage (1913), Fellowship Hall (1959) and a new sanctuary (1972).

Chester Bethel currently sits on 20 acres of land, most of which is devoted to its cemetery. The church also provides a Little League ball field for the local community, and a Thrift Shop is run out of the old Serpentine church. The building where the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall are located, also houses a preschool and daycare. (The Preschool and Daycare Facility is now housed in the new modular buildings behind the church.)

All of these ministries have been a natural expression of Chester Bethel's life as a church. Worship and Sunday School have been the central part of the life, out of which everything else flows and develops. Mission work, in the local community and worldwide, has been a hallmark of Chester Bethel from early in its history.

Early History

Francis Asbury, one of the circuit riders and an early American Methodist, preached twice at Bethel, according to his journal. He was there in 1809, and again on May 2, 1810. He wrote of his 1810 experience, "I spoke at the Bethel Chapel, a beautiful new house." (Quoted from C.E. Hallman's "Garden of Methodism.")

In 1849, someone attempted to introduce a new songbook, the "Lute of Zion", in the Bethel services. The pastor and many others opposed this "sacrilegious innovation", but younger and more aggressive members argued for it.

One good brother is quoted as saying, "Anybody with common sense ought to know that it will not help the voice to look when you sing upon those things you call keys and bars, with black and white tadpoles, some with their tails up, some with their tails down, decorated with flags and trying to crawl through the fence. It's all the work of the Devil".

The Trustees closed the church but people kept meeting. The old Trustees were voted out and new Trustees voted in. The church split, and a new church named Siloam was formed one mile north of the present Chester Bethel church. The congregations have since reconciled and joint services are held on Thanksgiving Eve and Ash Wednesday. The reason for the split has been forgotten.

This history was compiled from papers left by Rev. Edwin Gardner, Ph.D. and Rev. Frank Lucia, both of whom served at Chester Bethel. Rev. Gardner was pastor from 1912 until 1913, and Rev. Lucia remained at Chester Bethel from 1964 until 1978.