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The histories of Bethel United Church of Christ in modern Stanly County and St. John’s Lutheran Church in modern Cabarrus County are closely tied, tracing their formation to a single church. Early settlement of these counties was accomplished by German immigrants who moved from Pennsylvania, arriving as early as 1728. The settlers were of two religious backgrounds, the Lutheran Church and the German Reformed Church. Pooling their community resources, the groups began to worship together as early as the 1740’s.
The year 1745 is commonly accepted by both Bethel and St. John’s as the year when a dual-purpose church and schoolhouse were constructed. Called the Dutch Buffalo Creek Meeting House, it met the needs of both the Lutheran and Reformed members. The union congregation was served by itinerant ministers and lay readers for much of its early existence. The first pastor to consistently visit the church did not arrive until the mid 1760’s and was from the Reformed Church, serving many similar union congregations throughout the area. Around 1770 a new church building was constructed near present St. John’s Church. The new building, a primitive log structure similar to the first, served the union congregation until a 1771 split in the congregation.
After the split, some Lutheran members under the leadership of John Barringer constructed a building at the site of the current St. John’s cemetery, mostly at Barringer’s personal expense. The new church and congregation chose St. John’s for their name at that time. St. John’s continued to prosper, successfully finding a permanent minister for their congregation in 1774 in the Reverend Adolph Nussmann of Germany, along with Johann Arends as their school teacher. In 1785 a new church building was dedicated for St. John’s which served the congregation as it grew and was received into the North Carolina Lutheran Synod in 1806. In 1846 a new sanctuary was dedicated and, although substantially remodeled, still serves the congregation today.
The remaining Lutheran and Reformed Church members of Buffalo Creek apparently used the Dutch Buffalo Creek Meeting House for a while but began worshipping in homes and barns until 1806 when a log structure was constructed for the purpose of a church for the Bear Creek community on land donated by Christopher Lyerly. Rev. George Boger arrived as the first minister of the Bethel Bear Creek Meeting House, and this congregation remained a union between German Lutheran and German Reformed members. Reverend Boger made the following entry in his diary, “I felt a desire to study for the ministry, and it seemed to me no other way than I must preach, and I believed I had a personal call of God to the holy office of the ministry.” The increasing demand for preaching in English, rather than German, in the 1840s was instrumental in Reverend Boger giving up his lifelong ministry in 1847.
The union between Lutheran and Reformed members continued until 1875 when another split ended the cooperation. The Reformed congregation retained the property and the church became known as Bethel German Reformed Church. A new church was constructed for Bethel in 1878, serving the congregation until the construction of the present building in 1929. The Bethel Congregation was re-organized in 1961 and became part of the United Church of Christ. however, in 2016, the Bethel Bear Creek Church separated from the UCC denomination and became independent and returned to the Reformed origin, and therefore, the name, Bethel Bear Creek Reformed Church, was officially adopted by church membership.
References:
Jacob L. Morgan, History of the Lutheran Church in North Carolina (1953)
The Heritage of Stanly County, Volume I (2002)
Rev. Frank Bostian, “Bethel United Church of Christ” unpublished manuscript, marker research files, Research Branch, Office of Archives and History
Banks J. Peeler, A Story of the Southern Synod, Evangelical and Reformed Church (1968).
Banks Shepherd, New Gilead Church: A History of the German Reformed People on Coldwater Creek, Concord, North Carolina. (1975).
“Diary of George Boger,” Chapter XI.
Frank K. Bostian, Bernard Cruse, Part I: Dutch Buffalo Creek Meeting House, 1745-1806.
Thomas L. Moose and Reedy Jordan Moose, Part II: Bethel Bear Creek United Church of Christ, 1806-1974 (1974).
Jacob Calvin Leonard, History of the Southern Synod Evangelical and Reformed Church (1940).
Rev. G. William Welker, History of the German Reformed Church in North Carolina, Volume VIII.
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