The group of believers at Bethesda can trace its origin back to the 1770s, when local families began meeting in each other’s homes to worship according to the practices and beliefs espoused by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement in England. One of the converts to Methodism during these class meetings was William Frazier, a local planter. After the American Revolution, Frazier sponsored the construction of a small meetinghouse at the site of our present church building, in order to provide a central place for local Methodists to meet. Located on the long, but otherwise pretty barren, route from Delaware to Easton, Frazier’s Chapel, as the meetinghouse became known, was a Methodist oasis in the wilderness. In 1797 the congregation adopted the name Bethesda, meaning “house of mercy,” after the pool of Bethesda where Christ healed a man in the Gospel of John.
In the last 250 years, the congregation of Bethesda has grown and changed, and the church building has grown and changed with it, but throughout the years the one constant has been our focus on serving as Christ’s house of mercy here in Preston. Our mission for the twenty-first century is to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ by following the philosophy of John Wesley, who believed that Christians must “do good: as we have time, and opportunity, to do good in every possible kind, and in every possible degree to all men.” To this end, we live out our faith not just through worship services, but through service to our community. Like Jesus at the pool of Bethesda, we seek to be a force for peace, healing, and aid to others.
For more information on the history of Bethesda please contact Eric Cheezum at eric.cheezum@icloud.com