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This
association was organized Oct 17, 1834, from churches dismissed
for the purpose from Salt River Association. Elder C. Gentry, a
distinguished and able minister, was made moderator and Hon. Wm.
Carson, clerk. The churches were Bethel, Little Untion, Palmyra,
Bear Creek, Pleasant Hill, Salt River, Providence, South River,
Wyaconda, Gilead, Indian Creek, North Fork, Paris and Elk Fork.
They contained 589 members.
The
ministers were Robert Hendren, Jeremiah Taylor, W. Fuqua, C.
Gentry, E. Turner, and J. M. Lillard.
The
first annual meeting was held in 1835. Three new churches were
added and William Hurley’s name is among the list of
ministers.
The
most important matter at this meeting was the adoption of a
circular letter written by William Carson, on the Pastoral
Relation. Appeal was made for the ministers to preach in the
destitute places and for them to be maintained by the churches.
A number of anti-mission leaders recorded their votes against
the adoption of this letter.
The
mission question continued to be a source of trouble in the
association. In 1836 the meeting at Paris witnessed a contest on
this question and the anti-mission side was defeated and in 1837
Elk Fork Church raised the question of fellowship for those
members who had joined the new Central Society, now the General
Association. This church was of the opinion that such conduct in
joining this and similar organizations should be a bar to
fellowship. The association voted that no rule of the
association had been violated and refused to assume any
authority or control in the matter. The friends of mission
effort sought to avoid open rupture on this question, but they
voted down a resolution offered by Elder H. Louthan declaring
non-fellowship with the mission system and all churches and
associations that aid and support mission enterprises. On the
defeat of this motion, Looney’s Creek Church and Elk Fork
Church withdrew from the association. Later Bear Creek and
Providences churches as well as South Fork, North Fork, Clear
Creek and South River withdrew over the same matter. This left
seventeen churches with a membership of 719 in the organization.
The
real growth and prosperity of the association began when it was
no longer hampered by these anti-mission churches. It entered
vigorously into the work of evangelizing its own territory and
set up machinery for this purpose. In the two years 1842 and
1843 there were 1,004 baptisms, making a larger increase in this
way alone than had been lost by the defection of the
anti-mission churches. Many new churches were received. In 1843
there were 33 churches with a membership of 2,123.
The
next year, 1844, eight churches were dismissed to form Wyaconda
Association in the northeast corner of the state.
Reports
received in 1858 showed there were 27 churches with 2,017
members and a large list of able and active ministers. Bethel
Association kept going during the war period, having 1,950
members in 1865. In 1881 there were 27 churches and 2,775
members. Elder Christy Gentry and Elder William Hurley were
among the leading ministers of this period while William Carson
was the leading layman of the association.
The
Moderator of the 1933 meeting was W. S. Hall, who was serving
his eighteenth year in that office. Elder Adolph Vollmer was
clerk and also missionary for the association. The pastors were:
H. H. McLeod, C. E. Hanan, H. M. Hunt, J. L. Foley, E. C.
Abernathy, Wm. S. Callaway, Walter Reppenhagen, J. E. Rains, N.
S. Dunham, Adolph Vollmer, E. T. Mangum, W. W. Webb, R. A.
Jones, Walter Sutton, I. G. Atteberry, A. A. Braungardt, E. G.
Walker, Joe B. Johns, Lloyd Foley.
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