Bethlehem shirts - now in!

We're proud to announce that the Bethlehem Church t-shirts are now available.

The front of the shirt has the church name and the Methodist cross-and-flame, and the back has the name and info, including our established date of 1808. (The image above is the one used for the back of the shirt).

The shirts are free to members and those in regular attendance - love donations to cover the cost are accepted.

We will be wearing the shirts as we sing at the nursing home next Sunday afternoon (Sun. Dec. 10) - so be sure to get yours and join us in sharing some holiday cheer!

Holiday Events

There are several upcoming events to remember at Bethlehem in the next few weeks:

Choir practice: Nob. 26 at 4 - practice for Hanging of the Greens and Vistitation

Hanging of the Greens: Our annual Christmas celebration! Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. Come, and bring a guest or two, to enjoy this holiday tradition as we prepare our sanctuary and our hearts for Christmas. Service begins at 6 p.m. with a reception following.

The visitation committee is also inviting church members to sing with us at Heartland Villa Nursing Home in Lewisport on Dec. 10, 2006. We hope to share some Christmas joy through carols and hymns.

Remember to bring your food-basket donations in the next few weeks so we can have a great Christmas-time donation. Also laity-Sunday is coming and we'll be looking for volunteers!

Fall Festival success

We had a great Fall Festival this year! Thanks to everyone who helped decorate, bring food or spread the word. Thanks also to those who came and brought their families and friends.

Community Fall Festival! Sat. October 21 - 6 p.m.

The church and community are invited to a

Community Fall Festival

Sat. October 21, 2006 - From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

We'll have lots of fun activities for all ages:

*Indoor Trick-or-Treat with Bible Characters*
*Snacks* *Candy*
*Fish Pond*
*Costume Contests*

*Charades*
*AND MORE*

It's all free and it's all fun! The festival will be held in the church basement.

We'll see you there!

Activities: September 8 and September 10, 2006

Since our last Youth Night got stormed out, we've rescheduled for Friday, September 8 from 5:30 - 7:30.

We plan to have volleyball, games and hot-dogs and snacks - so be sure to come and to bring some friends! Youth and kids of all ages, from the church and the community, are welcome.

On September 10th, at 5:30, we will have a meeting of the Outreach Committee. Anyone who is interested in the church's outreach is encouraged to attend (you do not have to be part of the visitation group currently). We will not be visiting that day, but discussing new ideas for both visitation and other forms of outreach, as well as other upcoming activities. Your input is valuable to us!

Good job!

Many people at Bethlehem have been working hard in the last several months to accomplish our goals. We had a great revival, renovated the sanctuary, started recording sermons for distribution, implemented new Sunday School classes and more. The bathroom has also been redecorated and new signs featuring the church times have been ordered. New projects we're working on include more youth activities and a Wednesday night prayer meeting/Bible study.

Thanks to all those hard-working church-members, and to our pastor Ernie Doane and his wife Lisa for their enthusiasm and help during these processes:


If you're in the area, and looking for a church home - we'd love to meet you! Stop on in!

Campmeeting is Coming - Starts July 30th!

Campmeeting is coming soon! Mark your calendars! This year's campmeeting is July 30 - August 6. Every night at 7 p.m.

Youth night is Friday, August 4th beginning at 5:30. Be sure to invite some kids and teens for free food, good music, and a youth-centered (but important to all) message.

Remember that the final day (Sun. August 6) begins with morning worship service at 11 a.m. - which will be preached by our own Brother Ernie! This will be held at the campmeeting, in place of our service at the church. Then there will be lots of good food at the Potluck dinner - which is like all campmeeting events, open to all. Following that, at 1:30, Firm Foundation will bring special music before the afternoon service. This year's campmeeting will end with a 7 p.m. service that night.

Also: don't forget the second of the clean-up days for this year's campmeeting is July 29th (beginning at 7 a.m.) Everyone is invited to help out, and there's plenty of work to do this year since we're also cleaning up the cabin.

You can visit the campmeeting website (see the link on the sidebar) for more information on this year's services: http://yelvingtoncampmeeting.blogspot.com/

Sunday School News!

Good news! We have now started our Sunday School classes. All ages of children and youth are welcome. We will adapt the number and type of classes as needed. We currently are offering one class for elementary age children and another for Middle/High School students.

Currently Sunday School is scheduled at 11 a.m., following the worship service, in order to give parents a chance to attend the excellent adult Bible Study that runs at the same time. This schedule is flexible, and may change in the future depending on the needs of those who are interested in participating.

We hope to have a good turn-out and are eagerly preparing lessons for the kids. Hope to see you there!

Some Early Bethlehem History

The following quotation is taken from A History of Owensboro and Daviess County Kentucky by Hugh O. Potter (published, 1974 by the Daviess County Historical Society):

"As the Pup Creek area of the present Daviess county (around Yelvington) filled with new settlers, mainly from Fort Hartford, Fort Vienna, and areas to the east, the Methodists organized the first church in what was to become Daviess county. This interesting even took place in 1808, and was accomplished by Rev. William Craig, in the home of Benjamn Duncan, an early justice of the peace in Ohio county. The church took the name Bethlehem. It is still in existence, and is by several years Daviess county's oldest religious organization. Evidence seems to point to the fact that the Bethlehem organization came about through the same intinerant missionary work which had previously led to the organization of Goshen, Old Bethel, and No Creek Methodist churches, in the Hartford area, in 1804" (p. 51).

"When Daviess county was formed, on June 1, 1815, there were three religious organizations within its orignial bounds. They were: Bethlehem Methodist Church (1808), Buck Creek Baptist Church (1812), and Yelvington Baptist Church (1813)" (p.52).

Photos from our June Revival

Sunday we had a great crowd, inspiring songs from the Bethlehem choir, and a meaningful call to renew our walk with Christ from Rev. Dale Carden. Monday's service was highlighted by a great message from Evangelist Bryan Parris reminding us that when the Lord is passing by, we must make a decision whether or not to call out to him. The Firm Foundation blessed us with special music. Those guys give 110% everytime and offer a moving music ministry. On Tuesday we were blessed with more Firm Foundation favorites and new music and a moving sermon reminding us to love Christ more than anything.

Special thanks to all those within the church who worked to make this revival a success: in particular Ruth, Ernie, Joyce and the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee members. Thanks to Linda for decorating and organizing our refreshments on Tuesday.

Below are some photos from Monday's service (sorry they're so blurry - still learning the ropes of the new digital camera).

Our pastor, Ernie Doan, welcomes the congregation:

The gospel group Firm Foundation provides ministry through song and testimony:

Evangelist Bryan Parris speaks to the crowd from his heart:

June 25, 26, 27th 2006 - REVIVAL

Everyone is invited to our revival this June. The revival will be each evening - June 25th, 26 and 27th, 2006 - at 7 p.m.

We will have the popular local gospel group Firm Foundation as our special music group on the 26th and 27th. (Please see the link to their website in the sidebar). On the 25th, special music will be provided by members of our church choir.

The evangelist for June 25th will be the Superintendent for the Owensboro District of the United Methodist Church, Dale Carden. Evangelist Bryan Parris will bring the message on the 26th and 27th.

We'd be glad to have anyone worship with us during these special services! We trust this will be a rejuvenating experience and a great chance to learn more about God's love and His will for us.

Prayer Caravan

The Methodist Prayer Caravan will be at our church on Thursday, May 25, 2006, at 1:45. Anyone is welcome to come to hear a devotion and share in a time of prayer for public and personal concerns.

New Steps Forward

The sanctuary looks beautiful after our recent renovations! New pictures will be posted soon.

We are looking forward to a few upcoming events, especially:

+New children's Sunday School classes in addition to our current Bible-study

+A spring or early-summer revival

Easter 2006

Here's the front of our sanctuary, beautifully decorated for easter:

The cross made by Mr. Wilson, draped in white to represent Christ's rising again:

Church sign - past and present

Here is our current church sign. One is located on both sides of our circular driveway:


Here is a historical photograph of the church and sign before the vestibule was added:

Church Illustration

A pen and ink painting of our church by Clint Basinger:

Spring photos of church