Bethel Church of Midland stands on Idlebrook Road in Midland, North Carolina, and is known for a blended Sunday worship service, a Methodist history extending to 1780, and ministries that pair Christian education with direct service. Its motto, A United Community Alive in Christ, fits a church that gathers at 9:00 a.m. for worship, meets in small groups at 10:30, teaches children and students, supports a food pantry, and sends teams into local, national and international mission work.
A Blended Sunday Rhythm
Bethel's Sunday pattern centers on a 9:00 a.m. Blended Worship Service, followed by small groups at 10:30 a.m. The church's music ministry is led by Music Director Phillip Pees and Worship Leader Adam Cline, and the Worship Team includes ushers, altar guild members and hospitality volunteers. Recorded Sunday morning worship can also be watched online, with messages addressing Christ's presence, discipleship, fear and faith, confession, and the invitation to come as one is. Group information, registrations and the church calendar are organized through Church Center.
From a Methodist Society to a New Sanctuary
The story of Bethel reaches back to 1780, when the congregation that would become the church was formed as a Methodist Society with Bishop Francis Asbury as its establishing preacher. The oldest available records show members received into the church in 1783 and 1784. Bethel acquired property in 1808, and in 1820 members hewed and hauled the logs for a one-room log church. A second building, erected around 1835, served the congregation until the next sanctuary was completed in 1923.
Construction of that sanctuary began in 1922, with the first services held there in October 1923. Members donated much of the material and labor, although the building still cost about $35,000. The economic hardship of the early 1930s made payment difficult; the building was eventually paid for and dedicated around 1935. A parsonage built in 1948 housed Bethel ministers through 2018. The former fellowship hall, now the Taylor Youth Building, opened on October 25, 1958. An education building was dedicated on Homecoming Sunday in August 1987 and had been paid for before completion.
Growth continued with Asbury Hall, whose groundbreaking came on November 24, 1996 and whose dedication followed on November 14, 1999. Construction of the present sanctuary began in 2006, and the first service in it was held on December 23, 2007. Bethel credits members' dedication of faith and service, not the buildings alone, as the church's enduring strength. The named spaces still shape life at the church: the sanctuary for worship, Asbury Hall for fellowship, an education building for learning, the Taylor Youth Building for students, and a historic arbor that recalls the church's camp-meeting tradition.
Bethel's annual camp meetings became a family tradition in which families brought stoves, food, cows and chickens and camped for a week of religious services. A trumpet called people to four services each day. The roughly 1830 arbor was built after the church itself could not hold the crowds who came for the August meetings. It entered the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1997, and was dedicated on Homecoming Sunday, August 10, 1997.
Children, Students and Bethel Learning Center
Children's ministries are directed by Taylor Barefoot, and Allison Black leads Christian education. Bethel Learning Center provides preschool through K-8. At church, the 10:30 small groups and Bible teaching form part of the educational rhythm, while a youth ministry encompasses middle and high school students. BYM partners with parents to make disciples, pursues students on campus and in the community, and offers weekly programs and events intended to nurture faith and service.
Youth meet Sundays from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. during the school year in the Taylor Youth Building. The informal gatherings create room for students to socialize and grow as Christians, while outings and activities strengthen relationships and communication about faith. Vacation Bible School is one of the church's campus ministry opportunities. Group information, registrations and the church calendar are available through the Church Center calendar.
A Wesleyan Faith in Practice
Bethel describes itself as a community of Christ followers grounded in Biblically orthodox beliefs and the Wesleyan tradition. It teaches one eternal God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and regards the 66-book Bible as God's direct revelation, wholly inspired and without error in its original writings. Salvation is the free gift of grace received through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice, followed by growth in holiness through sanctification. The church understands itself as the body of believers sent to worship, make disciples and serve people in need.
Bethel observes two practices of sacrament: baptism by water and Holy Communion. It practices believer baptism by sprinkling, pouring or immersion, accepts baptism from other Christian churches and denominations for membership, and celebrates infant dedications with parents. In its membership vow, new members promise to participate through prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
Four core values shape the church's ministry: biblical truth, genuine relationships, servant hearts and faith ownership. Its discipleship cycle is expressed through four personal questions:
- Am I fully surrendered?
- Am I actively seeking?
- Am I generously serving?
- Am I boldly sharing?
The process is tied to sanctification and moves people toward sharing their faith in homes, communities and the wider world. Bethel also affirms the sacred worth of people, holds that life begins at conception, and teaches belief in heaven, hell, Christ's return, final judgment and a new creation.
Serving Midland and the Wider World
Local outreach includes Feed The Souls Food Pantry. The pantry partners with Cooperative Christian Ministry in Concord to provide immediate help with food, shelter or financial crises while helping people move beyond crisis. Bethel members provide evening meals for several weeks each year and serve food at Concord's Center of Hope Shelter for two weeks each calendar year. Other opportunities include local school partnerships, community-wide events, veteran and first responder appreciation, Christmas assistance, support for Concord Orphanage, flu vaccine clinics and supplies drives. Campus ministry includes Vacation Bible School, movie nights and other neighborhood events.
Bethel also works with partners whose work extends the church's witness. The Gideons International receives member support and provides Bibles and New Testaments. Members serve in the Central Cabarrus Bible Teaching Association, which funds Bible classes in area high schools. Families pack Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes each Christmas season, while the church provides bell ringers for The Salvation Army and serves food at the Center of Hope Shelter. These partnerships connect worship, discipleship and tangible care for people near Midland and beyond.
Additional service teams make and ship clothing and blankets, share gifts through drama and worship teams, and care for communion, candles, flowers and decorations through the Altar Guild. The Altar Guild meets on the second Sunday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Mission Trips, Orphanages and Disaster Response
Mama Tara's Orphanage in Honduras
Bethel has organized mission trips to Mama Tara's Orphanage in the remote Puerto Lempira area of Honduras since 2011. A typical trip lasts a week and places volunteers alongside children at the orphanage. Past projects have included a security fence, bunk beds, cabinets, electrical work, a chicken coop, screened doors and windows, painted murals, haircuts and medical clinics. Every volunteer is welcome, whether or not they speak Spanish. The work is joined by attention to relationships and teaching children their value in Christ. The missions committee helps participants raise funds, and scholarships are available for some trips.
Bethel Ministries in India
At Bethel Ministries in India, the S.R. McEachern Sunday school class supports an orphanage for 80 children. Its support has provided mattresses and bedding, a new roof for sleeping quarters, blankets and sweaters, a bathroom and shower house, a playground and school uniforms. The connection extends beyond a single trip: members have made and shipped hundreds of dresses, supported a security wall and electricity, paid mattress shipping, sponsored children, donated a lawn mower and tools, and provided school shoes, clothing, vitamins and glasses.
Relief After Storms and Floods
Disaster response is another shared expression of service. Bethel partners with Rise Disaster Relief and Recovery, and members and groups take part in ongoing relief efforts in southeastern areas affected by floods, storms and tornadoes.
Shared Leadership and Service
Senior Pastor Jeremy Brackett leads the church's ministry, working with Taylor Barefoot in children's ministries, Allison Black in Christian education, Austin Cook in youth ministries, Phillip Pees in music, and Adam Cline in worship. Together with the Session, they support a church structured for both spiritual care and practical service. Elders are charged with members' spiritual growth, while deacons equip the church for internal and external ministries and missions. Deacons' areas of responsibility include property management, outreach, worship, communications and technology, campus ministry, personnel, finance, strategic planning and education.
Bethel's membership is open to people who receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord and provide evidence through a changed life. Baptism is required for people joining who have not been baptized, and members may transfer from another recognized church or denomination.
Finding Bethel on Idlebrook Road
Bethel Church of Midland is at 12700 Idlebrook Road, Midland, NC 28107. From Hwy 601, turn onto Hwy 24/27 west toward Charlotte and, after two miles, turn left onto Bethel Church Road; the church is one-half mile ahead on the left. From Interstate 485 and Albemarle Road at Exit 41, travel seven miles toward Albemarle, turn right onto Bethel Church Road at the light, and continue one-half mile.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The office can be reached at 704-888-2653, and its mailing address is Bethel Church of Midland, 12700 Idlebrook Road, Midland, NC 28107. Bethel provides visitor directions, recorded worship and a Church Center calendar for participation in church life.
A Long Tradition of Faith in Action
From the Methodist Society of 1780 to the sanctuary completed in 2007, Bethel's identity has remained tied to worship, education and service. The historic arbor, member-built log church, learning center, blended Sunday rhythm and mission partnerships are different expressions of one aim: to form followers of Jesus who surrender, seek, serve and share. Online giving is available through Church Center's online giving option. Bethel Church of Midland continues to gather as a united community alive in Christ.