| Bethel Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Protestant (Methodist) |
| Orientation | Evangelical,Holiness |
| Polity | Congregational |
| Region | Texas |
| Origin | 1989 |
| Separated from | Evangelical Methodist Church |
| Congregations | 5 |
TheBethel Methodist Church (BMC) is aMethodist denomination aligned with theWesleyan-Holiness movement. It consists of five congregations inTexas.
The Bethel Methodist Church separated from theEvangelical Methodist Church after a church trial called into question the theological stances of a handful of ministers.
The small denomination'sBook of Discipline traces this theological dispute to the mid-1970s when "a widening tolerance of many different beliefs regarding the nature of God, man, angels, sin, salvation, sanctification and heaven" began to emerge.[1]
After Rev. Arthur Slye Jr. was elected Mid-States District Superintendent in the 1980s, he "chose to preach some of his deepest-held truths to the District Conference atIrving." This raised many objections, which resulted in a "heresy trial" followed by repeated "attempts to clarify" by Slye and his supporters.[2]
On August 16, 1988, fiveEvangelical Methodist Church ministers met inHico, Texas, to determine a course of action. Their three churches in Irving,Port Neches, andRobinson would pull away from their parent denomination and form an Interchurch Council. Articles of Incorporation for the Bethel Methodist Church were filed with the State of Texas on February 27, 1989. Slye, pastor of the Irving church, was elected the new denomination's first General Superintendent. The first services were held on Easter Sunday, March 24, 1989.
The denomination maintains congregations in Port Neches and Robinson, as well asColleyville,New Braunfels, andAubrey.
Bethel Methodist Church is for the most partWesleyan-Holiness in doctrine—lamenting aModernist trend in American Methodism.
Emphases include the Wesleyan-Arminian possibility of a Christianbacksliding, as well as man's free will to choose or reject God.[3]The denomination prefersbaptism by sprinkling and pouring, rather than allowing for immersion as did the parent body. It does not practiceinfant baptism.
Church government is largelycongregational, though bound by a denominational constitution and bylaws.
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