The first Bethel United Methodist Church was established about 1817 by William Brown, also known as "Good Billy." In 1821, a Methodist Society was formed, and in 1829 a great revival at Bethel led to the founding of sister churches at Prospect, Mt. Carmel, Friendship, and Pisgah. Eighteen young men sent from Bethel served these and other congregations in the area. The existing church was built in 1900 with memorial windows of stained glass that recorded names of early ministers and prominent Bethel families of the era.