Bethel Church, an Associate Reformed Presbyterian congregation, was incorporated in 1823. Early pastors were the Rev. James Lyle and the Rev. Thomas Ketchin, installed in 1825 and 1844 respectively. The old cemetery, at the corner of Fairfield and Vanderhorst streets, is the traditional site of the first church building, and the second building, across Fairfield Street, was dedicated in 1873. The Women's Benevolent Society was organized in 1871 and the Junior Christian Union in 1883. Under the Rev. Charles E. McDonald's leadership, the congregation moved to this site after completing the present building in 1903. The Boag Memorial Educational Building, dedicated in 1937, was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. James O. Boag. Buried in the cemetery are the Rev. Neill E. Pressly D.D. and Rachel Elliot Pressly, the first ARP missionaries to Mexico from 1878 to 1917, and the Rev. Oliver Johnson, D.D., pastor of this church from 1908 to 1945.