German immigrants who came to Texas in the 1880s settled near Coryell City and west of Gatesville and organized the German Bethel Baptist Church in 1886 with eleven members and the Rev. Julius E. Sydow, meeting in a schoolhouse east of Coryell City. As the area's German Baptist population grew, Sydow soon alternated services between Coryell City and Gatesville, and by 1889 each group had its own Sunday school with officers and a church clerk. In 1891 the two groups separated into distinct churches, and Sydow continued to minister to the Gatesville congregation. The congregation bought this site from Ludwig Voss in December 1891 and erected a house of worship the following year. Church trustees also acquired land for a cemetery near the Hemmeline Schoolhouse, named for a local family, and the burial ground took the same name; the earliest recorded burial is Gustav A. Schloeman, who died in 1895. A Baptist training union for young people was established that year, and the Women's Missionary Union was established in 1916. During World War I, the congregation pledged loyalty to the United States and sold war bonds. During World War II, it changed from German to English language services, kept church records entirely in English for the first time, and was renamed Bethel Heights Baptist Church, while membership diminished as young people left for the war effort. The 1892 church building was destroyed by fire in 1986, but the early records were saved, and a modern structure was erected on the site. At the dawn of the 21st century, Bethel Heights Baptist Church continued its programs of worship and service.