History

A Brief History of Wesley United Methodist Church

Almost a hundred years ago, in May of 1912, a group of people in Beaumont’s North End wanted to worship God in a church nearer to their homes, so they constructed a brush arbor at the corner of Liveoak and Cable. They furnished their humble little church with log pews and lanterns. A donated organ provided the music in their open air services and what is now Wesley United Methodist Church had officially begun. In 1913, the arbor was replaced by the construction of the Levicy Tevis Chapel and six years later the church officially became North End Methodist Church.

The congregation continued to grow during the 20s and 30s, resulting in an additional building being added in 1937. Some of the furnishings from that era can be found at Wesley today. The post-war years added even more members and in 1950 the church moved to a new building at the corner of Cleveland and Primrose. The congregation provided much of the labor in the construction of that church. In 1958, an education wing was added, followed by the Schlesinger Youth Center.

In the middle 1970s, the North End of Beaumont experienced many changes which affected the church's ability to grow. In 1978 the church purchased the land at the corner of Folsom and Dowlen in the West End and changed the name to Wesley United Methodist Church. The Education Building was completed in 1982, the Sanctuary in 1986, and the Scouting Center in 1994.

Membership grew to over 1200 in the late 1900s and church leaders began to consider how to meet the needs of the growing congregation. In November of 1999, a Building Program was outlined and Wesley began to make plans to build a new Sanctuary either in their present location or find new property. The church decided to relocate for a fourth time. Twenty-two acres of land at the corner of Folsom and Major Drive, complete with a large high school, was purchased in 2000. The Sanctuary plans were approved and the Move of Faith campaign was under way.

Today Wesley’s congregation numbers over 1,900. Traditions from each phase in the life of this church have been blended. From those who worshipped in the humble little arbor to the North End members who made the move west, to the Wesley families of today, our purpose remains to know God and to make God known.

History