The real growth of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church began after its sanctuary and classrooms were moved to the present location in the early 1970’s. With adequate room for expansion and a full-time minister, a period of rapid growth began. The transported sanctuary, which dates to the 1870’s, now serves as our chapel and is used for church services, weddings, and meetings.
In 1950, the population of the area now known as east Cobb was only 4,900, but by 1970 it had grown to more than 15,000 and was accelerating. Mt. Bethel was ready to take advantage of the area’s growth, and in 1975 its leadership committed to the construction of a new sanctuary. The ground breaking occurred on April 11, 1976.
The steeple for the new sanctuary was lifted into place in the fall of 1986. This sanctuary is now part of the "B" building, housing classrooms, the library and the Upper Room.
The Service of Consecration was held on January 9, 1977, and by the end of the year membership had grown to approximately 450. And by the end of 1980, membership had nearly doubled again to approximately 850. This 1976-77 sanctuary is still part of the Mt. Bethel campus and serves as “Planet Holywood”, an area devoted to youth programs, and it also serves as the office area for our senior minister and staff.
As East Cobb continued to grow in the 1980’s, Mt. Bethel’s leadership determined still again that a new and larger sanctuary would be necessary to accommodate further growth. A ground-breaking service was held on April 28, 1985, and the Service of Consecration was held on October 5, 1986. This sanctuary served Mt. Bethel for more than 10 years, and during 1997-98 was converted into 22 Sunday School classrooms. The congregation voted to keep the original steeple in addition to the new sacntuary’s steeple, and it continues to remind us that this building served our congregation as its sanctuary for a decade.
With the completion of its significantly larger new sanctuary towards the end of 1986 and the arrival of Dr. Randy Mickler as senior minister in 1988, a new period of growth for Mt. Bethel was ready to begin. From approximately 1,800 members at the beginning of Dr. Mickler’s tenure Mt. Bethel’s membership nearly quadrupled to more than 7,200 members by the end of 2003, and at this writing, stands at nearly 8,000.
In 1968, Mt. Bethel's Vacation Church School hosted several dozen children. Now, VBS is popular with several hundred twice a summer.
Mt. Bethel’s continuing growth is a result of the quality of its worship services, its excellent programs of Christian education, and the strength and relevance of its many programs of ministry and outreach. At the same time, its growth has been possible because of the willingness of our membership to trust God and to commit to a significant series of land acquisitions and construction projects.
The largest and most important land acquisition occurred in 1992 when 22 acres were added to our existing 11-acre campus on Lower Roswell Road at a cost of $865,000. Since then, smaller acquisitions have brought the total to approximately 44 acres at this location. The “Fields of Dreams” and much expanded parking facilities are two of the many benefits resulting from this larger campus.
In 1998, Mt. Bethel completed a new and much larger sanctuary and converted the 1986 sanctuary into classrooms and a library. The new sanctuary presently seats 2,000 persons, and has the potential to seat approximately 2,400 by building out additional balcony areas. A concert-quality, state of the art pipe and digital organ was installed in the new sanctuary in 2002; its magnificent sound greatly enhances the congregation’s worship experience.
1989-1990: Steel framework for the original Christian Activities Center, which now serves as the Fellowship Hall.
The new millennium has proven to be another time of change and growth for the church. In 2000, Mt. Bethel bought an existing day care center at the corner of Lower Roswell and Woodlawn Roads, creating a second campus. After being painted and renovated, this campus now houses Mt. Bethel’s very successful day care center. Just two years later, the church purchased property next door to the day care center and built the Older Adult Center and Shepherd Counseling Center, completed in 2002.
Several other significant building projects have enhanced Mt. Bethel’s potential for growth and service. Also in 2002, a new three-story education building was completed which now houses the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy during the week, and provides classrooms for Sunday School, children’s worship, and other activities on Saturday and Sunday.
In January 2004, the new Christian Activities Center opened, adding a gymnasium, exercise areas, indoor track, exercise equipment, rock climbing wall, and fitness classes to Mt. Bethel’s already extensive programs and facilities. The Christian Activities Center greatly enhances Mt. Bethel’s ability to provide a superb recreational ministry to our membership and to the East Cobb Community. It also serves as the home of our contemporary worship service on Sunday morning and offers the potential for expanded programs of music, education and service to East Cobb.
Built into the the CAC’s construction project were badly-needed parking spaces and freshening of the old gym into an attractive new fellowship hall with a renovated and expanded kitchen facility.
Finally, Mt. Bethel has recently purchased one acre at the corner of Lower Roswell Road and Cagle Road. This property will be used for future expansion.
