Just as God is unchanging yesterday, today, and tomorrow; Bethel Baptist of Caseyville is a church that always believes that people are special to God, and therefore we make them our highest priority!

What Serving All People Means To Us:
Serving may not be prestigious, but we are not concerned about prestige, we are concerned about performing Gods will by serving the Lord and people. Serving All People is not only a reflection of our history, but it is also a reflection of God. We believe that Jesus came to earth to serve. We believe that if we accurately represent the Lord we must be servants of all people. It is our desire to serve you, your family and the community. I encourage you to give Bethel a visit, and allow us to treat you as our most welcome guest. At Bethel everyone is important! The history of Bethel Baptist is an amazing weaving of God’s grace and mercy and a people who were concerned with doing what was right no matter the cost. When Bethel was first organized it stood against perpetual slavery and was a part of the Underground Railroad. It was not a stand of convenience but was a costly adventure and that stand changed not only the lives of those slaves who were liberated, but Bethel had a very powerful influence across the state.

Our Beliefs: We believe the 66 books of the bible to be the word of God, complete and perfect without error. It is the sole authority of faith, life and every matter of which it speaks. We believe in one God, maker of heaven and earth, and eternally existent as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is pure, holy, loving, all knowing, all powerful, and the source of all truth. We believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ that is Jesus is fully God, His virgin birth, and His sinless life. We believe that Jesus died in our place and paid for the sins of the world and that Jesus rose bodily from the grave, ascended into heaven, and will return to earth in power and glory. We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit, that His present work is to reveal Jesus Christ to people, regenerate and permanently indwell those that believe. We believe people were created in the image of God and enjoyed an open relationship with Him. That relationship was broken when man voluntarily chose to live his life without regard for God's will. Through Adam, the first man, all people are born spiritually dead because of sin and are in need of spiritual life by a relationship with God through Christ. We believe God is the initiator of reconciliation with us. However, His holiness demands justice for the wrongs we have done. Unfortunately, our good works cannot undo the mistakes of our past. We are completely dependent on the grace of God to make us pure in His sight. Those who, by faith, accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and believe that Jesus took our place and suffered on the cross the punishment of God's justice against sin, can be saved by making a choice to turn from sin and turn to God, asking for forgiveness and to be saved from their sin. Those who place their trust in Christ alone are given eternal life. We believe the church is a gathering of people who have put their faith in Christ as Savior, have been scripturally baptized, and have voluntarily banded together to share their lives and faith with each other in unity. They meet together for worship, the preaching and teaching of God's word, encouragement, service, spiritual growth, observation of the ordinances (Baptism and The Lord's Supper), and to fulfill the Great Commission in the community and around the world. We believe in the immanent rapture of all true believers out of this world before the Great Tribulation, followed by the Second Coming of Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. Following this will be the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. We believe in the final judgments. All unbelievers of all ages will be judged and condemned to eternal separation from God in the lake of fire along with Satan and his demons. All believers will be saved from wrath and will spend eternity in the awesome presence of a loving God.

Our History of Serving All People Since 1809:
The history of Bethel Baptist Church actually began in Virginia with Thomas Jefferson and two Revolutionary War veterans, Joseph Ogle and James Lemen, Sr., a life-long friend of Jefferson. In 1786, with emergency funds provided by Jefferson (a reported sum of $30), James Lemen, his wife Catherine (Joseph Ogle's daughter), and their two young sons joined Joseph and his son Benjamin who were already living in the settlement of New Design (near the present town of Waterloo in Monroe County). The Lemen's and the Ogles were among the first settlers at New Design. At that time the population of the entire territory of Illinois was fewer than 20,000 Indians of various tribes and only a very few thousand Europeans, Africans and Americans. At Jefferson's urging, James Lemen's move west was for the express purpose of opposing the introduction of slavery there. In 1802, the Ogles and the Lemen's moved from New Design to Ridge Prairie, southwest of the present O'Fallon. Four years later, at the home of William Whiteside near Belleville, the Ogles, the Lemen's, and Whiteside organized the first Baptist Church in St. Clair County, Richland Creek, as a branch of the New Design church.

James and Catherine Lemen had six sons, five of whom became ordained ministers. When James, Sr., was nearly age 50, he was also ordained as a minister by one of his sons. The family was active in local and territorial government and influential to the point that Aaron Burr solicited Lemen's support for his unsuccessful attempt to create a South Western Empire from the Territories in 1806. Jefferson had written Lemen warning him of Burr's plan; Lemen thought the scheme was an act of treason and threatened Burr's agents with arrest and imprisonment if they did not leave Illinois immediately.

By 1808, slave holding by members of Richland Creek Church was discussed at great length. At least one member at Richland Creed was a slaveholder. In the July 1809 meeting, James Lemen, Sr., encouraged by a letter from Jefferson, challenged the church. The issue proved too difficult to resolve. Late in the same year, all parties agreed that the members would separate on friendly terms, with those against slavery withdrawing from Richland Creek to form a new church. On Dec 9, 1809, the Baptist Church of Christ, Friends to Humanity, was formed by James Lemen, Sr., and his wife Catherine, Robert Lemen, and his wife Hetty, Joseph Lemen, and his wife Polly, and Benjamin Ogle.

In 1810 "at Canteen Creek" was added to the church's name. They met at members' homes on a rotating basis and by the late 1830's, the church required larger quarters. A simple barn-like structure was finished in 1840 at a cost of $4,100. A trap door was cut in the floor at the southwest corner so that the cellar below could be used as a hiding place for slaves on their way north via the Underground Railroad. That building stood at the intersection of the current South Clinton and Bethel Meadows Roads but was dismantled in 1981. The current building, which adjoins the old Bethel School, was dedicated in 1977 and houses today's congregation.