Our History & Future
The history of Bethesda began in the old Stockyards district of Fort Worth in the 1930s. At that time, the church was North Side Assembly of God. There are testimonies of many miracles, signs, and wonders that took place during the early years, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s. A vibrant group of believers formed this strong church that became known for its revival meetings and weekly radio program.
Our History & Future
The history of Bethesda began in the old Stockyards district of Fort Worth in the 1930s. At that time, the church was North Side Assembly of God. There are testimonies of many miracles, signs, and wonders that took place during the early years, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s. A vibrant group of believers formed this strong church that became known for its revival meetings and weekly radio program.
Then, in the early 1970s, the congregation of North Side Assembly of God began to dream. The dream was to move the church to a new location, positioning the church for future growth.
M.F. Martin, a committed church member, set out to find the perfect place to build a new sanctuary. Driving around one day, M.F. found a little hill on a 3000-acre ranch, just north of Fort Worth on Alta Vista Drive (which would later be renamed North Beach Street). In M.F.’s mind, the location was perfect – though there was nothing surrounding the area at the time except empty fields.
Just a few years prior, work on Interstate 35 would expand the highway northward from 28th Street to Interstate 820. It would soon continue on to Denton, then into Oklahoma. It is certainly possible M.F. knew this would create an explosion of growth all around this little hill, though it would be years until this area would be developed.
M.F. was so taken with the little hill on Alta Vista Road, he was undeterred when developers refused to sell a small plot for the church. A much larger plot was for sell, and they would only sell it in its entirety. That certainly wouldn’t stop M.F. He decided to buy the entire plot of land himself. He then he donated a 26-acre plot to the church.
Soon the church began construction on a new sanctuary, offices, classrooms, a nursery, and a choir room. That building would be completed in 1974, and what a facility it was! The curved-front façade of the sanctuary was quite modern and forward-thinking in 1974. The congregation moved in and began holding worship services in the beautiful new sanctuary that had “sun-kissed orange” carpet, with choir robes to match.
The church would experience some turbulent times in the first two or three years after moving into the new building. However, in 1976, God sent Pastor Desmond T. Evans to lead the congregation into a new season of growth – both in depth and in number. Pastor Des led the effort to change the church’s name to Bethesda Community Church. In Hebrew, Bethesda means, “house of mercy,” and it has certainly been just that over the last four decades. Pastor Des’ influence on this House of Mercy cannot be overstated, and it will certainly last for decades to come.
In 1977, the church began the Wee Wisdom Day Care. Pastor Des’ wife Mary and others were instrumental in opening the day care as a service and ministry to the church and community. Soon after, the Lord began stirring the hearts of some within the fellowship. Might it be the right time to begin a Christian school on the campus? The church would host many prayer meetings – long, into-the-night prayer meetings – with faithful men and women who would determine if this were the right next step for Bethesda. After sensing the “divine yes,” Bethesda Christian School was launched in 1980.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Bethesda would thrive under the leadership of Pastor Des Evans.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Bethesda would thrive under the leadership of Pastor Des.
The school would also continue to flourish. The daycare, now named the Bethesda Child Development Center, would grow and expand. Bethesda Christian School would continue to expand, gaining a new grade each year until the school was complete – kindergarten through 12th grade.
During those years, the growing community would necessitate building projects to house all the new growth.
In 1984, an educational annex was added, which included a gymnasium, classrooms, and kitchen. In 1985, the M.F. Martin ballfield was dedicated. Growth continued, and in 1996, expansion once again became necessary to provide more daycare classrooms, offices, and an auditorium for the youth ministry.
In 2006, Bethesda broke ground on an expansion to the facility that would create a youth lounge, coffee shop, and an entire children’s wing. That wing would house the children’s auditorium, which is called the Rock Room.
In 2011, Pastor Des retired and became Bethesda’s Pastor Emeritus. At that time, the congregation elected then-Music Pastor J. Daniel Smith as Senior Pastor.
Pastor Dan began to sense a clear direction from the Lord early in his pastorate, sensing the Lord say three things: (1) Bethesda is to become multicultural and multigenerational, (2) Bethesda is to seek unity across all ministries in order for the blessing of God to fall in a new, fresh way (Psalm 133), and (3) Bethesda is to pay off debt in order to be positioned for the future.
Almost immediately, the multicultural expression of Bethesda began to expand. In 2014, a Spanish-speaking service was formed. Soon after, people from around the globe began to come through the doors of Bethesda, and today, services on Sundays are conducted in six languages on the campus: English, Spanish, Swahili, French, Kinyarwanda, and Burmese.
The other two directives would take time, but they would eventually become a reality.
In 2019, the two educational ministries (Bethesda Child Development Center and Bethesda Christian School) were united, creating one school in four parts: preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school.
As the entire campus began to align under a singular mission and vision, Psalm 133 unity and the subsequent blessing of the Lord began to fall on Bethesda; it is a blessing the community is still experiencing.
In October 2021, Bethesda retired all debt on the campus and celebrated with a mortgage burning service. That evening, the church leadership began to unveil dreams about future growth and expansion. Soon after, the architectural firm GHC, Grace Herbert Curtis, was contracted to begin a process of large gatherings and small meetings to begin the master planning process. The entire Bethesda community – including church members, staff, school parents, and students – worked to create a plan for Bethesda that would include expanded worship spaces, classrooms, athletic facilities, and much more.
In January 2023, we broke ground on an expansion that will include new classrooms, meeting spaces, and an industrial kitchen.
In July 2023, following the resignation of Pastor Dan Smith, Pastor Wayman Ming became the interim Senior Pastor of Bethesda. Pastor Wayman is the General Bishop of the Pentecostal Church of God. He and his wife, Kimberly, attended Bethesda for two years before stepping into the Interim Senior Pastor role.
For over eight decades, Bethesda has remained a stable, solid, committed fellowship of believers in Christ Jesus. With a strong history, we look forward to the future with great expectancy of what the Lord is going to do!
