Bethel United Church dates back to 1872. The church came into existence through the vision, intuition, fervent and earnest prayers of a group of community members of Cromwelland, St. Mary. They saw the need for a place to worship, that would serve the spiritual needs of the community and so placed their petition before God. Sometime after, their petition yielded success, and a generous gift of four acres of land was given to them by Mrs. Isabella Nelson, an English owner of the then Orange River Estate.

This brought them nearer to realizing their dreams, and in 1872 they erected a thatched building providing them and the wider community the opportunity to fellowship, worship, study the Word of God and for the community members to come into a personal relationship with God. The church was named BETHEL (which means The House of God), and began as a non-denominational community church.

Under the leadership of the late Revd. Henry Morris, the churchs membership began to realize numerical growth. With its steady growth, it soon became too large for Revd. Morris to manage independently, hence, he sought assistance in 1886 from the Christian Women Board of Missions USA (CWBM), which at that time operated an agency in Jamaica. This agency was under the governance of the Disciples of Christ Church. Members of the agency visited with Bethel and decided to assume responsibility, as the umbrella organization for Bethel. Bethel, consequently, lost its non denominational status.

In 1892, hurricane struck Jamaica, and Bethel The House of God was destroyed. The members zeal was not, however, daunted and so with Gods help they managed to overcome the devastation and re-built a large wooden structure, with a seating capacity of one hundred and twenty (120).

Eleven years later, hurricane again struck and once again Bethel went down. The members stood resolute and with Christian fortitude and strength forged ahead. They united their energies and resources and headed stones from the Orange and White Spring Rivers, and with other materials constructed the present stone building with its solid buttresses. This was done in 1905, under the leadership of Revd. Louis Thomas who succeeded Revd. Henry Morris. During that same period, the present Mission House the Manse was built, with the financial assistance of CWBM.

Not only had Bethel been toppled by the rage of the winds, but in 1907, the progress and work of the inspired men and women, who pioneered its inception, suffered yet another natural disaster; this time it was the fury of the earth - an earthquake, destroying valuable properties of the church in its passage. After the earthquake, repairs were done and additional buildings of two vestries and a chancel were made.

During the early 1920s the American Christian Missionary Society, and the Christian Women Board of Missions (CWBM) merged to form the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS). Under the auspices of the UCMS, the Revd. L.M. Matson and his family came to Jamaica from the USA in 1922, and served Bethel Christian Church for many years.

Within the decades of the late 1920s and 1930s Bethel began submerging, due to lack of steady leadership and general tough times in 1938. At that time, the then pastor, Revd. E.W. Hunt, a Jamaican national recommended that the church be closed, notwithstanding, his proposal, Revd. Hunt gave four years service at Bethel

It was during his tenure also in the 1960s that the Esher Mission was formed. It began with a Sunday School initiated by Miss C. Wilson, now Mrs. Mitchell. The meeting house was a small wooden structure which was leased from Mr. S. McKinley and remains at that same location presently. Esher Mission has grown from being just a Sunday School to a growing congregation with further prospects for growth.

During the 1960s discussions were taking place among a number of denominations, including: the Baptist, the Moravian, the Congregational, the Methodist and Presbyterian. In 1965 the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged into one denomination. The United Church in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. The discussion continued, and the Disciples of Christ Church was invited to join in.

After much deliberation, on December 13, 1992, they celebrated with the United Church in Jamaica and Grand Cayman in the union of these denominations: the Congregational, Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ. This was however, not without teething pains, as all churches came on board with different doctrinal views.

Bethel stood to benefit from the union, in that it enjoyed the right of being a part of a larger community. As a united organization Bethel is able to draw on the available resources, in terms of personnel, guiding policies and programmes.

Since the union, we have had the following resident ministers: Revd. Derik Davidson, Revd. Joel Downer, Revd. Garfield Vernon, Revd. Richardo Gordon and currently Revd. Leo Hall. They were complemented with other interim ministers, who served during the absence of a resident minister.

Emerging from the diversity of leadership styles and skills, of the serving ministers, the membership was made more integrally involved in different aspects of leadership and worship. Bethel has over these years moved from a passive, traditional style of worship to a more charismatic expression. There is greater freedom in expressing worship experiences, including testimony and praise, as also greater awareness of the spiritual requirements of a professing Christian. Greater emphasis was placed on the participation in the Study of the Word, Prayer and Fasting, and a more dynamic approach to Evangelism.

Considering the rich history of Bethel United Church, the theme the church used in celebration of our 135th Anniversary "Celebrating Our Past Shaping Our Future", is indeed relevant, considering the social outreach ministries the church has undertaken. The hymn "To God Be The Glory Great Things He Hath Done" echoes own gratitude to God who has blessed the church through over 135 years of ministry and service.