Local Church History

History of
Belton First Church of the Nazarene
Belton, Texas

At the turn of the century, there was a holiness revival that spread across the United States. In July 1914, that holiness movement came to Bell County. Revivals were conducted in various communities around the area including Bell Plains, Hackberry, Summers Mill, Reids Lake, Armstrong, and Salado.

Two farmers, Rev. Hope Land and Brother Page, decided it was the Lord's will that they conduct most of the revivals, with Rev. Land preaching and Brother Page leading the singing. Reports from that time said neither of them needed a microphone to be heard. People came from far and near to hear the holiness message. Some of the families came and camped for two weeks at a time so they could attend each night of the revival service.

During the summers of 1917 and 1918, Sister Bessie Williams from Ft. Worth came to assist with the preaching. A two-week revival was held at Armstrong, a community about 7 miles south of Belton, located on Salado creek. There are many beautiful pecan trees growing there, and people came and camped along the creek. At the close of this revival, Brother Land and Sister Williams organized the Sulphur Springs Church of the Nazarene. The first services of the church were conducted in the Armstrong School House. In 1920, the Sulphur Springs School was consolidated with the Amity School, so the church bought the Sulphur Springs School building and held services there until 1940. The church was sometimes referred to as Live Oak Church.

There were several pastors with preaching held only twice a month. During these years, Lonnie McQueen was converted and called to preach, so he became the pastor of the church for several years. Also, Willis French was saved at a revival at Sulphur Springs and preached his first sermon there. As the years passed, members moved away or passed away until the church had only about 20 members. When Willis French was District Superintendent of the San Antonio District, he had a vision for a church in the city limits of Belton. Elbert Labenske was pastor of the Sulphur Springs church at this time. The Sulphur Springs church, Pastor Labenske, and Willis French called a Board Meeting and decided to hold a revival in Belton to help organize the church there.

Willis French had quite a bit of opposition in Belton before he received permission to open the church within the city limits of Belton. He said he was going to put a Nazarene Church in Belton or die! So, after much prayer and much urging by Brother French, the City of Belton finally agreed to the revival and the church. At the close of the revival, the church was organized, and Pastor Labenske and his members transferred to Belton. Pastor Labenske was to be the first pastor of the Belton Nazarene Church. His salary was set for $5.00 per week, if the money came in. Pastor Labenske served as pastor for about two years.

The San Antonio District bought a large house at the corner of 8th Avenue and North Pearl for the church to worship in. Later, the house was torn down and the material used to help build the church in the same location. The parsonage was built in 1946. The Educational Building was added in 1965. Much of the fieldstone rock used on the exterior the church and parsonage was brought in from a farm on Sparta Road, near the location of our present facility at Sparta and Loop 121.

Belton First Church of the Nazarene has been a pillar of the community since 1940. The quaint little church building held many precious memories for church members. However, it was becoming apparent that the facilities on 8th Avenue and North Pearl were becoming very cramped. The sanctuary had limited seating. There were only a few Sunday School rooms, and they were very small. The parking was limited to neighborhood streets and a nearby UMHB parking lot. The lack of space was apparent when the Church celebrated its 60th anniversary in Belton on August 27, 2000. The sanctuary was packed with church members, their families and friends, and former members. Many people had to view the services from the entrance area.

After a great deal of thought and prayer, the congregation voted unanimously to pursue a building program, confident that God would lead the way. An aging congregation, and not a congregation with great financial resources, the church relied on frugal handling of their resources and the power of prayer and faith in God that the new church building would be built. A building fund was set up and church members began adjusting their budgets to provide regular offerings into this fund.

In 2000, a parcel of land became available on the corner of Sparta Road and Loop 121 in Belton. The attraction of the land was its location in an area where significant growth was projected. The location is easily accessible from Sparta Road and Loop 121, and faces Belton Middle School and is within walking distance of Sparta Elementary and Belton High School. A down payment was made from church funds on the land with the balance being financed by church member C. D. Eakin. The church building fund provided monies for engineering and developing plans and blueprints for the new building.

In 2002, the University of Mary Hardin Baylor purchased the church building on 8th Avenue and North Pearl. The proceeds from this sale were invested until needed to pay on the new church building. UMHB graciously agreed to make facilities available for a church office for two years. The Belton Independent School District agreed to rent space for worship services and special church functions, and soon the church began meeting in the cafeteria of Belton Middle School on Sparta Road.

The next obstacle in building the new church was to find affordable financing. This was not an easy task, and the church looked at a variety of financing methods. It was beginning to look as though it was going to be impossible to secure the financing needed for the new church facility. Again, after much prayer and planning, the church voted to pay off the land out of the church building funds accumulated, and financing for the new structure was secured from a local bank. Construction of the new building began in June of 2006.

To construct the 120,000 square foot multi-purpose worship facility, much of the work had to be done by church members. An aging congregation had its advantages as many were retired, had time to donate, and also brought a wealth of knowledge and experience into the building process. From the Belton and Temple Nazarene Churches, a general contractor, a former metal building Contractor, a paint contractor, a landscape specialist, an accountant, a computer networking specialist, and many other professionals came forward. But, there were jobs for everyone. Children as young as seven years old helped with yard work. Many of the ladies volunteered to hang insulation. Teenagers came in groups to help pick up trash. Some volunteered to water the trees, and others picked up construction debris and/or swept the dusty floors. Many of the volunteers were in their 70's and 80's! Thousands of volunteer hours were donated, mostly by retired church members. But, little by little, day by day, and year by year, the "Miracle on Sparta Road" happened because of the faith of a small group of people who believed with all their hearts that God would lead the way in the process of building a new church.

Finally on May 4, 2008, the church marched from Belton Middle School, where they had worship for six years, across Sparta Road, and into the parking lot of the new building. At the front door of the church, four men picked up the altars which had been in storage for many years, and lead the procession into the new auditorium. A couple of weeks later, an Open House was held for the community to share in the celebration of the new church.

God has blessed in wonderful way in the past three years. Beginning with an attendance of 55 who marched across the street, the congregation began to grow. In October 2010 the church called Rev. Jim and Tracy Gosnell to come as family pastor and children’s pastor. The church grew to the point that the children filled the fellowship hall to overflowing, the teen group maxed out the largest Sunday school classroom, and the morning worship service average for September 2011 stood at about 160.

There have only been 15 different pastors of the Belton Nazarene Church since 1940! Here is the list of pastors in order

Elbert Labenske
C. Dickerman
J. B. Rose
A. L. Dennis
L. Lee Gaines
Paul Grundy
Doyle Wilson
Adrian D. (Tommy) Davis
Bill Richardson
B. Frank Beckett
B. Frank Taylor
Odell Harris
Dan Davis
Don Nichols
A. K. Bracken
Adrian D. (Tommy) Davis ( - May 2008)*
Jerry McGuire (May 2008 – Present)

*Tommy Davis has pastored First Church of the Nazarene twice, the second time for almost twenty years.