Bethany United Church of Christ

Bethany United Church of Christ east of Lebanon, Ohio is one of the oldest known churches in this part of Ohio. Bethany UCC at the bend of the road near Interstate 71 on State route 123 is well known. A worship building was located at this spot, as early as 1812 surrounded by woods and mud roads. It was called “New Lights” when a group joined to serve God and to worship.

Bethany Christian church was organized in 1821 by a group of rural people in the community who felt the need for a place of worship. The congregation was formed with 46 names on the charter document. The land for the church and surrounding cemetery was provided by the Hatfield family. A log structure was erected by the people who cut the trees for the logs and donated time and material. A few years later the structure was destroyed by fire.

As the congregation was growing, a larger building was needed. In 1846 a brick building was constructed and remodeled several times. The cemetery was first kept by the county until the church acquired it. During the early days Bethany shared its pastor with Fellowship and Genntown. By 1942 the church employed a full-time pastor.

Bethany was now part of the Miami Conference until it merged with the Congregational Christian churches and became known as Bethany Congregational Church. The church did not have an assigned pastor but shared its pastor with neighboring Fellowship and Genntown churches for several years. When four denominations merged to become the United Church of Christ in 1957, the church subsequently became a UCC church and its name changed to Bethany UCC. It is now part of the Southern Ohio Northern Kentucky (SONKA) Association of the Ohio Conference.