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WHERE TRADITION MEETS TODAY
Our story began more than 150 years ago, when settlers came from Rising Fawn, Georgia by wagon train to establish a church out west. The group settled in the area and, in 1871, began meeting in a simple, wood-frame house. The first formal service in the newly-built chapel took place in February of 1872. As the first Methodist congregation in the area, crowds came from as far as 20 miles away to attend the then-named Oak Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Through wars and droughts, through fires and famines and floods, God has faithfully used the people of White’s Chapel to share the Gospel to the surrounding community. That pioneering spirit continues today: though times have changed, our need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our need to worship, grow and serve, and our need to shine the Light into the darkness hasn’t. That’s why White’s Chapel is a church “Where Tradition Meets Today!”
REV. LEWIS M. WHITE
As the first Methodist church in northeast Tarrant County, White’s Chapel had traveling preachers (known as “Circuit Riders”) fill the pulpit. One of the most popular of these early parsons was the Tennessee-born Rev. Lewis M. White. Under his leadership, the new church blossomed and came to be known by his name. Every week, people were showing up at “White’s Chapel.” The church had many dedicated pastors who followed in White’s footsteps.
In 1971, the church celebrated its centennial and, at the celebration, the State of Texas presented the church with a historical marker. The ceremony marked a new era for the church. In the ‘80s, the population of northeast Tarrant County grew dramatically and the church grew along with it. By 1985, the small, building was unable to meet the needs of the community. A new sanctuary was built to hold 300 people and a choir of about 30. The first service in the new area (now known as Grace Chapel) was held on Easter Sunday in 1988.
OUR CO-PASTORS
Now, with Drs. John McKellar and Todd Renner, the church has more than 16,000 members and an average of 5,000 worshipers in weekly worship (on campus and online). While the church’s ability to engage large numbers is a point of pride, discipleship at White’s Chapel goes much deeper than church attendance. Thousands of children, youth, and adults participate in discipleship classes every week, and the church outreach team engages in missions of mercy and justice, both locally and around the world. All these actions are tied together in a single vision: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world! It is a call that drives the church to maintain that “small church” feel that has described the ministry of White’s Chapel from its inception – being a church of real people making a real difference.
LOOKING AHEAD
Going forward, White’s Chapel is committed to living out the dreams that inspired the settlers who came before us: the dream that our community could be rooted in a place of worship, that people would allow God to shape and guide their lives, that others would know us by the fruit we bear, and that grace would really make a difference – across the street and across the world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the presence of love and grace, and through the open hearts of our community of faith, we have been blessed by more than 150 years of powerful ministry… and we can’t wait to see (and to share) what God has in store for us next.
