History

Andrew Chapel Church was born as a congregation in Brush Arbor meetings in 1841 under the ministry of Tobias Gibson, a circuit rider sent to Mississippi by Bishop Francis Asbury to plant churches in the Natchez area.

The small, unnamed congregation met in a log schoolhouse in the Lizelia community.  Like all Methodist churches in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, Andrews Chapel was a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, which was founded by John Wesley in 1784.  In 1844, the Southern Methodist Conferences separated from the M.E. church and formed the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

When a man named John Morrow gave the fledgling congregation three acres of land in late 1872, they began construction of their first church building, where the modern church now stands.  That yet un-named congregation began as part of the Marion Circuit and was named after a traveling preacher, whose surname was Andrews, who preached the first sermon in the first church building in 1873.  The original building had to be replaced in 1894 and has since undergone numerous building programs and renovations.

At some unknown point in time, the “s” was dropped from Andrews and Andrew Chapel has been the unofficial and official name of the church for generations.  Andrew Chapel became a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church again in 1939 when the M.E. Church, the M.E. Church South and the Methodist Protestant Church all merged with the Methodist Church. 

In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to become the United Methodist Church.  During the 1970s, the UMC made a distinct move toward progressive liberalism which began a decades-long period of dissension within the denomination, particularly concerning the varying views among jurisdictions of the UMC concerning the denomination’s stand on human sexuality, the authority of scripture, and the accountability of Bishops.

After several contentious General Conferences, a special General Conference was held in February 2019 to prepare to divide the UMC denomination for the good of all United Methodists.

One of the results of the 2019 General Conference was the formation of a protocol to allow individual UMC congregations to disaffiliate from the UMC, to keep their property, and become independent.  Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church had been at odds with the Council of Bishops and UMC agencies for decades concerning the increased liberalism and acceptance of LGBTQ activities within the denomination and availed itself of the opportunity to leave the UMC and become an independent Wesleyan congregation. 

On March 21, 2021, with the District Superintendent presiding, Andrew Chapel UMC officially voted by ballot 58 for and 0 against disaffiliation with the UMC.  This action was the culmination of two years of discussion and discernment following the 2019 General Conference.  Following Mississippi Conference and General Conference guidelines, Andrew Chapel UMC became Andrew Chapel Church in July 2021.

For 180 years, the congregation that started in a Brush Arbor meeting in the Lizelia Community and worshipped and served under four Methodist denominations, Andrew Chapel Church has come full circle to become an independent church that looks to the future under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Only the Gates of Eternity know how many thousands of lives have been or will be positively influenced and affected by the members and pastors of Andrew Chapel Church.

We commit ourselves, as did our Brush Arbor ancestors, to bring God glory through worship and service in the Wesleyan tradition.