Salem Wesleyan Church

The history of Salem Wesleyan church is presented below in two different formats.  The first is a poem of the history written by Rev. Samuel R. Swinney.  The second is a written history compiled for a church directory of the church.

God Works Through Us

By Samuel R. Swinney

May 31, 2009

In the early 50s some people gathered for a reason.

From the Lord, they had received a vision.

God had placed a desire within their heart.

A church for Him they would soon start.

They prayed for the Lord to send a man.

A brush arbor would become a part of the plan.

The evangelist preached, the people prayed,

Long hours before the Lord they stayed.

Soon lost souls were brought in,

People’s lives were freed from sin.

A church was born on this hallowed spot.

The church began to grow a lot.

A church building was bought and moved in;

And that’s how this church did begin.

They chose a pastor named John A. Paulk.

To fulfill the call, he did not balk.

He served a total of twenty-five years.

He labored through joys, pain, and tears.

The attendance was up, and sometimes down.

And fifty-six years later it is still around.

Salem Wesleyan Methodist Church was her name.

But 1968 would bring a name change.

Salem Wesleyan Church is her name today,

And on this sacred hill she plans to stay.

Pastors have come, and pastors have gone;

But God has never left her all alone.

Known today as a praying people,

We still gather beneath her steeple.

We sing and pray and worship the Lord,

We still believe in God’s Holy Word.

Until God’s work is done in this place,

We will worship and pray, and seek God’s face.

The great commission we must fulfill

Until we all reach Zion’s Hill.

So I ask you to pray and believe,

That sinners will salvation receive.

God’s work must always go on

Until we reach our final home.

Be faithful dear saint, stay true to the Lord,

And from Him you’ll receive your final reward.

You’ll hear from His lips, “My child well done,

Come join Me in My Heavenly home!

You’ve been faithful over things a few;

Now, come see the mansion waiting for you!”

Church History

     According to local legend, Salem Church began in the mid 1800’s in the countryside between Grand Ridge and Sneads.  Although little has been recorded of its early years, more recent history has been passed down by written accounts and by word of mouth.

      Records show that in the early 1900’s a small log church stood in the south corner of the present cemetery.  In this humble building, families by the names of Hare, Williams, Daniels, Simpson, Tyus, McKinnie, McMillan, and others gathered to worship God.  Years later, however, services were discontinued, the building was torn down, and the logs burned to make way for a cemetery.

      In 1947, a “Brush Arbor” meeting was held by a Methodist minister, laying the foundation upon which the church was re-built.  People were saved and the need for a church “on the hill” was impressed on the hearts and minds of local people.  Land between the cemetery and the road was donated, and a building was moved to the donated land.  With local help and donated lumber, the “Old Sway Back Church” was built.

      For a time the ministry was covered by a succession of circuit ministers.  Eventually, without a full-time pastor, the people became discouraged and stopped attending services, and in 1949, the church was closed.

      In 1953, in preparation to again hold services, electrical power was supplied to the church building, and God brought a great revival through six weeks of meetings.  Great crowds would gather, filling the church as well as the yard around the church.  Shortly, the Wesleyan Methodist district superintendent, Rev. Foster Piatt, was asked to provide a minister.

      The Rev. John Albert Paulk, from Apalachicola, was called in as pastor, and the building, property and cemetery were purchased from the Methodist Church for $750 in May of 1953.  Charter members of the Salem Wesleyan Methodist Church were: Mildred McMillan Lawson, Trudy McMillan, Josie McMillan, W. E. Money, Yvonne Money, and Leon J. Gilley.  In 1968, with the merger between the denominations of the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Wesleyan Methodist Church, (forming The Wesleyan Church), our local congregation assumed the name Salem Wesleyan Church.

      Over the years, despite its setbacks, the church has been added to structurally, financially, and in numbers.  And, throughout all that time, the little hill known as Salem, meaning “Place of Peace,” has remained dear to its people.

Pastoral Service Record

1947 – 1949                Rev. John Henry Chandler

                                    Rev. C. A. Massey

                                    Rev. John Walters

1953 – 1959                Rev. John Albert Paulk

1959 – 1960                Rev. W. H. Bouington

1960 – 1961                Rev. N. L. Shultz

1961 – 1962                Rev. R. J. Eling

1962 – 1980                Rev. John Albert Paulk

1980 – 1981                Rev. Orville Pufall

1981 – 1986                Rev. Bill Pevy

1986 – 1987                Rev. Michael Nicodemus

1987 – 1991                Rev. Emmett Coble

1991-1993                   Rev. Don A. Lewis

1993-1996                   Rev. Steve Saunders

1996 – present             Rev. Samuel R. Swinney