Wesley Chapel's History
The vision of having a worshipping congregation at Wesley Biblical Seminary was given to Dr. Ron Smith in 1998 and in God’s perfect timing it has come to fruition. After much prayer and waiting on the Lord, on December 3, 2007, the organizational meeting of Wesley Chapel was held in the Board Room at WBS with twenty-three people in attendance. The pastoral staff of Wesley Chapel, with Dr. Ron Smith as senior pastor, would be volunteers, with the Youth Pastor and a part-time Director of Music as the only paid staff. In addition, the facilities would be rent free, giving us the unique opportunity to set a ultimate goal of 80% of our tithes and offerings going to missions and 20% going for operations and programs. The purpose of Wesley Chapel is to win souls for Jesus Christ in Jackson and around the world and build the legacy of faith, using Luke 18:8 as our guiding scripture.
Following the initial organization meeting, a series of prayer and strategy meetings were held, and then Sunday evening worship services began. The first service was held in Clement Hall on December 16, 2007 with Dr. Ron Smith preaching on "Christmas is Family" and ending with a circle of prayer. Following worship was a fellowship time in the Student Lounge and afterwards a business meeting was held for those who wished to remain. This was the format of our worship services in the period between December 16, 2007 and January 27, 2008.
Renovation of the sanctuary for Wesley Chapel was begun on December 19, 2007. Pews were dismantled to be refinished, some foundation repair was done, the platform was extended, an altar built, the interior was completely painted, and new flooring was installed.
Wesley Chapel's first official committee meeting was that of the Worship Committee on January 18, 2008.
The Organizational Choir rehearsal was conducted January 30, 2008, with fourteen in attendance, and was led by Lewis Oswalt.
The first formal worship service, John Wesley’s Covenant Service, was held in the Chapel of Wesley Biblical Seminary on Sunday, February 3, 2008, with sixty-three in attendance. The officiants were Dr. Dan Burnett and J Nelson, Youth Pastor. Holy Communion was served by Dr. Ron Smith and Dr. Dan Burnett. Pianist was Joyce Burnett.