About our church...
The four Knuckles brothers donated land
so that Red Bird Mission could be started
in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky
Under the leadership of “The Shepherd of
the Hills”,
John J. DeWall, the Beverly
Evangelical
Church was formed in the
early 1920’s.
In 1927, the “church house”
was built with
native timber, including
the beautiful
chestnut, and the labor of
many local men.
Until 1946, the year of the merger with the United Brethren Church, the Mission Superintendent served as the Beverly pastor. At that time this church received its first full-time pastor and has since been served by several different ministers.
Transforming lives...transforming communities...
I first met the four “Smith” children in my second week as pastor at Beverly UMC. I went to pick them up for Vacation Bible School along with some of the other children from the community surrounding the Church. Immediately I fell in love with them—and they desperately needed to see the love of God expressed to them. Let it suffice to say that there family life, while loving, is not the best of conditions. They live in a trailer with no windows remaining and no running water. They also have periods during the month when food is scarce. In fact, during VBS this past summer, the children spent most of their time filling their bellies, which was fine with the people of Beverly. They attended faithfully VBS, and now are regular attendees of the Wednesday night program for children in K-5th grades. It was because of these children that this program was started. The comment was made by one of Beverly’s members, “If we do it just for these four children, we should surely do it. God is calling us to minister through the love of God to these children”. That is certainly the case. These children learn the songs and stories of the faith, and now understand in many ways the message of the cross. Without the love of Beverly UMC and the Red Bird Missionary Conference, this would not be possible. Along with the “Smith” children, there are approximately 20 other children and 30 youth ministered to on Wednesday evenings at the Church. It is indeed a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.
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