Children

Our 100 Years of History

In 1897, a small group of Gospel workers arrived in Exeter, driving two horses hitched to a covered wagon. They set up camp in the northern part of town, rented an old restaurant building on North Pine Street, and started holding preaching services each night of the week including Sundays. Eli Sweeney did most of the preaching. These services were well attended by the people of our community. When the meeting was terminated the seeds for our church had been sown.

In 1911 John D. Crose and Mamie Bisconer came to Exeter to hold a tent meeting. They pitched their tent on the corner of Palm and E Street. Herb Powell participated in this event and stated: “In this tent meeting I saw the beautiful church of God and gave my all to God. It was a grand meeting and several were saved.” Following the close of that meeting some women in the group started afternoon home Bible Studies. Under the leadership of two outstanding laymen, Herb Powell and James Kirk, the congregation met for worship and study in a rented store building on the corner of Pine and Filbert Street. Lillian Westphall, mother of Dewayne Bell and the Brickley family also contributed significantly to the life and ministry of the new church. At this time their congregation had no permanent senior pastor so, John Murphy and Mamie Bisconer stepped in to give periodic pastoral guidance.

It was not long until J.P. Milford was called to be the church’s first senior pastor. Ermine Awbrey recalls his dedication: “He was pastor when I started going to the church. He worked hard at a regular job during the week and preached on Sundays. I have often wondered how he was able to do it.” Under Pastor Milford’s leadership the congregation purchased a building from the First Baptist Church for $1,000. It was a good building complete with the tall steeple and stained glass windows, and would have served the group’s needs for several years, if misfortune had not struck. The building caught fire and burned to the ground. Insurance money paid off the mortgage, however; all the congregation had left was a vacant lot on the corner of Chestnut and H Street.

In spite of this hardship the congregation continued to meet regularly for worship and study at Wilson School and in private homes. Soon plans took shape to erect a new building on the eastern part of the lot. The congregation had “a mind to work.” Within a short time the group had built a new facility for its worship and education. Pastor Milford served the congregation for five years.

Following his resignation the church called Effie Lavvell to be pastor. She served for three years. Herb Powell spoke positively about her ministry: “She was a splendid person and a good preacher.” In 1919, she resigned and moved to Minnesota to care for her aging parents. Eli Sensney succeeded her as pastor and he served until his wife’s illness forced him to retire in 1923.

The congregation was again without a pastor but, not for long. Ross Minkler came to hold a tent meeting. Attendance was so good that the theater closed its doors while he was in town. One of those persons in attendance at the meeting was Lester Hook. Hook was a young man who had recently converted in a Minkler Crusade in Missouri and had just moved to Visalia. Brother Hook had testified to a call to the ministry, but lacked pastoral experience. The congregation invited him to become its pastor. After much thought and prayer he accepted the call. Hook did a commendable job. Under his leadership the congregation continued to grow in number and in spirit.

In 1928, Pastor Hook resigned and assumed pastoral leadership of the Church of God of Hanford. Mamie Bisconer succeeded him and served for a period of one year. When Pastor Hook resigned from the leadership of the Hanford church and moved back to Exeter, Mrs. Bisconer felt he should resume pastoral oversight at our church. Pastor Hook served our church for five additional years. During this period the congregation built a choir room and an addition to the west side of the sanctuary. When Pastor Hook resigned in 1935, Ralph Conrad received the congregation’s call, he served for five years. Under his leadership the church grew. The Sunday school reached 304 on one occasion. (This was a high water mark up to that time.)In 1940, H.M. Sell became pastor. He was well liked and a man of vision. Sensing the need for more adequate facilities he helped the congregation initiate a building fund and begin to make plans. Poor health forced him to resign in 1945.

In July, 1945, Ray W. Keith became the congregation’s eighth pastor. He was well loved by the church and a respected leader in the community. During his tenure the congregation completed our present chapel. At the start of construction, the old building was moved to the corner of Maple and G St. In March 1950 the building was completed and dedicated. On dedication Sunday the congregation marched from its temporary location to the new facilities on the corner of Chestnut and H St. Built at a cost of $55,000 and with the donation of thousands of hours of labor by many people, the building is presently valued at $135,800. In March of 1952 the mortgage was completely paid off. The church also constructed the present parsonage in 1953 at a cost of $14,500. Many present members and leaders in the church were added during this period of the church’s history. In 1956 Pastor Keith resigned and the congregation called Gean M. Nunneley to be pastor. Pastor Nunneley served our church for 9 ½ years. During this period the present pastor’s study and what was known as “the high school Sunday school class” was added to the building. Also, a number of families were added to our church. Pastor Nunneley was especially appreciated for his expository sermons. 2011- The high school Sunday School class is now the office for Kathy Cox, church administrator.

In May of 1966, John F. Good became the tenth pastor of Church of God of Exeter. He came to the church following his graduation from the School of Theology in Anderson, Indiana. The life and ministry of the congregation continued to progress as well it could have. Also, while he was serving his tenure, Steve Williams served as a youth pastor from 1975-1978. Retired pastor Rev Irene Buckle, Doreen Wilson’s mother, served as visitation pastor. In 1980 Pastor John Good resigned and moved to Portland Oregon. After John Good, Dean Myer became our pastor from 1980-1989. While he was serving Bailey Hagar was hired on staff as the associate pastor. Soon after, Lupe Mireles was called to be our youth pastor from 1987-1991. In the fall of 1987 we were again involved in a building program. We purchased another lot south of the church office complex (the former parsonage.) The church family continued to grow under the leadership of these three men. The congregation size was around 450 people at that time.

When Dean Meyer resigned in 1989, Bailey Hagar served as our interim pastor. He remained until Marvin Middlebrooks was called to be our senior pastor from 1991-1993. We also called Brian Glover to be our youth pastor from 1992-1996. Ground breaking ceremonies were held in April of 1993 for our new Family Life Center. Alan Crawford was asked to be the overall contractor and to be accompanied by Randy Lenz as the subcontractor. Pastor Middlebrooks resigned in 1993 to become a professor at Mid America Bible College. The next pastor was Joel Hutchinson who served our church from 1994-1999 and saw the completion of the Family Life Center. The first service was held in February of 1996. John Urey served as our youth pastor during this time and Bill Haynes became our Seniors’ Pastor from 1996-2008. We now had a church building with more children’s classrooms and a nursery. Greg Kendall became our pastor from 1999-2005. Under his leadership the mortgage was paid off for the Family Life Center and 10 acres of property was purchased as a future building site just south of Exeter city limits. Fred Akison began working with Bill Haynes and then took over as our Seniors’ Pastor when Haynes retired. When John Urey stepped down from his position as youth pastor Keah Kendall took over as youth pastor. Following her Michael Guzman began serving as our church’s youth pastor.

In January 2006, Wayne Putman became our Senior Pastor. Under his guidance, Celebrate Recovery became a part of our Church’s outreach with Gene and Linda Dorrough as leaders. A traditional service was added March of 2008 and the congregation began having three Sunday morning services. The mortgage was paid off on our new property and the Family Life Center as well as the chapel was remodeled. When Michael Guzman became the associate pastor, Rusty Graves became the youth pastor. Pastor Putman resigned in 2011 and at the present time Michael Guzman and Rusty Graves are serving as our pastors.

Our church has been “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in which the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:20)