The Bethlehem Center has been serving the community of St. Elmo and Alton Park for more than a century. Director of Community Impact, Lillian Moore, said the ministry was originally started in 1920. That’s when a group of United Methodist women came together seeking to impact the lives of people in need.
“Our founders saw needs in specific areas around town and tried to be really intentional about putting roots down here,” she said.
Mrs. Miriam Brock started a Bible study program in 1920 which eventually grew into a daycare and kindergarten class. The Reverend Sallie Crenshaw became a preaching missionary in 1930 and taught Bible studies Sunday mornings in St. Elmo.
Crenshaw noticed a need to take care of children left at home while their parents worked. By 1954, Crenshaw saved enough money to purchase the land and build a new daycare in the building known as the Bethlehem Center today. In 1960 the two women partnered their ministries, and today the Bethlehem Center continues to serve their surrounding community with a variety of services for youth and family…