Bethlehem United Methodist Church (Hancock County, Ohio) records

Originally founded as part of the East Findlay council of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, the congregation was composed of four circuits: Pleasant Grove, Bethlehem, Salem, and Mt. Zion. The Bethlehem United Methodist Church collection consists of twenty volumes of record, minute and dues books dating from 1873 to 1982 which document the history of the church, its circuits and membership, and the activities of the two women's organizations.

The first seven volumes of the collection document the life of the original four circuits. Six of these volumes are record books in which were recorded church membership. Two of the six contain information specific to the Salem Circuit. The other four record books include listings relevant to all four circuits. These four record books also contain documentation of baptisms, weddings and funerals, as well as historical sketches of the church circuits. The seventh volume is a quarterly conference minute book containing the minutes, pastoral reports, finance committee reports, and membership listings of the Salem Circuit for the period 1873 to 1888.

The remaining thirteen volumes document the activities of the Ladies Aid Society and the Women's Missionary Association from 1912 through 1961.

Four volumes of minute books detail the membership, monthly meetings and financial activity of the Ladies Aid Society. Oftentimes, the two women's organizations met together and the minute books, particularly that volume covering the period from 1945 to 1955, will include information which also pertains to the Women's Missionary Association. The first of these minute books also includes the constitution which governed the Ladies Aid Society.

The Women's Missionary Association changed its name to the Women's Society of World Service sometime after 1944. The activities and membership of this group are documented in three minute books dating from 1913 to 1944, three dues books covering the period from 1914 to 1948, a financial ledger for the period 1948 to 1960, and the quarterly and annual financial reports prepared by the Society's Treasurer and which were filed with the Evangelical United Brethren Church between 1951 and 1961. The final item within the collection is an illustrated history of the Women's Missionary Association written in 1926.