History
Recognized
as Brady City Mission, the presiding Methodist Conference of Texas report for 1877-1878 in San Antonio, recognizes Rev. J.H. Tucker as being the first circuit rider to record preaching to 600 people with multiple denominational roots in the fall of 1877.
In 1870 the total population of McCulloch County was 173. By 1880 it had grown to over 1500 people. The hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ was fed at first in people’s homes with no true denominational presence. Benjamin Henton and his wife Mary Cynthia Jamison Henton are credited with organizing Methodist home meetings in the very beginning. Their dedication to Christ and the Methodist tradition gave birth to the Methodist Church in Brady Texas. Except for the
occasional circuit rider preacher that came through, Rev. John T. Williamson, a Methodist preacher, arrived on the scene in March 1878. A bi-vocational attorney of law, Williamson preached in buildings used for court and school until 1885. The first Methodist Episcopal Church building was built in 1890 housing approximately 107 members.
Between 1877 and 1975 Brady Methodist Church recorded forty-six pastors. It built its second building on Blackburn Street in 1917.
“The new Methodist Church is a magnificent edifice, one in which all Brady citizens take pardonable pride.” (Brady Harald, Friday, October 5, 1917)
Reverand J.G. Forrester presided from 1916-1918. By 1920 the church had 282 members. By 1925 there were 352 active members of the Methodist Tabernacle in Brady Texas. By 1935 the church grew to 414 members, and by 1945 a bustling 558 roll call. By 1950 membership had grown to a staggering 623 collection of congregants.
By 1962, forty-one years after the church was built, the once magnificent sanctuary of the Methodist Tabernacle had to undergo its first major remodel. In the summer of 1963, Rev. Lamar Leifeste became the pastor. He served until 1975, for 12 years, to this day, is the longest-tenured preacher of Brady Methodist Church.
In 1986 the current building was erected. As of 2023, the church was home to over 130 active members and climbing. As of 2024, Brady Methodist Church affiliates with the Global Methodist Denomination. Many things have changed, many people have called themselves Methodist in our community. However, there is one thing that has remained the same. The hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Jesus Christ is still being fed by God through God's people in the community of Brady, Texas.
We are dedicated to making sure the Heart of Texas is chasing after the Heart of God!