Berachah Church

Berachah Church is a nondenominational Bible church founded in 1935 in Houston, Texas.[1]

History

Berachah Church was founded by C. W. Colgan, an oil company executive, who created it to evangelize Christianity. In 1950, Robert Thieme came to Berachah. Thieme met with the Board of Deacons at the close of his first Sunday service and recommended that they resign immediately. The board accepted this and from that moment on, according to Joe Wall, Thieme "became the dominant leader who brooked no challenge to his authority."[2] Thieme was pastor at Berachah until he retired in 2003, at which time his only son, Robert "Bobby" Thieme III, was elected by the congregation of Berachah to serve as the new pastor.[3]

Pastors
  • C. W. Colgan (1935–1936)
  • J. Elwood Evans (1936–1940)
  • Richard Seume (1941–1946)
  • William F. Burcaw (1946–1950)
  • Robert Thieme (1950–2003)
  • Robert B. Thieme III (2004-)

Beliefs

According to the church's doctrinal statement, its purpose is to "present isagogical, categorical, and exegetical Bible teaching" and to "present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ both at home and abroad."[4] It holds to eternal security and a premillennial pre-tribulation rapture. Under "Church Ordinances", it lists only the Lord's Supper.[4]

Location

Colgan led a group that broke away from St. Mark’s Methodist Church on Pecore. They met at The Heights Women’s Club (extant) on Harvard Street, just off 20th Street.

During Evans' pastorship, the church built and occupied a small auditorium at 171 Heights Boulevard, while during Burcaw's time, the church transferred to 502 Lamar Street.[1] The current location is 2815 Sage Road, Houston.

References
  1. Lewis, James R. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions (2nd ed.). Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 108–110. ISBN 1-57392-888-7.
  2. Bob Thieme's Teachings On Christian Living by Joe Layton Wall. 1982.
  3. "Investiture Service: The Charge to the Pastor" Archived 2010-01-07 at the Wayback Machine GDC Media. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  4. Berachah Church Doctrinal Statement


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