On October 3, 1832, a petition to Mecklenburg Presbytery was received from Union Church in Mecklenburg County requesting that they be received and recognized as a church. The church was received into Presbytery at the fall meeting that same year. The location was near the old Union Cemetery, about a mile east of Brief, in what is now Union County. No record has been discovered concerning the history of the church from 1832-1949. It is thought that these records were lost by the late John Henry Long, as he was crossing Duck Creek. High waters washed them out of the buggy, according to W. Baxter Long. A new building was erected on Concord Road, south of Duck Creek; where there are graves, including Henry Williams, an elder who died in 1865. His wife presented a Bible to the church in his memory, dated 1866.
In 1852, Concord Presbytery confirmed that the church was renamed to Bethlehem, and remained near the grave site until roughly 1894. At that time, it was moved to a site near Highway 218 and Mill Grove Road. Mr. David M. Crowell made the pews that were installed in the church.
The church was then moved to its present location after the consolidation of local schools. Ground was broken on January 9, 1939 with the first service held a year later. The Fellowship Hall and Education Building were completed in 1960. The Celtic-style cross in the sanctuary was carved by Jack H. Ramseur in memory of his daughter, Susan Ramseur Maclin, who died of cancer in 1982. She was the wife of then Pastor Bob Maclin.
In May 2003, ground was broken on an addition that included a Multi-Purpose Room and 2 preschool classrooms. This new addition was dedicated in May of 2004.