Pastors come and go all across Winn Parish so the Journal doesn’t often interview them. But readers here seem to enjoy local history and when the new pastor at First United Methodist Church started using words like “great grandfather” and “circuit-riding preacher” and “brush arbor,” interest was piqued.
Rev. Joel Carter arrived at FUMC in Winnfield in July of this year. But a family footprint was already in place since his great grandfather James Henry Lewis (he went by “Henry”) was born here Nov. 22, 1862. Ironically, he also died on Nov. 22 in 1946. His wife Alice Smith was a local girl as well. Lewis spent most of his life here, attending Pleasant Hill Methodist as a youth and licensed to preach in 1905 at Winnfield Methodist. He went on to preach 16 years at the South Winnfield church.
The story got interesting when Carter said his great grandfather was a leader in establishing Lewis Chapel, originally a brush arbor about a mile from Beulah Baptist Church. A brush arbor is an open brushwood-built shelter often used for camp meetings. Carter said he can’t show evidence but family history indicates that his ancestor was a circuit-riding preacher. If that meant horse and buggy, he can’t say.
Back to 2023. When Carter arrived here, he had not strayed far from his starting point, born in Shreveport then grew up in Plain Dealing. He tried his hand as a chef in Dallas then Arkansas, met and married his wife, Crystal, and moved back to Plain Dealing where they got back involved with the church.
After a few years, he explained, “the Lord placed on my heart a call to ministry.” But like many pastors, he turned away from that call. That turn was for 19 years until tragedy struck and Crystal died suddenly. “It was at that time that I was one-on-one with God. I could have turned away in anger for the loss but I turned instead towards Him.”
It was during this time also that he was reacquainted with a former middle school friend, Nichole, who had also been through a loss. Understanding and romance led to a second marriage five years ago. Through Nichole, Carter acquired a family of three grown children and three grandchildren.
The new pastor received his license in 2018 and has ministers in Plain Dealing, Oak Grove and now Winnfield. He smiles as he says he likes the place and its people.
