Our History

Noel’s heritage goes back almost a century, having grown with Shreveport since 1906.

The city was far different at the turn of the last century. In 1900, the population was only 16,000, but during the next decade, it surged 75% to 28,000. Back then, the Methodists had two churches, one downtown and the other in West End. As Shreveporters began migrating to the suburbs, then the area south of Stoner, Bishop Seth Ward felt the time had arrived to start a third Methodist church, one to serve the expanding new area.

In 1906, the bishop appointed Rev. Robert James Harp, a veteran minister, to establish the Shreveport City Mission. Even with help from a prominent Methodist layman, James S. Noel, Harp found his task a tough one. After a year, the membership stood at thirteen, all but one from Noel’s family. During 1908, however, the tide turned. The mission reached a point where it qualified for “church” status, becoming the Creswell Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South. By the end of the following year, membership reached 81 and Sunday School enrollment,163. Mr. Noel was so impressed with the church's potential that he offered to build an edifice in memory of his late son, James, Jr.

Even before construction got under way, the congregation voted to change the name of the church to the James S. Noel, Jr. Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

February 3, 1913, marked a new era—the formal opening of the Noel sanctuary, then the city's largest. It became an immediate magnet, drawing families from all over Shreveport. Ten years later, membership had grown to 847. Then, in 1925, disaster struck. 

Around 7:30 on a quiet September evening, wailing sirens suddenly pierced the autumn air. All available fire trucks responded to a general alarm fire, the second within a week. The earlier one wiped out 200 homes in the Allendale section, leaving over a thousand without shelter. This time, the fire fighters raced toward the 500 block of Herndon, wondering what they would find.

They knew that three companies had been dispatched at 7:00 to fight a routine garage fire behind a duplex at 510-12 Herndon, but it had already been tapped out. Yet, seeing flames shooting skyward as they approached from blocks away, the fire fighters knew it had to be another big one. Indeed, a new fire had broken out just across the alley at Noel Memorial Methodist Church. Within minutes, it roared out of control. Try as they might, the firemen could only save the church building's outer brick shell.  All else, including the beautiful stained-glass windows, perished in the blaze.

At 10:30 that night, while the firemen were still pouring water on the dying embers, the Board chairman convened a meeting at his house to evaluate the situation, a discouraging one to say the least.  The congregation had yet to celebrate is twentieth birthday. The building itself was a mere 12½ years old. Still, the Board would not allow Noel Church to become just a shattered dream. 

The church leaders, in spite of the devastating shock, moved quickly. Sunday School and Church services would be held the following morning as scheduled, but in the Centenary College Chapel.  Finding only two-thirds of the damage covered by insurance, the Board initiated steps that night to raise the difference. The membership accepted the challenge with enthusiasm. And that enthusiasm spread; fifteen new members joined the church the next morning.

This crisis was just one of many faced by Noel Church and also, thanks to an active and supportive membership, one of many to be resolved in the same cooperative spirit. As frustrating as such confrontations may have been, a stronger congregation always evolved. 

Noel's members vary from old to young, sometimes in the same family. Seeing multiple generations at Sunday worship is not uncommon. Emphasis, however, has always been placed on absorbing newcomers into the Noel Church family. In fact, the resurgence of younger families joining the church and participating in its activities is providing the impetus for Noel’s second century. For its part, Noel Church continues to improve and enlarge its facilities, much of it directed toward improving its already excellent youth program. 

RECENT SENIOR PASTORS 
1962-1972  Sam Nader 
1972-1979  Benedict A.  Galloway 
1979-1983  Stone W. Caraway 
1983-1985  W. O. Lynch, Jr. 
1985-1990  Charles B. Simmons 
1990-1992  T. Nichols Evans, Jr. 
1992-1998  Grayson B. Watson 
1998-2003  Steven W. Caraway
2003- Now  David Fortuna

- This history was compiled and written by Thomas F. Ruffin.