The Bells
Loving God and Others and Making Disciples (Updated October 2021)
Welcome to the Bell's Home page!
We are glad you dropped by- let me introduce you-
We are most grateful to the one who made us, saves us and brought us together, our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing we have done, or will do, that might be good is done without God. And the things we do that aren't the best are the fault of our failure, not the Lord's.
Joseph E. Bell, Jr. (Joe) was born May 2, 1964 in Birmingham, AL to Joe & Margaret Ann Bell. His parents and brother-in-law Jim have left this world already, but he has two wonderful sisters, four nephews and one niece, grand nephews and nieces and their families, three aunts, two uncles and some terrific cousins. He has been very fortunate to have such a wonderful family and to have grown up in Alabama, home of the Crimson Tide!
Joe was fortunate to meet Teresa at Trevecca Nazarene University in 1985. She was born just outside South Charleston, WV, and moved to Gastonia with her parents. She attended Ashbrook High, then headed for Nashville to be a children's pastor (which she does at Eastside). He came out in 1988 with a fiancée and a B.A. in Religion. She came out in 1989 to get married (June 17) and go with him to Kansas City, where they both attended Nazarene Theological Seminary. Joe left with an M.Div., and Teresa with a M.R.E.
Teresa worked with Joe at Asheville Church of the Nazarene and Nazarene Christian School there. We left in June of 1994 and came to Gastonia. Teresa worked at Upton's department store, and Joe worked at the YMCA, and with Larry Attig at Eastside. Joe and Teresa were also interim pastors of Forest City Church of the Nazarene from March of 1996 until March of 1997. Joe has been pastor of Eastside Church of the Nazarene in Gastonia, NC since May of 1997. He also worked with the Greater Kansas City and Gaston County YMCAs for 8 ½ years, serving as School-Age Program Director with the East Gaston (now Stowe Family) YMCA in Belmont for 5 years, and as an Associate Chaplain with CaroMont Regional Medical Center from 2000-2015. Teresa has worked since 2000 for Curtiss-Wright in Shelby and Gastonia.
A more significant change in 1997 was the arrival of Stephen Andrew Bell (the only "Bell" boy in our extended family) on September 28. We are very blessed to have a wonderful son. He graduated from Ashbrook in 2016, married our bonus daughter Hannah Diezel in 2018, and they both graduated from Trevecca in 2020. He and Hannah both serve as Associate Pastors at Powerline Church of the Nazarene in Elon, NC. They adopted Jessie, a Golden Doodle with the Bell kids' red hair, in 2020 and our blonde Golden Doodle Princess Winnie (Nickname TIgger!) in 2001.
In 2000, thanks to Stephen's aunts, Jean and Ann, we added a beautiful Cocker Spaniel/ Lab mix named Cubby. She left us in 2017, and God sent a Shih Tzu named Murphy, who now rules the home.
In 2005, Paul DeAngulo came into our lives more deeply. Paul, his mother Mary and brother Phillip had been part of our church family, but Mary went to help care for her parents in Ohio. Paul stayed with us for the year and a half he needed to finish at Ashbrook High School, then went through Trevecca, Nazarene Seminary, and now teaches middle school students in Korea. So proud of him.
The final piece of our mixed-up puzzle came in 2005 with the birth of Sarah Elizabeth Bell. Born December 13, 2005, she is the best girl in the world, and we are truly grateful for all the ways God has blessed our family. She is on track to graduate from Ashbrook in 2024 with a High School degree and A.A. and plans to go to Trevecca and teach young children.
Eastside Church of the Nazarene- www.ESNaz.com
Loving God and Others and Making Disciples!