Rev. and Mrs. Charles Yeakel

MENDOTA – When driving into Mendota south on Highway 251, there is a church on the right side of the road.

For some it’s just a building or just a church.

Others know it’s the United Pentecostal Church and it has been there a long time to solidify itself as a rightful place of worship, not just a church.

The solidification takes a step forward at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 17 as the United Pentecostal Church celebrates its 50^th anniversary and at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 19 when it celebrates the 20^th pastoral anniversary of Rev. Charles Yeakel and his wife Devra Yeakel.

In 50 years, United Pentecostal has made some lasting memories and foundations.

“The church started in 1974. There was a lady in Mendota (Mabel Dober), who has passed away, was a Pentecostal lady who went to church in Princeton at the United Pentecostal Church,” Rev. Yeakel said. “But she wanted to see a Pentecostal church started in Mendota. There was another lady from town with three little kids who also went to the church in Princeton.

“They started having prayer meetings. The pastor in Princeton, Rev. Oliver Spencer, would come to the lady’s house in Mendota and hold a service once a week. They ended up renting the Faber Hotel in Mendota and had service there for three years. In 1975 they got their first pastor, Rev. James Cahill, and he was with them for 1 ½ years.

“When he left, the church was without a pastor for nine months. My father-in-law had started a church in Mulberry Grove and was there for 11 years. He was a friend with the presbyter who was holding Sunday services when there wasn’t a pastor. Harold came in May of 1977 and was voted in as the new pastor, 2-0.”

In 1977, the newly married Yeakels came to help Rev. Harold Koonce and his wife Bernice for two years.

They saw the church move from the condemned Faber Hotel to the back of the Setchell Insurance building for a year before moving to Rev. Koonce’s house on Fifth Street in Mendota where his and Bernice’s living room was converted into a sanctuary for two years.

In 1980, United Pentecostal bought the property on Highway 251 and built a 30x60 place of worship, which seated 125 people.

With congregation expansion, Rev. Koonce and members of the congregation expanded the church in 1988.

“We have a very friendly congregation with great people. Most of God’s people, I have found over my years, are very good people,” Rev. Yeakel said. “Their lives have been changed by the gospel. They begin to take on the character of Jesus Christ in their lives. A lot of it trickles down from Pastor Koonce and his wife. They were very down to Earth people who were welcoming and loving. I think it has filtered through the church for years. We’ve tried our best to follow down their pathway.

“We have a great group of people. We have people from Earlville, Princeton, Tiskilwa, LaSalle, Peru, Rochelle, and the small towns in between. Half of our congregation is from out of Mendota.”

Rev. Yeakel and Devra were youth ministers in Mississippi (1979-80), pastored in Auburn for a couple of years, landed in Rochelle’s new church in 1982, came back to Mendota in 1988 to assist Rev. Koonce, left for Oak Valley Pentecostal Church in Ramsey (outside of Pana) for seven years and came back to Mendota in January of 2004 when Rev. Yeakel knew it was time to relieve Rev. Koonce.

Rev. Koonce resigned in 2023 at the age of 74. He passed away Dec. 3, 2021, at 92, a year after Bernice passed away Nov. 7, 2020, at 91.

“The church in Oak Valley was an older church and had run down. The pastor had been there for 39 years before health issues didn’t allow him to stay,” Yeakel said. “Over the seven years I was there, we did a lot of updating and remodeling. I left my office until last because I didn’t want people to think I put myself first. At the close of a revival service we had right before the last coat of paint was put on my office, the man who was a guest speaker told me, ‘I have a word for you from the Lord. God’s calling you back to the city.’

“I knew when he said that he was talking about Mendota. The funny thing was, the year before, 2002, my father-in-law asked me to take the church. The answer was no. I still needed to be a shepherd for the flock in Oak Valley.

“When the man said what he said in 2003, I told the Lord, ‘If you want me to go back to Mendota, you’re going to have to have my father-in-law ask me again.’ At the end of a visit, he asked me again and I said, ‘Yes, the Lord showed me it is time.’”

Rev. Yeakel has had his brother-in-law, Tim Koonce along with wife Polly, assisting him and Devra since 2021.

Through one transition to the next, the Yeakels and the United Pentecostal Church make the location on Highway 251 a special destination for worship.

“We’ve baptized about 400 people over the years. It’s still happening today. We just had a 15-year-old girl that was filled with the holy ghost a week ago,” Rev. Yeakel said. “With any congregation, people move in and out of the area. Generally, the church has stayed in the ballpark of 75-80 as far as attendance on Sundays.”