EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; MARY LEE WASSON CAGLE P/54

In this post I will continue my story of a woman named Mary Lee Wasson Cagle. She lived from 1864 - 1955.The survival and expansion of the denomination New Testament Church in Christ depended largely on three women: Mary Lee Harris, Donnie Mitchum and Elliott J. Sheeks. Donnie and Elliott were both wives of local businessmen. Together, the three women organised new churches in Tenessee and Arkansas. 

In 1895, Mary also organised the first congregation in Texas near Abilene. In 1899, she and Elliott were ordained as ministers at the first denominational council held in Milan. As pastor, evangelist and superintendent, she oversaw a growing network of congregations.In 1900, she married H.C Cagle.

In 1902, Mary convened the first annual meeting of the Texas Council of the New Testament Church in Christ; her continuing influence in the Eastern Council (the Tennessee and Arkansas churches) helped tie the group's two branches together. In 1904, she helped create the Holiness Church of Christ (HCC) by leading her organisation into union with the Independent Holiness Church, which had churches in east Texas and the Oklahoma Territory. In 1908, the HCC merged with holiness denominations from the east and west coasts to form the present-day Church of the Nazarene.