[1] He organized this first permanent Methodist group in Missouri at St. Louis on January 7, 1821, after previously finding 20 members in 1807.

Walker supported his family by dressing furs and preparing deer-hides, the most common material for clothing in this era.

[3] He has been considered perhaps the Methodist Church's most pioneer frontier preacher as between 1802 and 1835 he served from Tennessee to Missouri and from Southern Illinois to Wisconsin.

He preached in Tennessee and Kentucky until 1806 when presiding elder William McKendree selected Walker to be the lone Methodist representative for Illinois as the previous appointee did not fill out the year, making him the fourth Methodist preacher appointed to this state.

With little money and materials, Walker was given some Illinois trees to be used as logs for the construction of the first Methodist church in Missouri.