First Baptist Church- Mt

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH- MT. PLEASANT, TENNESSEE

HISTORY

The FirstBaptistChurch of Mt. Pleasant was organized in 1903 by Dr. Edgar Folk of Nashville, Tennessee. The charter members were: Mrs. W. J. Pennington, Miss Florence Pennington, Miss Minnie Pennington, Miss Feffie Lee Pennington, Miss Myrtle Pennington, Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Brownlow, and Mrs. W. B. Alexander. Services were held in the Odd Fellow Hall and the Rev. Joe Vessey was full-time pastor. The State Mission Board contributed toward the maintenance of the church. Mrs. Washington Long conducted Sunday School in the old shop.

The church disbanded when Mr. and Mrs. Brownlow moved away. There is no record until 1913. At that time A. J. Casey established a commercial school in Mt.Pleasant, and finding no BaptistChurch, he immediately set about organizing one. Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Walters and other members raised $150 to purchase the lot upon which the present church stands, then occupied by a frame church owned by the CumberlandChurch. There were 40 members at that time. The Brownlow’s returned and devoted themselves to strengthening the church. W. R. Becket served as pastor until 1915 with an annual salary of $700.

In July 1915 the church had 115 members. In September Rev. O. A. Utley became part-time pastor, also serving a church in Columbia. He resigned in July 1916. The church then called Rev. G. H. Freeman as pastor and asked that he live on the field and preach on the second and fourth Sundays for $50 per month. When Bro. Freeman resigned, Rev. Felix Muse of McMinnville moved on the field and served the church until 1919. There were 77 members in 1918. Rev. E. C. Stout of Memphis came as pastor. There was much talk of building a new church building.

In 1921, under the leadership of Rev. J. F. Hight, a new building was erected; it was completed debt free the first Sunday in May 1927. Rev. Hight bought the materials and did a lot of the work himself with the church reimbursing him for some of the material. When He became ill and resigned, the Rev. W. C. Summar became pastor.

There is a gap in the church record until 1936. Bro. Summar was still pastor. Many of the church organizations were active by now including G.A.’s, R.A.’s, W.M.U., Sunday School and BYPU (later named Training Union).

In January 1937, it was suggested that fans be installed in the church as a cooling system. But it was felt by some of the members that this would be more luxury than some of them enjoyed at home. No action was taken. The membership was 190 in 1937. The church property was valued at $20,000.

Rev. Lucins Hart was called to the church as pastor in December 1940. He resigned in 1944. Rev. Harold C. Angel became pastor at a salary of $1553 per year. In November 1945, Rev. Clyde Burke was called as pastor. At that time the membership was 440 with an average attendance of 163 in Sunday School. The value of the church property was $30,000. The pastor’s salary was increased to $1850. The church grew fast under his leadership. He resigned in 1949, and Rev. L. G. Gatlin became pastor. When He resigned, Rev. J. Lowell Knupp was called as pastor in 1951.

In October 1954, the church voted to purchase a parking lot west of the new building, which was the Educational building in back of the church. In June 1955, Harold D. Smith, who had grown up in the church, was ordained to the ministry. In March 1956 the sanctuary was remodeled. Bro. Knupp resigned in 1957.

Rev. E. P. Hart became pastor in June 1957. The educational building was air conditioned in 1958, and the new pastorium was purchased. The average attendance in Sunday School was 217. Rev. Joe B. Good was called as pastor in 1959 and remained until December 31, 1967, with much progress being made in the church.

Rev. J. Victor Brown became pastor in April 1968 and served until October 1971. Rev. Dennis W. Lewis took leadership on April 14, 1972, resigning in June 1975.

Three missions were established with the support of FirstBaptistChurch: Southside (1955), Swan Creek (1956), and Hampshire (1982). All three became organized churches.

The WMU was organized in 1916. Some the WMU Presidents over the years included: Mrs. W. B. Alexander, Mrs. Arthur Leftwich, Mrs. Lee Robinson, Mrs. T. D. Land, Mrs. Ed Smith, Mrs. Billy Lynch, Mrs. Mingle, Mrs. Ben Sneed, Mrs. Juanita Johnson, Mrs. Fred Beard, Mrs. Robert Hull, Mrs. F. G. Rolater, Mrs. W. A. Emmitt, and Mrs. David Hughes.

When Rev. Terry Ailor became pastor on February 22, 1976, the membership was 435 with 261 resident members.

Pastors of FBC in more recent years have been: Toby Everett (1980-86), Daniel Carlen (1987-93), Elmer Crosby (Interim-1993-96), J. C. Christian (1996-2005), Frank Webb (Jan. 2006- present). The church reported in the 2008 ACP a total membership of 545 with 403 resident members, an average of 154 in primary worship attendance and 124 average Sunday School attendance, and a VBS enrollment of 169. Total receipts were $210,412, with total missions giving (including GiftFest) of $42, 410. The church property is valued at $1,869,000, including the FamilyLifeCenter built in 1998.

In the spring of 2006, the interior of the church was refurbished with new paint and carpet, a new baptistery was installed, the choir loft was enlarged, and a music suite was built. Church mission trips to Los Mochis, Mexico, began in February 2006. In August the church adopted the Acts 1:8 model of doing mission work. The AWANA program was started in September, and a new bus was purchased in November. In 2007 the old frame house on church property at the corner of Bond and Wheeler St. was demolished to provide additional parking space. In September of 2008, the Morgan property at the corner of Glass and Wheeler St. was purchased to allow for future growth. In October a new steeple was installed and dedicated. Also in October a new children’s outreach program in the MP housing areas called BLAST (Bible Learning After School Time) was started on Wednesday afternoons. The church began the process of planting a mission in Boca de Arrollo, Mexico, helping to purchase the lot in January 2009, and taking a mission trip there for VBS in April. A monthly Missions Night was started in September 2009.

(Updated Sept. 2009 by Bro. Frank Webb and Martha Hull)

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH- MT. PLEASANT, TENNESSEE

HISTORY

(Condensed Version)

The church disbanded when Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Brownlow moved away. There is no record until 1913. At that time A. J. Casey established a commercial school in Mt.Pleasant, and finding no BaptistChurch, he immediately set about organizing one. Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Walters and other members raised $150 to purchase the lot upon which the present church stands, then occupied by a frame church owned by the CumberlandChurch. There were 40 members at that time. In 1921, under the leadership of Rev. J. F. Hight, a new building was erected; it was completed debt free the first Sunday in May 1927.

Three missions were established with the support of FirstBaptistChurch: Southside (1955), Swan Creek (1956), and Hampshire (1982). All three became organized churches. In 2009 FBC began planting another mission church in the village of Boca de Arrollo, Mexico.

Pastors serving FirstBaptistChurch:

Joe Vessey1903L. G. Gatlin1949-50

W. R. Beckett1914J. Lowell Knupp1951-56

O. A. Utley1915E. P. Hart1957-59

G. H. Freeman1916Joe B. Good1959-67

Felix Muse1918J. Victor Brown1968-71

E. G. Stout1919Dennis Lewis1972-75

John Hight1920-35Terry S. Ailor1976-80

W. C. Summar1936-39Toby Everett1980-86

Lucius Hart1940-43Daniel Carlen1987-93

Harold Angel1944J. C. Christian1996-2005

Clyde Burke1946-48Frank Webb2006-present

(Updated Sept. 2009 by Bro. Frank Webb and Martha Hull)