Henderson Baptist marks 177 years of service to God and community

On Aug. 14, Henderson Baptist Church will celebrate 177 years serving the cause of Christ and its Middle Georgia neighbors.

The church’s pastor, Larry Finley, said the congregation will conduct a special 11 a.m. service with dinner on the grounds at 12:30 p.m.

He said the guest speaker will be Louis Pearce, associational missionary for the Emanuel Baptist Association, who was ordained at Henderson Baptist 44 years ago.

Finley said former pastors will be recognized, and members who have died in the past three years will be honored. Also, a youth choir will sing a medley of classic children’s Sunday School songs.

He said the offertory hymn will be played on piano by the church’s oldest member, 92-year-old Louise Bembry.

Church documents show it was in 1839 that three ministers, J. Langley, Allen Morris and A.T. Holmes, met with eight members in the Pennuel schoolhouse to constitute the church.

At the time, it was called County Line Baptist church. Today, the congregation still meets in southwest Houston County not far from the Dooly County and Macon County lines. Facilities sit just south of the intersection of U.S. 41 and Ga. 96, with Interstate 75 only 1.5 miles to the east.

“You could say we’re a little church out in the middle of nowhere, but we’re a growing church,” Finley said. “In the past two-and-a-half years we’ve seen our Sunday School grow from 42 to 81. Sunday mornings we average around 100 to 130 people with about 100 children, youth and adults on Wednesdays. A lot of churches say you can’t get people to come on a Wednesday night anymore but that’s not what I’ve seen.”

Finley said faithfully preaching the Gospel is growing the church. He said it can be hard preaching three new sermons each week, but it’s worth it.

“My wife, Laura, and I came here from a much larger church in Florida two-and-a-half years ago,” he said. “Someone told me later they were a little afraid to ask me to come because they were such a small church. I told them there’s no such thing as a small church — you’re only small if that’s what’s in your mind and heart. If you preach the Gospel, God will bless it and people will be saved.”

Finley said such faithfulness past and present has allowed the church to stand for 177 years.

There’s no record of exactly when the church’s name was changed, but the first mention of it being Henderson Baptist came in 1845.

Church records show blacks and whites made up the church membership in early days, sometimes meeting in separate services and sometimes in combined. In 1860, records show 209 members, 107 white and 102 black. In 1868 an independent black congregation was formed but continued to use the Henderson Baptist building.

“What 177 years means to me is that a lot of blood, sweat and tears has been shed by those who thought we needed a church here,” Finley said. “It means Henderson Baptist has remained alive, still vibrant, and I believe it means that if this church can stand and grow any church can.”

Finley spoke of the work of unknown Christians who labored in the past to see the church flourish as well as those in recent history, like Molly Ragan, Neva Sikes, Lucile Hammock and Fred Langston Sr.

“We wouldn’t be here without them using their gifts and talents for the Lord,” he said. “They and so many others left their handprints all over this church in their day, and then you think of someone like Dozier Blackstock today or Ginger Vance, who does a remarkable job on our website and bulletins. In this digital age she’s given us the best website I’ve had in any church large or small. This is a wonderful, giving church.”

Laura Finley said 177 years is evidence of the power of relying on God.

“To me, the celebration is about perseverance and total dependence on the Lord to overcome problems and issues back then like we have to today,” she said. “We can look back and say, ‘They overcame. We can, too.’ They depended on Scripture when it says things like ‘if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will heal their land’ and ‘do not become weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ They’re such an example to believe God.”

Finley said the tradition continues.

“We’re still here to tell of God’s love and be part of our community,” he said. “Our Fourth of July fireworks celebration had more than 250 people line the streets and watch. On 9/11, in just over a month, we’re going to honor first responders and all they do for us. It’s a way to give back to the community and minister to them. We’re calling it Back the Blue, and we’ll have breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and a special service at 10:30.”

Finley said the church doesn’t just give back locally.

“There was $1,500 needed to pay off property for an orphanage in Moldova,” he said. “We took a love offering of about $3,300, well above the need. That’s just the way people’s hearts are here. This is the giving-est church I’ve ever seen.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Henderson Baptist marks 177 years of service to God and community."