Sandy Baptist Church is celebrating its 2 hundredth birthday this weekend.
The church, at 9331 Sandy Church Highway northeast of Hillsboro, is believed to be the one church of any denomination in Jefferson County to have served its congregation constantly for 200 years. It is also believed to be the oldest Protestant and Baptist church within the county and one of many oldest recorded Baptist church buildings west of the Mississippi, in accordance with the church’s historical past.
Church members will have a good time the church’s anniversary throughout their annual church homecoming on Saturday and Sunday. Whereas the Sunday celebration is a church service, the general public is welcome to return out from 2-6 p.m. Saturday to be taught in regards to the church and its historical past.
Kate Seitz, one of many homecoming organizers, mentioned cubicles shall be set as much as present details about the church’s ministry packages.
Festivities will embody old-time music and hymns, video games, actions, a chainsaw demonstration and meals. As well as, a cake stroll and a small basic automobile show shall be held, Seitz mentioned.
“Hopefully it will be a nice day and we can enjoy time together outside,” she mentioned.
Some members of the congregation costume up in interval clothes for the homecoming. From left are Joe and Polly Cardona and Lyal and Ginny Chase.
All through the afternoon, the church may have a reenactment of a circuit preacher using in on a horse to an open-air brush arbor church, Seitz added.
Based on church historical past, in 1816, a circuit rider preacher named Thomas Donahue would trip horseback from Jackson to evangelise alongside the Sandy Creek close to Hillsboro. Then, in 1824, a bunch of seven constitution members bought collectively to ascertain Sandy Creek Baptist Church.
Members hewed logs and constructed the primary church constructing at a value of $200. That constructing was later deserted, and in 1843, the congregation constructed a body church in a brand new location for a complete of $600. In 1878, with bricks congregation members created from clay, a church was constructed that’s nonetheless used in the present day for the church’s youth ministry.
Through the years, it’s develop into custom for youth group members to scratch their names within the bricks, Seitz mentioned.
Someday within the Fifties, the church misplaced the creek a part of its identify and have become Sandy Baptist Church. In 1964, members broke floor for the congregation’s present church constructing. It was accomplished in 1966.
On Sunday, members and previous members are invited to a ten:30 a.m. church service with a particular speaker, Brother David Wells, who was the pastor from 2003-2019 earlier than changing into the state director of catastrophe aid for Texas Baptist Males.
The service additionally will embody a short pictorial historical past of the church, and the church will honor members who died over the previous 12 months. Church members may have the prospect to speak about what the church means to them, mentioned Sietz, who joined the church in 2006.
She mentioned her husband has been a member of the church for nearly 50 years.
Seitz mentioned Sandy Baptist is a small southern Baptist church whose members have been concerned in missions all around the world.
She mentioned the church helped clear up communities and supply consolation to folks affected by Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and the twister in Joplin.
Seitz mentioned the church additionally has an lively kids’s ministry, bus ministry and Trip Bible College.
Jason Sparks is the church’s pastor.
Sunday companies embody Sunday College at 9:45 a.m., morning companies at 11 a.m., Group Child from 5:30-7 p.m. and night worship at 6 p.m. Wednesday companies are at 7 p.m.
“Well bless their hearts.”
