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CHURCH HISTORY OF FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH

In June of 1903, five girls met with their teacher. W.S. Farmer, and formulated the Philathea Class of First Baptist Church.  Realizing the spiritual needs of the people who lived in the Wilkinson Street area, the Philathea Class bought a lot on Wilkinson Street.  They sold 1,000 shares of stock at $1.00 each and built a 24 X 30 foot building in which they started a Sunday School.  This was the first regular religious service held in that section.

It is interesting to note that the first Sunday School classes were held on Sunday afternoons.

The Sunday School grew and it became necessary to enlarge the building.  In March, 1920, this task was completed.  Worship services were later added and the church became known as First Baptist Chapel of Frankfort, Kentucky, a mission of First Baptist Church.  It was often called by the name Baptist Mission.

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Some of the early pastors of the First Baptist Chapel were Rev. Fulton, Rev. George Redding, Rev. Hugh Shelton, Rev. Elroy Lamb and Rev. Herman Marx.  Rev. Marx was ordained in 1948 and served as pastor until 1968.

Due to road construction necessary for a four lane highway, it became necessary to tear down the First Baptist Chapel building on Wilkinson Street.  The members met at the Wilkinson Street School for a period of time.

In 1967, the congregation of the First Baptist Chapel decided to become an independent and self-supporting church.  On March 14, 1967, a meeting was held at the Wilkinson Street School for the purpose of organizing a church.  The following three trustees were chosen:  Harry True, Chairman, Norman Sallee,  and Kenneth Rayborn.

Nine names were suggested for the church, with Faith Baptist Church finally being chosen.

Other officers elected at that time were:  Vernon Jones, Moderator, Danny Collett – Assistant Moderator, Frances West – Treasurer and Nancy Rayborn – Church Clerk.

Rev. Herman Marx was the first pastor of Faith Baptist Church.

The Faith Baptist Church was constituted at First Baptist Church on July 30, 1967, with seventy (70) charter members.  The following deacons were ordained at that time:  Vernon Jones, Chairman, Danny Collett, Jesse Hedges,  Harry True and Kenneth Rayborn.

Plans were made to build on Old Harrodsburg Road on Colon Jones’ property.  However, this did not materialize.

Due to ill health, our pastor, Rev. Herman Marx, was forced to resign in December of 1968, effective January 1, 1969.

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The work of the Lord went on, and on March 5, 1969, the church voted to buy property at Bridgeport.  Property was purchased on April 5, 1969 through the generosity of one of the church members, Frances West.  The property purchased was a house and lot.  The house was used for the sanctuary and Sunday School.

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The first prayer service was held in the building on April 30, 1969, with the first Sunday worship service being held on May 4, 1969. Rev. Jerry Barker was called as pastor in August, 1969.

Construction was begun on the new church building in the summer of 1969.  Once again the congregation had to remember what the name of our church implied, as on Friday, October 31, 1969, the church building under construction collapsed while shingles were being put on the roof.

Our hearts were saddened by the death of our former pastor, Rev. Herman Marx on October 27, 1970.  He had labored faithfully in the work of the Lord at the Chapel for over twenty years.

Rev. Jerry Barker resigned in August of 1971 to accept the call to Panther Creek Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky.

The Faith Baptist Church building was completed in the summer of 1971.  Dedication service was held on August 29, 1971, at 2:30 p.m. with Dr. George Redding as guest speaker.

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Rev. David Royalty was called as pastor in August, 1971.  The first Roll Call Service and Homecoming was held in the new building on September 26, 1971, with 31 members answering the Roll Call.  Rev. David Royalty was the speaker.

Rev. Royalty resigned as pastor in July of 1972.

In September of 1972, Rev. Elmer N. Lee was called as pastor of Faith Baptist Church.

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The church debt was paid off and a note burning service was held on March 2, 1975.

Dwight Parker was hired as Minister of Youth, effective July 20, 1975 and served until May 16, 1976.

Rev. Lee resigned on December 12, 1976, effective January 9, 1977, to accept the pastorate of Marathon Baptist Church in Marathon, Florida.

Rev. Robert G. Cook was called as pastor of Faith Baptist Church on February 23, 1977.  He began his work as pastor on February 27, 1977.

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Barry Marston was ordained as deacon on March 27, 1977.

Homecoming and Roll Call Service was held on September 11, 1977.

Robert Proctor resigned as Youth Director to accept the pastorate of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in April, 1978 and Mark Coldiron was called to replace him.  Mr. Coldiron served until July 15, 1979.

Robert Proctor was ordained into the gospel ministry in May, 1978.

A big step was taken by the congregation when in July, 1978, additional land and a vacant building was purchased from George Gaines.

In August of 1978 the church auditorium was renovated.  New light fixtures were installed, the interior painted and paneling was added.

August 1979 was an important month for our church as we a participated in a yard sale and walk-a-thon for our building fund.  The yard sale raised over $300 and the walk-a-thon over $2,000.  As a result of these activities, the church was able to pay off debt on the property purchased in 1978.  A note burning service was held on Sunday, September 16th on Homecoming and Roll Call Day.

In September, 1979, the church voted to get an estimate on building a concrete block sanctuary 40 ft. x 80 ft.  This was later changed to a frame building.

Our building program was the highlight of the 1979-80 church year.  The church originally voted to build on the site of the Sunday School building, which they wanted to sell with the understanding that the buyer would move it.  It was later discovered that the house could not be moved because of obstacles.  It was then that the church decided to build the educational wing on the sanctuary.

The contract was awarded on May 7, 1980, to Mr. James Norton to construct this new addition, as well as remodeling the pulpit and choir area.  Construction began on July 9, 1980.

Bricking the entire building and installing central air conditioning was also included in the contract.

The church members also paneled and decorated the front of the Sunday School building.

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On Saturday, July 19, 1980. Mrs. Adah Marx. Wife of our former pastor, Herman Marx, passed away.

A dedication Service for the new Educational wing was held on September 21, 1980, in conjunction with Homecoming and Roll Call Day.

A church steeple was erected and a Church Steeple Dedication Service was held on November 2, 1980.  The church steeple was donated by Joe Yancey.

The church Constitution and By-Laws were adopted by the church on February 27, 1981.

Rev. Robert Cook resigned as pastor in July of 1981 and moved to Georgia, where he accepted the pastorate of Double Heads Baptist Church.

Rev. Victor Johnson was called as pastor of Faith Baptist Church effective November 1, 1981.

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The house on the property that the church purchased from George Gaines was torn down and a picnic shelter was built on the lot.  The shelter was named the Frances West Memorial Shelter.  The dedication service for the shelter was held on September 19, 1982.

On January 15, 1984 Jesse Pulliam, Bob Anderson and Joe Yancey were ordained as deacons.

Rev. Victor Johnson resigned as pastor in July, 1987, effective on August 16, 1987.

On December 13, 1987 John Morris and Bill Applegarth were ordained as deacons.

Brother Everett Hawkins was called as interim pastor on October 18, 1987, effective November 1, 1987, and served in this capacity for 17 months.

An Ordination Service for Bro. Hawkins was held on April 16, 1989 at the Old Cedar Baptist Church in Owen County.

After much prayer and supplication, Rev. Hawkins accepted the call as pastor of Faith Baptist Church on April 2, 1989.

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Donald Cable and Leon Tracey were ordained as deacons on September 30, 1990.

The church voted on December 6, 1989 to proceed with the necessary construction to build an addition onto the picnic shelter for a baptistery and two combination dressing rooms/bathrooms, and to enclose the shelter to provide five (5) Sunday school rooms, kitchen and fellowship hall.  Construction on this addition was begun on April 13, 1990.  Most of the work was done by the members.

The first baptismal service was held in the baptistery on March 24, 1991, with four (4) people being baptized.  The building was not completed at the time of the baptismal service.

The building was complete in September 1991 and a certificate of occupancy was issued on September 18, 1991.

The church dedication service was held on Sunday night, October 20, 1991.

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The Sunday School Building in front of the church was torn down and removed from the lot in December of 1991 and the area was used for parking.  This was the building that originally served as the church auditorium when the congregation of Faith Baptist Church first moved to Bridgeport.

In September of 1992 the church concentrated on having a drive to raise funds to pay off the church debt and to help with remodeling expenses, carpeting, etc.  Sufficient funds were raised to pay off the church debt and additional funds were raised on Homecoming Day.  A Note Burning Service was held at the Homecoming Service.

On October 29, 1995 the church voted to buy James’ property next door to the church.  The property consisted of a house, garage and a lot.  The house is currently being used as rental property.

Plans were made to build a new church sanctuary adjoining the present sanctuary.  A special offering was taken on Homecoming Day, September 28, 1997.

A special called business meeting was held on December 17, 1997 for the purpose of deciding whether or not to accept plans for the new sanctuary.  The vote was unanimous to proceed with the building of the new sanctuary.  Work on the building was started in March, 1998 and was completed in January, 1999.  A certificate of occupancy was issued for the new church sanctuary on January 5, 1999.  The first service was held in the new building on January 10, 1999.

A Dedication Service was held in the new sanctuary on January 17, 1999.  Brother Ken Forman had the dedication prayer and Brother David Rayborn gave the dedication message.

The first baptismal service was held in the new sanctuary on Sunday morning, January 24, 1999.  The service was held during the morning worship service and the baptism was done by Norman Sallee, Chairman of Deacons.

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The church voted at the June 9, 1999 business meeting to proceed with the renovation of the former church sanctuary and to start work on the kitchen area.  The building was named Faith Hall and will be used as a combination fellowship hall and Sunday School rooms.  The work on Faith Hall was completed in September 1999, in time for the annual Homecoming Service.  A Dedication Service

For the building will be held at a later date.

Faith Baptist Church now has a membership of 389 and is growing in the spirit of the Lord under the leadership of Brother Everett Hawkins.

Written by:  Nancy Rayborn

Church Historian

Revised September, 1999

In March of 2001 the church elected a committee to look into calling a Youth Minister.  On November 4, 2001 a special meeting was held and Bill Draper was elected to this position.

In July of 2001 gravel was added beside the rental house to provide additional parking for the church.

In September of 2002 Mrs. Hazel Buffin donated $10,000 to the church for the express purpose of having the parking lot paved.  The money was held until the paving was a possibility.

In July of 2003, the house which the church was using as rental property was torn down.  The church had voted to demolish the house since additional parking space was needed.  The space where the house once stood provided that needed area.

In September of 2003 the church held a note burning ceremony to celebrate paying off the debt on the new sanctuary building project.

In March of 2006 the church voted to hire Joe Oney to replace Bill Draper as our Youth Minister.  He remained in that position until December 6, 2006, at which time the Youth Program was temporarily suspended.

In April of 2006 the church voted to allow Faith Hall to be used as the Bridgeport Voting Precinct.

On September 28, 2008 Bill Nelson and Ed Whittaker were ordained as deacons. Don Brewer was installed as deacon at this time.

In December of 2010 our Youth Program was re-established and Jody Short was called as our new Youth Pastor.  His wife, Charity, will be assisting him.

In September of 2011 the church voted on the cost and a contractor for having the parking lot paved.  The actual paving was done in October of 2011.  The money which Mrs. Hazel Buffin had donated covered a large portion of the cost of the parking lot pavement.

The church voted to build additional classroom space by expanding Faith Hall.   A contractor was hired and construction began on June 6, 2011.   A new entrance and a drive through portico were also built.  The entire construction project was paid for from the church’s building fund.  The project was completed and used for the first time on Homecoming Sunday, October 16, 2011.

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On March 4, 2012 Jody Short was ordained into the Gospel Ministry.

On April 22, 2012 Kenny Hall and Jeff Harrod were ordained as deacons.  Jack Lee and Frank Wagoner were installed as deacons at this time.

On Wednesday night, January 8, 2014, the congregation began coming into the church for prayer meeting only to find that the sprinkler system had frozen and burst.  The entry way received the most damage and had to have new dry wall, light fixtures, pictures and carpeting.  The entire church building was flooded and all of the carpet had to be replaced.  The kitchen floor also had to be taken up and replaced.  Kenny Hall, a deacon of our church, contracted to remove and replace damage done by the flooding.  Many of the church members worked to help with this effort.  The church did not miss a worship service.  Under Kenny’s leadership the work was completed by the end of April.

A special thank you from the Pastor to all those who worked so hard.  Once again Faith lived up to her name and the Lord brought good from bad.

On August 31, 2014 Jason Colston and David Morrow, Jr. were ordained as deacons.

On March 8, 2015 Jody and Charity Short resigned as Youth and Children’s Minister, effective March 29, 2015.  The church had a reception on March 22, 2015 in honor of their ministry at Faith.  We pray for them in their new calling at Glens Creek Baptist Church.

Over the years God has blessed Faith Baptist Church in many ways.  He has blessed Her with many changes in the facilities, but more importantly, in the salvation of the souls He has saved through the preaching of His Word by the church.  It is those victories that we celebrate as we look at the numerical growth God has blessed Faith with.  As of April 1, 2015, our membership is 615, each number representing a soul God has saved and placed in His Family at Faith.  May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless Faith Baptist Church to the praise of His Glory.

Updated by:    Stephanie White, Church Clerk

                          Janet Johnson, Asst. Church Clerk

                          March, 2015

In January of 2015 the church voted to have a website built with information regarding the church, the meeting times and activities.  A committee was appointed and met for several months to assist in the design of the website.  Roger Barkley of Barkley Music and Media was selected to build the website and it was completed and opened for viewing in June of 2015.  The website is www.faithbaptistfrankfort.org.

On May 7, 2015 the church had a security system installed covering all classrooms, the parking lot, Faith Hall, the church entry and the white building.

In August of 2015 new windows were installed in Faith Hall and the Sunday
School rooms.

Updated by:  Janet Johnson

                         Asst. Church Historian

                         August 22, 2015

The year 2016 was a year of sadness and of great joy.  In February we lost one of our deacons, Kenny Hall, to cancer.  Kenny was a tremendous asset to the church and will be greatly missed.

In April our pastor, Brother Everett Hawkins, was diagnosed with cancer and  be underwent treatment for several months.  In his absence, Brother Tom Hall filled in as interim pastor.  Brother Tom was a real blessing to the congregation and helped the church keep our spirits up and our faith strong.

Brother Everett began preaching occasionally on a “as he felt like it and the doctor permitted” basis in the fall.  He will be back full-time on January 1, 2017.  God has again performed a miracle in his life and we give God all the praise and glory for his exceptional recovery.

Updated by: Janet Johnson

Church Historian

December, 2016

2017

We are happy to announce that Brother Everett is now back in the pulpit on a full-time basis.

On April 3, 2017 Frankfort was hit by a bad storm and the siding and roof on the White Building were damaged and had to be replaced.  The work was completed in June.

On Sunday, July 30, 2017, Danny Harrod, our Youth Leader, informed the church that he would be stepping down from that position.  Stayce Towles and Vickie Nobbe will be the new Youth Leaders.

The year of 2017 will see Faith Baptist Church celebrating its’ 50th anniversary.  A special service will be held on Homecoming Sunday with a pictorial video of members who have gone to be with the Lord in the past several years.  A special sermon will be given by former Faith pastor, Vic Johnson.

On Sunday, September 17, 2017, Paul Nobbe and David Conway were ordained as deacons.

This is also the year for election of deacons.  The following men were elected as Deacons to serve for the next three years:

Ed Whittaker        Norman Sallee                Don Brewer

Frank Chism          David Morrow, Jr.          John Morris

Dan Inabnitt          Jason Colston                 Joe Yancey

David Conway       Paul Nobbe

On Sunday, September 24, 2017, the church celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Homecoming Service and dinner after the morning church service.  Special music was presented honoring the past members of the choir who had gone to be with the Lord.   Plaques were presented to Norman and Ruth Sallee, Ronnie and Wanda Holder and Nancy Rayborn to commemorate the fact that they were still active members of Faith Baptist Church after being charter members when the church was constituted in 1967.  Brother Vic Johnson, a former pastor of Faith, presented the sermon.  There were approximately 200 people attending the service.

Updated by: Janet Johnson

Church Historian

September. 2017

2018

This has been a relatively quiet year at Faith.  We lost one of our Deacons, Bro. Don Brewer, and one of our charter members, Mrs. Nancy Rayborn, in October.

On November 4 our pastor, Bro. Everett Hawkins, began his thirty-second year at Faith.  On this date he also announced that he would be retiring in one year – October 31, 2019.  At the December business meeting we will be electing a search committee to begin the process of finding a new pastor for Faith.  This will be a sad process for everyone as Bro. Everett and Kay Morgan are greatly loved.

In the December 5 business meeting the church elected a Search Committee to begin the process of finding a new pastor to replace Bro. Everett Hawkins when he retires.  Ed Whittaker, John Morris, Paul Nobbe, Stayce Towles and Wanda Holder were selected to serve on the committee.

 Updated by: Janet Johnson

Church Historian

January, 2019

On Sunday, July 14, 2019, the Faith Baptist Church Search Committee made the motion in a special business meeting that Bro. Todd Hatfield be considered as the new pastor to replace Bro. Everett Hawkins. Bro. Hatfield will be bringing the Sunday morning and Sunday night sermons on July 21, 2019. A membership secret ballot vote will be taken on Sunday, July 28, 2019.

On July 28, 2019 the church held a vote on Brother Todd Hatfield as our new pastor. There was a quorum of 138 members present and the vote was totaled at 134 to 4 to approve Bro. Hatfield. He will be informed of the vote Immediately.

Bro. Hatfield and his family attended church on Sunday. July 21, 2019. He preached both morning and night services. Bro. Hawkins will turn the pulpit over to him after August 18, 2019.

 

 

During September the Sunday School wing of the church was updated with new flooring and fresh paint on the walls and woodwork. Members of the church did a portion of the work and Lowes laid the new flooring.  Work was completed and the building was ready in time for the September 22 Homecoming dinner.

January, 2020

At the monthly business meeting on January 8, 2020, the church voted to hire Blake Clarkson as the church Music Minister.  He will begin service on January 19.

The church also voted to make changes to the church sign.  It will be a cabinet sign with printed graphics and a reader board section with one set of 4 inch letters.  The cost will be $3,075  and will be paid for through the Projects Fund.

In March of this year the U.S. was hit with a Coronavirus Pandemic. On March 23, in conjunction with President Trump’s attempt to control the spread of the virus, the Governor issued a “stay at home” order for the state of Kentucky. All social functions and non-essential commerce were closed. This included churches. Bro. Todd held church services via Facebook. On Easter Sunday services were held in the parking lot of the church. Cars were parked in every other parking space and participants stayed in their cars and listened to Bro. Todd deliver the sermon from the church portico.

At the June 10th Faith Baptist Church leadership team meeting it was decided that:

1. There was one church service beginning on June 21 at 11:00 A.M.

2. There was one adult Sunday School class in the sanctuary at 9:30 A.M.

3. Children Sunday School at 9:30 in other side of building.
4. No evening service on June 21, but evening services resumed June 28 at 6:00 P.M. and Wed night service on June 17th  and 24th at 6:30.
5. We paused on Facebook starting June 14 and resumed at a later date.
6. Masks were highly encouraged

Things that were expected when returning June 21st.
1. To be temperature checked when entering building.
2. To drop children off at side door facing parking lot.
3. To have your children brought to you in the sanctuary by a teacher after Sunday School.
4. To be offered a mask.

Phone

Pastor David Rayburn
(502) 320-9186

Email

FaithBaptistFrankfort@gmail.com

Send a message

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