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From left to right, Mrs. Peggy Chaney, Church
Clerk and historian, Mr. Archie Byrd, Member of
the Building Committee, Reverend J. J. Morrow,
Houston Lake Church Completes
Building Project With Bond Burning
In June 1962, ten years
appeared to be a long time to
pay on a debt to the small
congregation of the Houston
Lake Baptist Church. Now
the debt has been paid and
the church celebrated with a
“bond burning” on Sunday,
August 6, Homecoming Day.
Ninety-three members
were present to answer the
roll call and hear the sermon
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Wit- SP ■
Before Building Project....
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..../Is It Looks Today
by Reverend Lester E.
Pritchett, who was pastor of
the church when the bonds
were sold. Also present was
Reverend E. M. Clapp,
another former pastor, who
served from 1937 until 1946.
At the close of the morning
worship service the bonds
were burned by the
Reverend Pritchett and
Reverend J. J. Morrow,
Pastor, burning the bonds, Mr. Joe Kovac, oldest
active member, and Mr. Jesse Parker, Treasurer.
present pastor.
After a picnic lunch on the
grounds singing by the
Crossroads Quartet and
Trebles Trio was enjoyed by
the congregation.
The church building was in
need of many repairs ten
years ago and did not look
much like a church at all.
The talk was strong for
constructing a new building.
An inspection revealed that
all of the structural timbers
were still sound after 100
years.
A committee of Charles
Stephens, James Denton,
and Virgil Vickers was
appointed and plans were
made to repair and remodel
the old building. Bonds were
sold to finance the im
provements. Work began on
June 18 with the removal of
Sunday School classrooms
from the front of the
building. A front porch was
then constructed. The
building was re-roofed and
painted.
The interior of the church
was in bad condition. During
one service a pew had
collapsed with several of the
members. As work on the
inside progressed, it was
decided that part of the
money would be set aside for
new padded pews to be in
stalled as soon as the repairs
were completed. Acoustical
tile was installed in the
ceiling and hard wood floors
were laid. A new central
heating system was installed
and the building was un
derpinned with concrete
blocks.
Not only has the church
now paid off the in
debtedness of the bond
program, but during the
same period of time several
other major improvements
have been made. Two
educational buildings have
been constructed; one is not
yet complete. A baptistry
was installed after over 100
years of baptismal services
held in the lake. An air
conditioning unit was added
to the heating system.
In 1969 a church steeple
was installed, thus fulfilling
the wish of Joe Kovac, one of
the oldest members of the
present congregation.
The history of the church
goes back to 1836 when it was
first organized as the Sandy
Ridge Baptist Church on
June 25 of that year. The first
site was near the Ocmulgee
River and also near the
present community of Sand
Bed. The church was con
stituted by Rev. Louis
Peacock and Rev. Alason
Culpeper.
The charter members are
listed in the minute book as
Sampson Culpeper, Hardy
Hargrove, James Holmes,
Allen Sutton, Joseph
Culpeper, William G.
Collins, Agnes Green, Mary
Joyner, and Temperance M.
Baskins. Many important
decisions were made during
the first month. Reverend
Alason Culpeper was chosen
as the first pastor. The first
deacons were Sampson
Culpeper and Allen Sutton ;-
James Holmes was elected
clerk. It was decided that
meetings would be held on
the fourth Sunday and the
preceding Saturday. The
church also agreed to join
the Echeconee Association of
Primitive Baptists and
delegates were appointed.
The congregation grew
steadily. Strict rules of
conduct were adopted and
offenders were called upon
to explain their actions and
to ask for forgiveness.
Failure to do so satisfac
torily resulted in ex
communication.
In 1841 the church was in
trouble with the association.
The church was charged
with departure from former
principles. A committee
appointed by the association
to investigate the charges
never got the chance to
perform their duty. The Sand
Ridge Church heard of the
pending investigation and
declared itself unconnected
with the association.
Several years later the
church became associated
w ith the Rehoboth
Association of missionary
Baptists and has continued
to be a part of that
association until the present
time. , .
During the years prior to
1860 a large shift in
population was taking place.
Many people had moved into
the county and the com
munity around Houston
Factory seemed to be ideal
for the future location of the
church. On October 22,1959,
a building committee of J. T.
Cooper, R. W. Baskin,
William G. Moore, R. L.
Farr, John H. Baskin and
William H. Baskin was
appointed. The building was
completed on December 22,
1860 and the church resolved
to move. At the first meeting
in the new building a
resolution was adopted for
the removal of the con
stitution of the Sand Ridge
Baptist Church and the
annexation of the Smyrna
Baptist Church. This first
meeting was held on
January 26, 1861 and the
minutes are headed
“Houston Factory, Houston
County, Georgia.” Thus,
began the Houston Factory
Baptist Church in the
building which it still oc
cupies on its original site.
The name of the church was
changed to the Houston Lake
Baptist Church in 1953.
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The Sand Ridge Church
building was given to the
Negro members who moved
it to the Sand Bed com
munity where it became the
Sand Bed Baptist Church.
As the years passed the
church experienced
prosperity and de
pression along with the
community it served. Even
though the congregation
became small at times,
services were never
discontinued. The church
was always involved in
missions. Support was given
to the missionaries to the
Indians in the early years.
Special offerings were taken
to help support Mercer
University and other schools
as well as the Baptist
hospital and Children’s
Homes. Many of the Mercer
ministerial students have
preached at Houston Lake.
The records of the church
show name after name of the
faithful, members who
sometimes appeared to be
alone in their struggle.
Jerome 0. Sandefur was an
active member for 54 years;
his wife, Josephine Gray, for
60 years. Their daughter,
Etta, and her husband, Dent
Harrison, were also active
members for 53 years and 54
years, respectively. Others
were Mrs. Ida Woodard, 61
years, Miss Maude Brvan, 51
PERRY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, AUG. 10, 19 72
years, and Miss Jimmie Lee
Barfield, 67 years. In June
1954 Mrs. Bettie Stafford
Woodard, who had been a
member for 76 years, wrote
apoligizing for asking to
move her letter to First
Baptist Church, Perry, but
explained that she was not
able to attend at Houston
Lake due to her feebleness.
In more recent years, an
active and faithful member
for 46 years was Mrs. Alva
(Kate) Davis, who was
widely known for her
dedication to her church and
for her Christian witness.
Among the 276 present
members, five have passed
the 50 year mark in mem
| Humpty Oumpty j
I House Enrollment |
jl Now taking registrations for Fall '
;,?N -||lik 1972 Kindergarten enrollment. For •
1; jT information contact Mrs. Wilson I
Ij Moody, or call 987-3088.
!; rTVL (National Weekly Reader Teacher I
,| Os Consultant)
bership. These are Mrs
Mary Perdue, Mrs. Irene
Hester, Mr. Jerry Davis, Mr.
Malphus Harrison, and Mrs
Myrtice Arnold.
The present pastor
Reverend J. J. Morrow,
came to the church in 1966
He is now devoting full time
to the pastorate of the
church, having retired from
civil service in June 1970.
The church now has active
organizations in every phase
of the church work and is
looking forward to another
136 years of Christian ser
vices.
WANT ADS
9871823