MALVERN -- Third Baptist Church, 817 N. Main St., will celebrate 100 years of service in September. The church was founded Sept. 3, 1914, and will celebrate its anniversary the weekend of Sept. 20-21.
The anniversary celebration is geared as a ministry to the community. A "Let's Get Reacquainted" brunch will be held in the Family Life Center from 9-11 a.m. A "Birthday Bash" set for 3-6 p.m. Sept. 20 on the parking lot includes musical entertainment, bounce houses and many activities. Snow cones, hot dogs with all the trimmings, birthday cake and ice cream will be provided.
The Sunday celebration will begin with a musical concert from 9:30-10:30 a.m., followed by the worship service at 10:45 a.m. Pastors who were raised in and ordained from the church will speak, with Pastor Tom Strike bringing the message. A potluck meal in the Family Life Center will conclude the festivities.
In the summer of 1914, Mrs. C.J. Barker and Mrs. W.E. Black, who would later became charter members, surveyed the area of Babcock and Baker Hills in North Malvern concerning interest for a church. These ladies, being members of First Baptist Church, enlisted the help of First and Second Baptist Churches in organizing this church. At 2 p.m. on Sept. 3, the pastors and deacons of these two churches formed a council and organized Third Baptist with 18 members. A brush arbor had been constructed on Rockport Road for this meeting in which Brother C.J. Tate, pastor of First Baptist, brought the first message.
Brother W.E. Carver became the first pastor of the new Third Baptist Church and deacons were chosen and ordained. On Sept. 17, the new deacons were appointed to a building committee and borrowed money for a lot 140-by-150 feet at the cost of $195. $130 of this amount was paid back on Sept. 21 and the remainder on Oct. 31. Donations totaling $300 were raised to a build a church sanctuary. Two lumber companies donated materials. The church was sufficiently constructed in one day to hold services that evening. The motto chosen was Nehemiah 4:6: "So built we the wall; ... for the people had a mind to work." Lots were donated and several additions were made to the original church building. Charles H. Ashcraft was the first full-time pastor in 1938.
A two-story educational building was constructed in 1952 at a cost of $25,000. In 1958, construction on the current sanctuary began just a few feet away from where the original frame church was built. Building bonds, totaling $75,000, were sold in one night and paid off early. The most recent building begun in 2011, the Family Life Center, was constructed at a little less than $500,000 and was totally debt free when completed in December 2012.
Strike is the pastor of Third Baptist Church with Jimmy McCune as music minister and Daniel Humbart, youth minister. Strike was called by Third in November 2011. He was recently voted the best pastor in Hot Spring County.
Third Baptist is dedicated to witnessing to Malvern.
Religion on 08/23/2014