HISTORY
OF
HARRISVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH
Before the Civil War, H. H. Harris came to this area as one of the first early settlers. At first, the village was called "Buck Snort". Later it was renamed "Harrisville" after H. H. Harris.
As the village grew, a Methodist church was built. Since there was no Baptist church, Baptists worshipped with the Methodists. So, our community has a long-standing history of worshipping together and helping one another. The community continued to grow and prosper until one Sunday afternoon in April when a tornado ripped through the town and destroyed the church.
By 1869, the Baptists of Harrisville were ready to organize a church of their own. On Tuesday, February 2, 1869, the people met to constitute a church in the presence of the elders. The first deacons in the church were John Guynes, Norville Barlow and Elisha Albritton. There were only twenty-four members in the beginning. Elder Matthew T. Conn was the first pastor of our church, then known as Liberty Church.
During Liberty Church's early years, business meetings (on Saturday) and preaching (on Sunday) were held only once a month. Liberty's first revival service was held on the fourth Sunday of July, continuing throughout the week. This date became a revival tradition for the church until the 1950s.
Liberty Baptist Church grew in number and spirit greatly between 1890 and 1912. In 1890, the church had 119 members. By the time the Association met at Stonewall in 1904, the number of members had more than doubled to 266 members. The church was the largest one in the Strong River Association at that time. By 1909, the church had grown even more. There were 108 attending Sunday School with five teachers.
Hard times and many changes came to Harrisville between 1913-1946 with World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. In 1923, the church's name was changed to Harrisville Baptist Church. More change came when the church services were changed to 10:30-11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. After this, the church was on a half-time program. A budget system was adopted and two Sunday School rooms were added to the church. A B.Y.P.U. group was also organized. In 1942, 20 were involved in W.M.S., 15 in Y.W.A. and 6 in Sunbeams. The first Vacation Bible School was held in 1943 with 48 enrolled. By then, the church had 250 members.
During World War II, Rev. O. C. Chance and Rev. V. W. Malley served the church. Bro. Chance helped to build the first pastor's home. Bro. Malley helped build the annex with classrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen.
Later on, Rev. D. J. Benson led the church in a building program to refurbish the auditorium with new pews and pulpit furniture, additional classrooms and a baptistry. Then, the church voted to go from half-time to full-time (meeting each Sunday).
Through the leadership of Rev. E. L. Warren, the church started a great nursery program with new classrooms, furniture and staff. This allowed the church to minister to its youngest members and help them grow into young Christians.
Rev. Jerry Rankin served as interim pastor for three months during this time. (He is now the President of the International Mission Board). Rev. Bill Harris helped the church to beautify the grounds and added shrubbery around the building.
The church finally installed air conditioning and built a new pastor's home under Rev. J. A. McCain's leadership. Rev. Howard Scarborough was called as interim pastor until a new pastor was called in 1975.
At this time, Rev. Tommy Anderson came to Harrisville. In addition to preaching. Bro. Anderson was a wonderful singer and he blessed the congregation greatly with this gift. During his ministry, the church added a new fellowship hall and more educational space. The old pastorium was donated to a couple in the church whose home was destroyed by a tornado in 1976. Rev. Stan Tucker was licensed to preach in 1977.
Rev. Howard Scarborough served again as interim pastor until 1980. The church called Rev. Gene Erwin as pastor. Under Bro. Erwin's leadership, the church's Sunday School enrollment increased by 38%, a new pastor's office was built, a larger nursery was added and a 15-passenger van was purchased. Bro. Erwin instituted a "Children's Church" segment at the beginning of the Sunday morning service, asking the children to come up front and talk to him. This was a great way for making our usual formal messages have meaning to our children.
Rev. Glen Schilling served as interim pastor until Rev. Larry Hill was called in 1985. During Rev. Hill's ministry, the church built a new sanctuary and the Brotherhood (a men's service group) was revived. Mark Sandifer, son of Charles and Dorothy "Dot" Sandifer, was ordained as a minister in 1988.
In 1989, Rev. Dennis Allen began his service with Harrisville Baptist Church. Bro. Allen led the church in building a new fellowship hall and educational space, paving the parking lot and purchasing a 29-passenger bus. A deacon rotation program was also started. Rev. Chet Dear, son of J. P. and Betty Dear, was licensed to the ministry and Melissa Macoy surrendered to full-time mission service.
Rev. Donnie South began his ministry at Harrisville Baptist Church in September 1995. During this time, the church purchased a house for a second staff member. Bro. Donnie and his family were with us for only a short time, but they had a long-lasting impact on many of us just the same.
From February to July 1998, the church was led by Rev. Charles Case and Rev. Zack Winningham as interim pastors. In July 1998, Rev. Cecil Hathorn's ministry began with us. In August of that year, Bro. Richard Mayfield was called as Youth Minister/Associate Pastor. He was ordained in August 1999. Another staff member, Bro. Bob Harris, was called as Minister of Music. Bro. Hathorn was another wonderful singer who God sent to bless us. He and his daughter, Cassie, praised the Lord in song with us many times. Bro. Hathorn led the church in building a Family Life Center with additional classroom space, which was dedicated on January 23, 2000.
In August 2000, Bro. Kyle Brady was called as full-time Minister of Students. Then in May 2001, B. J. Tucker became part-time Youth Director. From August 2001 to March 2002, Bro. Zack Winningham served again as interim pastor. In January 2002, Bro. Brandon Wilemon was called as Minister of Youth. Bro. Wilemon and his wife Carla brought a lot of fun and learning to our youth.
Rev. Ronald Burch was called as pastor in April 2002. Harrisville Baptist Church offered many challenges to this new pastor. Bro. Burch challenged us to work on paying off the church's debt, so that our resources might be devoted to outreach to the community. Bro. Burch led us to work with our community's other churches (Harrisville United Methodist Church and New Covenant Church), reminding us that we are all children of God, regardless of denomination. For the first time, the three churches held joint services for Christmas 2003 and Easter 2004. These events have helped to break the barriers that extend between the three churches and their members. For Independence Day 2004, the three churches worked together again to hold a wonderful joint service. This time, volunteers of the Harrisville Fire Department also joined in, cooking and serving lunch to all who attended the service. Bro. Burch was very concerned for our church family. He faithfully visited the sick, ministering to their individual needs. He was a great encouragement to many in our church. His concern extended to our spiritual life, too. Through Bible study; Bro. Burch reminded us that we are to love our church family and those who haven't yet been saved, too. He also reminded us that God has a unique purpose for each of us and that we should actively seek to fulfill that purpose. During Bro. Burch's time here, change continued at Harrisville Baptist Church. In September 2003, Bro. Bob Harris resigned as Minister of Music. Glenn Harris accepted the responsibility for leading the music and adult choir. Bro. Wilemon, Minister of Youth, resigned in January 2004. In May 2004, Mrs. MeShay Franklin became Minister of Youth. MeShay has a great testimony for the Lord and did wonderful things for our youth. In August 2004, Bro. Burch resigned as pastor.
From September 2004 to February 2006, Bro. Clarence Young served as interim pastor. What a blessing he and his wife, Ann, were to our church. He encouraged us to seek the Lord's direction in finding a new pastor and provided guidance for our church in preparing the way for God's choice of a pastor for us. As part of our preparations, we committed ourselves to paying off the debt owed on our Family Life Center. God made this possible in January 2005. Praise The Lord!
On February 19, 2006, Dr. David Sartin began as our new pastor. In March 2006, Bro. Sartin led the church in setting goals for the year. Several of these have been accomplished already by God's leadership in our church... not by ourselves. Bro. Steve Walker was called as Minister of Music in May 2006. Bro. Eric McMahon was called as Minister of Youth and Activities in April 2008. We are so thankful for God's direction sent through Bro. Sartin.
We recently built a new parsonage on a parcel of land that was donated to the church. The home was completely paid for when occupied in November of 2008. We are currently raising funds for the next phase of our building project - looking at the future needs of our church and this community.