History of LBC

La Crosse Baptist Church owes its existence to the dedication of a group of Baptist men and women who were interested in and concerned about organizing a Baptist Church in La Crosse. Sometimes they met in homes, in the High School building or in the La Crosse Methodist Church.

            On November 4, 1920, this group was organized into a Baptist Mission, until they were strong enough to organize a church. There were 13 men and women in this group when the mission was organized and they became known as the “Original Thirteen.” These members were: Mrs. S. J. Mosely, Mrs. Oscar F. Northington, Mrs. W. W. Wilkinson, Mrs. T. M. Wilkinson, Mrs. Marshall Vaughn, Mrs. W. J. Moody, Mrs. John Gordon, Miss Pearl Thompson, Miss Maude Swift, D. C. Northington, E. C. Mosely, D. F. Harvel and John Gordon.

            On June 16th, 1921, at a business meeting, the Mission voted to organize a church. They voted that those who were already members of the Mission and any others who united with the church during the revival would be considered the charter members of the church. They also voted to name their church “La Crosse Baptist Church.”

            On June 23, 1921, following a worship service in the Presbyterian building, a church meeting was held. The worship service was lead by the Rev. James Haley. The pastor, Rev. R. H. Bowden, read the church covenant to the congregation, which was voted on and adopted. At the conclusion of the meeting, the pastor announced the existence of the “La Crosse Baptist Church.”

            There were now forty-four members, and these forty-four became the charter members of the church.

            The first business meeting of the church was held on June 30, 1921. Proper papers were drawn up and adopted in this meeting to present to the Concord Baptist Association, seeking admission. J. L. Piercy and John Gordon were elected to attend the meeting of the Association in July 1921. The moderator stated that this church had the largest number of members and the largest Sunday school enrollment, prior to admission to the Association, of any church recorded.

            In August of 1921, the church voted to purchase the Presbyterian Church building and lot.

            The pastor, R. H. Bowden resigned in July 1921 to accept a pastorate with the Keysville Baptist Church.

            The church voted to become a member of a five-church field, composed of Bethany, Ephesus, La Crosse, Olive Branch and Sanford Memorial. This field of churches called Rev. J. G. Blalock as pastor. He served the La Crosse church until August of 1930, but continued to serve the other churches for a longer period.

            In the early morning hours of September 16, 1949; fire completely destroyed the church building. The school board granted permission to use school building for Sunday school, and the La Crosse Methodist Church graciously granted permission to hold worship services in their church.

            The church chose a lot offered for sale to them by Mrs. J. R. Matthews, which is the site of our present building.

A Building Committee was elected by the church. Mr. Milton Adams of South Hill was hired by the church to be in charge of building the church.

            On Sunday morning, September 17, 1950, the first service was held in the new building. The building was not completed or furnished, but regular services could now be held in the building.

            Dedication services were now held on September 16, 1951. Former pastor Rev. Oscar E. Northern accepted the invitation to deliver the sermon for the occasion. The last payment on our new church building was made on July 19, 1957.

            A Planning Committee was elected by the church to survey our needs and secure blueprints covering these needs for an Education Building. A Building Committee was elected, a blueprint was approved by the church and bids were made by various contractors. On August 11, 1976, the foundation was started. Early in the construction of the building, in August 1976, our pastor was stricken with a serious heart attack from which he never fully recovered. When his health permitted, he continued to lead and guide in the work of construction. In the fall of 1978, his health became very poor and for the next few months he fought a hard battle with lung cancer and died on May 12, 1979.

            The church carried on with supply ministers; one of which was a young man attending Southeastern Seminary, Rev. Donald W. Owen. In September of 1979 he became interim pastor, and in April 1980, he accepted our call to become pastor. He completed his work at Seminary in May 1980. He was with us in the final days of completing our education building.

            When we turn back the pages of our history, we are proud of the progress we have made. We have a great heritage, the spirit of the “Original Thirteen”.

Mrs. G. W. Walker, Church Clerk