First Baptist Church of Madison, North Carolina (1841-2011)

A Message to a Missional People

byDr. Charles P. McGathy

November 6, 2011

Just a few miles to the north of here, travelling along Highway 220, just after you cross

the border from North Carolina to Virginia is a historical marker. It reads, “William Byrd’s

Camp. Near here on Matrimony Creek, William Byrd pitched his camp, November 1728, while

determining the Virginia, North Carolina boundary line.” What that sign does not tell you, what

you must do some further research to discover, is William Byrd’s opinion of the North

Carolinians, specifically the residents of this area we call home. Now William Byrd himself was

a well- known politician and statesman, and his work describing the mapping of the boundary

between the two states is considered his most influential piece of literature. In it he describes the

society and attitudes of the time. In the History of the Dividing Line Betwixt Virginia and North

Carolina, coincidentally published in 1841, the same year as the founding of this church, Byrd

describes those on this side of the border as slothful, lazy, and full of sexual desire.

He focuses on work ethic . . . and emphasizes the sheer laziness of the North Carolinians. Byrd distinguishes the border between Virginia and North Carolina as a cultural border as well as a physical one. He describes the residents of North Carolina as lazy and corrupt, and provides himself as a contrast to their behavior. He describes the ways in which the North Carolinian men chase after women, as well as the ready acquiescence of the women to the men’s urges.i

That is only one layer of description. There is yet another way to view our past. Dr. Bill

Leonard, in his book Baptist Ways, records how over the years we Baptists have disagreed about

baptism, the Bible, slavery, women, war, and a host of other issues. Dr. Leonard quotes an

Anglican pastor who is clearly befuddled by eighteenth-century “Carolina back-country”

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Baptists: “They don’t all agree on one Tune. For one sings this Doctrine and the next something

different—So that People’s Brains are . . .turn’d and bewildered. . . . Then again to see them

Divide and Sub divide, Split into Parties—Rail at and excommunicate each other—Turn out of

one meeting and receive into another . . . must give High offence to all Intelligent and rational

minds.”ii

With those outside observations acknowledged: welcome, as we celebrate our 170th

anniversary as a North Carolina, Baptist church!

On November 6, 1841, the first Baptist church was founded in the town of Madison.iii

Named for the fourth president of the United States, Madison had been established at the

confluence of the Mayo and Dan rivers by an act of the North Carolina legislature just twenty-six

years earlier. Madison, however, was in no great hurry to get started. Three years later Randall

Duke Scales “laid off 96 half-acre lots and sold them at auction on June 3, 1818 for $67 to $100

each.”iv

Madison was planned for river trade and flourished as bateaux brought horses, hogs and other goods to town. Ferries were used to take people across the river until bridges could be built. Being destroyed by floods, the bridges had to be replaced several times. Then in 1830 a toll bridge was built across the Dan . . . This bridge was washed away in 1850. A covered bridge was built in 1887 and remained in use until a higher bridge was constructed at the end of Academy Street in 1931.v

In the early 1800’s agriculture dominated the area. The area was dominated by small

farmers who owned their land. The area was considered an outpost, isolated from the other areas

of the state and her residents were described as possessing an “air of independence.” Only about

a quarter of farmers owned slaves although a plantation aristocracy was developing in the Dan

River Valley.vi

In those days “dancing and horse racing were common amusements.” One historian

decried the social scene this way: “that vile and abominable practice of card playing which is so

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prevalent at out county courthouses, taverns, and many other nefarious practices to delude the

young and unwary . . .”vii Life in Madison of the 19th century was described as a place with

fashionable homes and a “focal point” for “social and educational activities.” “In and around

Madison were bateau rides, horse races, fox hunts, and shows on Franklin Street. There was

however, another side of life in Madison with livestock and chickens roaming the dusty streets,

plenty of saloons, as well as sanitation problems.”viii

Baptists in those days were of divided opinion on the subject of missions. County

historian, Bob Carter, describes the theological terrain from which our church was germinated:

In 1792 William Carey formed the World Mission Society in England. Carey’s program had far reaching effects on the Baptist denomination in the coming decades. In the early 1800’s the mission movement grew among the Baptists in America but the members with Calvinist views opposed the effort which led to the split between the Missionary Baptists and the Primitive Baptists in the 1830’s. Both the County Line and Mayo Associations became anti-missionary. However, it was as late as 1840 before all missionary Baptists left the County Line Association.ix

Into this environment a group of Christians decided to establish a new Baptist church.

An itinerant preacher named Elias Dodson was sent out from the Baptist State Convention of

North Carolina, an organization that was itself barely a decade old. He, along with five charter

members, began the Madison Missionary Baptist Church.x

According to a past history of First Baptist Church, the earliest meetings of the church

were held at what was known as the camp meeting grounds; this area had been in use since the

1700’s for camp meetings and revivals.xi The meeting grounds were located adjacent to an old

colonial road (which was originally an Indian trail and came to be known as the Salem-

Petersburg Road) not far from the home place of Joshua Wall, one of the charter members of the

church. In order to get to Madison, folks had to ford the Mayo River near the camp meeting

grounds.

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It is also possible that the church’s earliest worship initially took place in Madison or

after a few years shifted meeting locations to the Baughn Schoolhouse (later known as the

Beulah Academy). Either way, Madison Missionary Baptist Church shared this location with the

Methodist and Presbyterian congregations that were established shortly after the Baptists. A

statement in the 1940 history records that: “Until they erected their own churches, the

Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists met in a log schoolhouse . . . located in a large grove of

giant oak trees at the east end of what later became known as Academy Street.”xii

During the first nine years of the church, from 1841-1850, Rev. Elias Dodson greatly

assisted the new church to get established. One of the five charter members of the church was

John M. New. He came from Caswell County and made his living as a shoemaker. In time he

was ready to assume the responsibility as the first pastor of Madison’s Baptist church which he

did in 1850.xiii

The site for the first sanctuary was selected on nearby Franklin Street, where the traveling

shows used to perform. The church acquired the land in 1849 and again in 1851. The deed for the

third lot was generously given to the church for the sum of one dollar. The benefactor, a Mr.

Thomas Smith, stipulated only that “any building placed on the land should be free for use not

only by Baptists but by Presbyterians and Methodists.”xiv From the very beginning, this has been

a church for the entire community.

A description of the seating arrangement of the first sanctuary is interesting:

On the east end of the sanctuary, facing Franklin Street, were two front doors, one for the women and one for the men. A gallery was provided for the slaves who were probably brought to church by tobacco wagons from surrounding plantations. The gallery was located in the west end (back of the church) and was accessed by a back door and stairway. According to the custom of the day a rail was nailed to the top of the middle pews separating the women and men. The pews faced these doors . . . the pulpit was also located in the east end (between the two doors), thus the congregation would enter the building facing those already seated.xv

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This configuration, typical for its time, led to at least one well known incident. During the

years 1855-1859, the pastor, the Rev. Stinson Ivey presided over worship. It also so happened

that the emphasis placed upon full immersion water baptism had created a rift between the

Methodists and Presbyterians, who baptized infants by sprinkling. This is how the religious

temperature was recounted in The Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy:

The question of the mode of baptism was an exceedingly hot one and there was firing along the whole line constantly. There was not much culture or erudition among the Baptist faithful in Madison in those days, but they stood to their guns even when firing blank cartridges. They did not know much Greek, but they were very familiar with bapto, batidzo, apo, eis and en, and frequently double shotted their guns with these and fired broad side into their opponents.xvi

Now remember how the church was configured. The Reverend Ivy was preaching one

Sunday morning and ridiculing “baby sprinkling.” In the heat of his sermon a man from outside

the church came to one of the doors and motioned for the town doctor, indicating that he required

him for some medical necessity. The doctor, who was short-tempered, left the service at once.

The reverend, who did not understand the reason for the doctor’s departure, assumed it was due

to his sermon. That’s when he blurted out to the audience, “They always run when you throw hot

shot at them!” The next day the doctor met the preacher at a downtown store, horse whip in

hand, and threatened to use it if the preacher did not take back his words. He, of course, did so.

The entire incident is illustrative of the emotional climate of the times.xvii

No church records exist for the first fifty years. We do know that worship services were

held each Sunday and every fourth Saturday until 1895, when the Saturday service was

discontinued.xviii Instead “Preaching Day” was held every fourth Sunday each month.xix

In 1845 Baptists in America divided over the issue of slavery. The Southern Baptist

Convention was formed over a dispute involving the appointment of a slave-holding missionary.

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During the Civil War the church saw many of her sons depart for service in the Confederate

Army and it can be assumed that slaves continued to worship in the same building until the war

was over and Reconstruction began.xx

From its inception, this church has been missional in focus. The connection with missions

extends beyond attitude. In 1860 Madison Missionary Baptist Church called as its pastor Lewis

H. Shuck. To say that he came from a missionary-minded Baptist background is an

understatement. Lewis was born in Singapore. His mother and father were Baptist missionaries,

going to China in 1835. In fact, his mother was the first American woman missionary to that

country. Dr. Shuck was educated at Wake Forest and received a PhD. from the University of

Virginia.xxi During the three years he served as our pastor he lost a wife and child both, of whom

are buried in our cemetery.xxii

In 1863, during the war, Southern Baptists voted to create the Sunday School Board and

even though most communities had a shared religious education system called “Unions,”

Madison Missionary Baptist Church had its own Sunday School with an enrollment of twenty.xxiii

The extant church records begin with minutes recorded on June 28, 1890. During the

decade that followed, the sanctuary was extensively renovated. The slave gallery was removed,

the pulpit relocated to the other end of the sanctuary and the pews reversed. The church bell that

had hung in the tree was relocated to a bell tower.xxiv

Lloyd Baird, who served as the Chairman of the Church History Committee in 2011,

revealed through his research a number of important details about the significant changes and life

of the church:

In 1891the church joined the Pilot Mountain Association. In 1895 Saturday worship services were discontinued, but the church did retain

“Preaching Day” on the fourth Sunday every month.

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In 1910 there is the first mention of the “Ladies Missionary Society” along with its proposal to “overhaul the church,” which meant painting, new benches, and carpet.

In 1914 a revival was held that lasted four weeks. Church enrollment moved from 28 to 109.

In 1918 the ladies decided it was time to stop using the “two goblet “communion set and began using individual cups.

In 1920 Baptist Training Union was organized. In 1923 the Northeast corner of the church property was sold to build the Madison

Fire House. Funds from the sale built the first parsonage. In 1924 the church made an agreement with Mayodan Baptist Church to share

monthly preaching duties. In 1938 a motion to begin a fund for building new facilities was made. Little money

was collected, and with the outbreak of World War II the building program was put on hold.

By 1939 the church had accomplished much in all departments including Vacation Bible Schools, Teacher Training Classes, and a Women’s Missionary Union.xxv

First Baptist Church called her first full-time pastor in January 1940. The Rev. Willard

Brownxxvi led the church to adopt the Unified Budget Plan of Financing, a new rotating system

for deacons, and a new building program that would culminate in the Educational Building,

Sanctuary, and Children’s Building.xxvii

In the mid-1940’s E.T. Parham began his pastorate. Recollections of those days are

recorded by his son Tom years later. Here is a picture of church life as seen through the eyes of a

young boy:

The Southern Baptists were pretty serious about church and E.T. Parham, Sr. was in amongst ’em. Sundays began by my folding the church bulletins, the same ones I had to pick up from the pews after the service. . . . occasionally “quick” weddings (were) held in our home. I’m sure I bore witness to several “shotgun” weddings. . . . Sunday evenings included Baptist Training Union and another service. Throw in my mom playing piano for the choir and my older sister, Gerry, singing solos and it was an all day affair. And it didn’t stop there. Baptists had prayer meetings on Wednesday nights, followed by choir practice, which I had to sit through to wait for my mom and my sister.Then there were revivals! They were about like tent meetings, held often every night for one, sometimes two weeks. I always felt like ministers drummed these up for extra income, or to eat fried chicken and to play checkers. . . .Throw in the worst, Sunrise Service at Easter, the Royal Ambassadors . . . communions (I cut the Merita bread) and the ultimate oxymoron --- Vacation Bible School, and it was a plateful. I liked music. “Jesus loves me this I know.” “Little hands be careful.” “Amazing Grace.” “Softly and Tenderly.” Some of the words bothered me at age seven. “There is a fountain filled with blood”? “Such a wretch as me”? “Was it for sins that I had done he groaned upon

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that tree???” I hadn’t hurt Jesus. . . . I learned all the words to the hymns. I hummed them silently, having been told I was a “talentless monotone.”There were highlights to being a preacher’s kid. We were held in high regard. Dinners on the grounds at rural churches yielded great food.The pool was filled by dad and me on baptism nights. One time he forgot the hose was on and an embarrassing overflow occurred.I “went up” at age nine (. . . partially to get it over with). They always played “Just As I Am” and it was like a bottom line for the preacher. I did love my parents. There was stress with dad upfront begging people to come join Jesus. But I did always admire and love them.xxviii

During the pastorate of Rev. Paul E. Brunner, the present sanctuary was finally

constructed and the first service held on October 10, 1954. Keeping in mind that the initial

project was proposed and approved in 1938, it took sixteen years from conception to completion.

The original sanctuary that had served the congregation for 105 years was torn down. All that

survived are the church bell and two wooden pegs.

The next pastor was Rev. S.K. Wood. He served for two years, when he and his wife

were commissioned as missionaries to Japan. In 1960 Rev. Earle Rogers began as pastor. The

next year, in 1961, the Sunday morning worship service began radio broadcast. Thus this year

also marks the fiftieth anniversary of our radio ministry to the local community. In March 1970

First Baptist called Jacky Davis as Director of Music and Education. Under his leadership the

youth flourished and grew to be the most active youth group in the area. Rev. Rogers retired in

1974 to devote his time to interim work.

Dr. Larry Bennett was called to serve the church in 1975. It was his first pastorate. Terry

Williams also served the church from 1982-1996, full time. He worked with music, youth and

seniors. During the 1970’s and into the ’80’s the church had a very active youth group and,

fielded a softball team that enjoyed much success. Church activities included Girls in Action and

Royal Ambassador’s (G.A.’s and R.A.’s); Youth Choir, Family Nights, Hand-bells, Mission

Study Groups; Senior Trips; Habitat for Humanity projects; and other mission-minded projects.

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In the mid-eighties and through the next twenty years the mills, which had been a vital

part of the local economy, began to close. This meant a loss of many church members over the

years as families moved away or children who had graduated High School moved out of the area

to pursue higher education or employment.

In 1981 the church renovated the sanctuary, and in 1991 the church dedicated a new

fellowship hall (the J.C. and Eliza Brown Building) on its 150th anniversary. The first female

deacon, Mrs. Doris Schultz was elected to serve in 1992. Dr. Bennett retired from ministry in

January, 2006, after thirty-one years (the longest ministry of any pastor) at First Baptist Church.

During the pastorate of Dr. Bennett sweeping changes occurred in the Southern Baptist

Convention. In 1979 a determined group of Fundamentalist Southern Baptists engineered a plan

that would result in a complete takeover of all of the agencies owned the Southern Baptist

Convention. “No compromise” presidents were elected, and only Baptists who agreed with the

Fundamentalists agenda were appointed to agencies and boards. One by one seminary presidents

were forced out or fired, professors were terminated, missionaries were recalled or not appointed,

and monies were redirected toward ultraconservative causes. Some Baptists resisted. They put

forth moderate candidates in an effort to recapture the past, when presidents appointed both

progressives and conservatives as representative of the entire convention. And they lost,

sometimes narrowly, but still they lost. Finally in 1991 a group of moderate Baptists met in

Atlanta, Georgia. Out of that meeting of a coalition of like-minded Baptists would emerge

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. CBF was in part defined by “Four Fragile Freedoms” as

outlined by Baptist Historian Walter B. Shurden. He held that four freedoms: Bible Freedomxxix;

Soul Freedomxxx; Church Freedomxxxi; and Religious Freedomxxxii were all under assault by an

encroaching Fundamentalist culture as embraced by the new SBC.

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In the twenty years since CBF was formed it has become clear that many Baptists and

Baptist churches that felt marginalized by the new SBC have found a new home by partnering

with the CBF. In 1995, probably following a visit from foreign missions expert, Dr. Keith Parks,

First Baptist Church of Madison stopped supporting the SBC through the Cooperative Program

and instead began a partnership with CBF.

In 2000 the Southern Baptist Convention increased the distance between itself and

moderate Baptists by adopting a revised Baptist Faith and Message.xxxiii This confessional

statement has been since used as a litmus test of Baptist orthodoxy. Traditional Baptists reject the

imposition of creeds insisting on no creed but the Bible. In the BF&M 2000 the sixth article on

the church states: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of

pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Upon the departure of Dr. Bennett, First

Baptist Church demonstrated what it thought of the revised confession; Rev. Marcia McQueen

was called to serve as interim pastor.

The daughter of a retired Southern Baptist minister, Rev. McQueen serves as chaplain of

Morehead Hospital in Eden. She is an endorsed CBF chaplain. Her interim at First Baptist

Church was not approved by other SBC churches in the area. One of these churches even went so

far as to initiate a sermon series explaining why women should not serve as pastor. The

congregation at First Baptist, however, embraced Rev. McQueen, and following a brief absence

at the conclusion of her interim ministry, she came back and joined the church as a member.

In August 2006 Rev. Charles “Chuck” McGathy began his ministry as the church’s

twenty-fifth pastor.xxxiv He had served as an associate pastor and as a Navy chaplain for twenty-

two years. The challenges the new ministry presented were daunting. The church, though irenic

and strong in faith had an aging congregation and facilities. There was no children’s Sunday

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School, and the youth were composed of three students, all seniors who were college bound. The

church also needed to transition into the digital age by producing work and keeping records on

computer.

The following are highlights, ministry initiatives and goals that have been established or

met in the last five years:

In 2007 A Prayer Shawl ministry (lead by Deacon Joyce Fulcher) was established.

The church began annual participation in the Madison Heritage Festival. An annual

program called A Kid’s Advent was begun, and Kids Hope (a mentoring ministry for

at-risk elementary aged school children) was initiated. Children’s Sunday School was

restarted. A playground was constructed. The church voted to begin supporting the

mission giving plan of the CBF of North Carolina, effectively removing itself from the

state expression of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist Men were restarted.

The church added off-street parking with the addition of a parking lot, a new sound

system, and a barbecue shelter (dedicated in memory of Pat Pope).

In 2008 the first Vacation Bible School in over a decade was held. A church web site

was posted on line. Back Pack Pals (a ministry of feeding hungry children) was joined

with Madison Presbyterian Church. Children’s Church was begun. A second (year

round) Sunday worship service was added.

In 2009 the church received a $12,000 “It’s Time” grant from CBF for its innovative

work in children’s ministries. Martha Stearns Marshall women’s preaching Sunday

was added into the church calendar for February. The pastor was awarded the Doctor

of Ministry degree (with honors) from Houston Graduate School of Theology.

Alcoholics Anonymous began meeting twice weekly at First Baptist.

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In 2010 church records and mailing lists were completely digitalized. The pastor was

recognized for his preaching when his sermon was selected for inclusion in Elevated

Preaching (a book of some of the best of Baptist preaching in North Carolina). The

first youth retreat in many years was held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The pastor

was asked to join the Missional Focus Group of the CBFNC.

In 2011 the church decided to leave the Dan Valley Missionary Baptist Association

after learning that the stated requirement for membership was agreement with the

Baptist Faith and Message 2000. A midweek worship service was added to the

weekly church schedule. The church investigated beginning a new ministry to the

grieving called GriefShare. On November 6, 2011 the church celebrates its 170th

anniversary with noted Baptist historian and the first Dean of Wake Forest University

Divinity School, Dr. Bill Leonard as featured speaker.

A final word: The history of the people called First Baptist Church of Madison is a story

of hope and survival, of a people with a strong identity and a desire to increase the Kingdom of

God through the church’s efforts. We have been a missional church from our inception, but our

challenges today will require creativity, intelligence, and hard work if we are to continue

ministry well into the twenty-first century. In our history we have always reemerged from

periods of challenge with new focus and zeal for sharing the gospel with our neighbors. This

church is proud to have begun no less than seven area churches.xxxv In this era when cultural

Christianity is on the wane, we will need not only to explore the meaning and importance of our

faith, but also to find positive and loving ways of communicating the true message of Jesus to a

world bound in darkness. May this history remind us that God has used us in the past and if we

are responsive to his leadership he will use us in the future to witness for him.

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i Byrd II, William (2009). "The History of the Dividing Line betwixt Virginia and North Carolina; The Secret History of the Line". In Paul Lauter, Richard Yarborough, John Alberti, Mary Pat Brady, Jackson Bryer. The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Volume A: Beginnings to 1800 (6 ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company, 2009. pp. 636–54. ii Richard Hooker, The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution: The Journal and Other Writings of Charles Woodmason, Anglican Itinerant, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 1953, 109.iii Lloyd Baird, unpublished research, 3.iv http://www.townofmadison.org/id25.htmv http://www.townofmadison.org/id25.htmvi http://www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com/id22.htmvii http://www.rockinghamcountyhistory.com/id22.htmviii Baird, 5.ix Bob Carter, Rockingham County Heritage, Rockingham County Historical Association, 1983, 100.x According to previous church history written by Lenora Sutton four of the five charter members are known. They are Milton Stamps; Joshua Wall, John M. New; and John Lindsay.xi Lenora Sutton, xii Baird, 4.xiii Previous church histories state that he was pastor from 1850-1851. In December of 1855 his property was liquidated in what appears to be an estate sale. The last clue lists him as 72 in the 1860 Federal Census. He is living in “the Northern Division of Rockingham, County.” It is noted in our historical records that he was buried in the church cemetery, though no marker can be located. In fact his final resting place may be like others in our cemetery with grave records lost and markers vanished over time. In 2011 on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the church he helped to found and served as first pastor a new marker has been added to our cemetery recognizing Rev. John M. New as our first pastor. xiv Baird, 5.xv Baird, 8.xvi Reminiscences of Madison by “Isaac” (Nat S. Smith) transcribed by Joyce Mitchell, The Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy, Vol. XIV, No. 1, June, 1989. 12. xvii Reminiscences of Madison by “Isaac” (Nat S. Smith) transcribed by Joyce Mitchell, The Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy, Vol. XIV, No. 1, June, 1989. 13.xviii Baird, 9.xix Baird,10.xx Edwin Scott Gaustad, A Religious History of America, Harper and Row, New York, 1974, 189.xxi http://home.comcast.net/~neal4/shlin004.htmxxii Baird, 9.xxiii Baird,9.xxiv Baird,10.xxv Baird,10.xxvi The Rev. Willard Brown (as of the writing of this history) is 98 years old and still resides in Selma, North Carolina.xxvii Baird,11.xxviii Tom Parham, Play is Where Life Is, Catawba Publishing, 2008, 3-4.xxix Bible Freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation that the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, must be central in the life of the individual and church and that Christians, using the best and most scholarly tools of inquiry, are both free and obligated to study and obey the Scripture.xxx Soul Freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation of the inalienable right and responsibility of every person to deal with God without the imposition of creed, the interference of clergy, or the intervention of civil government.

xxxi Church freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation that local churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whom they perceive as gifted for ministry, male or female, and to participate in the larger Body of Christ.xxxii Church freedom is the historic Baptist affirmation that local churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whom they perceive as gifted for ministry, male or female, and to participate in the larger Body of Christ.xxxiii http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.aspxxxiv The called pastors are (1) Rev. John M. New 1850-1851; (2) Rev. John Robertson 1852-1853; (3) Rev. S. Ivey 1855-1859; (4) Dr. Lewis H. Shuck 1860 -1863; (5) Rev. George W. Griffin 1864-1866; (6) Rev. R.D. Haymore 1871; (7) Rev. P.H. Fontain

1874-1879; (8) Rev. W.H. Wilson 1881-1910; (9) Rev. J.T. Byrum (dates uncertain); (10) Rev. A.L. McLendon 1914-1916; (11) Rev. V.H. Harrell 1917; (12) Dr. J.L. Shinn 1918-1919; (13) Rev. E. Webber Church 1920-1922; (14) Rev. J.L. Powers 1922-1923; (15) Rev. N.H. Sheppard 1924-1925; (16) Dr. L. D. Bass 1925-1928; (17) Rev. O.E. Ward 1929-1934; (18) Rev. Robert A. Gardner 1935-1939; (19) Rev. Willard A. Brown 1940-1944; (20) Rev. E.T. Parham 1944-1952; (21) Rev. Paul E. Brunner 1952-1958; (22) Rev. S.K. Wood 1958- 1960; (23) Rev. Earle J. Rogers 1960-1974; (24) Dr. Larry J. Bennett 1975-2006; (25) Dr. Charles P. McGathy 2006 - present xxxv Churches our church helped organize include: First Baptist Greensboro (records from FBC Greensboro and our church speak of this); First Baptist of Mayodan; Dan Valley Baptist Church; Comer’s Chapel; Deep Springs Baptist Church; Ellisboro Baptist Church; and Grace Baptist Church.