Section B JJJattBtt HkttBtb Section B
Wednesday, September 7, 1988 f Wednesday, September 7, 1988
Over Two Centuries Old
Reedy Creek Baptists Lay
Claim To Rich Heritage
By DUNE DAVIS
Staff Writer
Formed over two centuries
ago, Reedy Creek Baptist Church
has an astounding history that is
known only by its church family
and researchers.
Located near a small creek in
Grove Hill named Reedy Creek,
the first church on the site was
said to have been a brush arbor,
founded in the year 1745. Land
deeded from William Mangum
gave the church and its few
members area on which to build
a meeting house. In 1771, another
i
church house was constructed on
land given by Thomas Ormsby in
1778. The church was moved in
1779 to a place where it remained
until the early 1950s.
The church's founder was Dr.
Josiah Hart, a traveling General
Baptist minister, or evangelist.
After founding a church in Pungo
in Beaufort County near Bath, he
became dissatisfied and felt a
need to help the unsaved settlers
on the western frontier of the
state.
So, he moved west of the Tar
River to join William Sojourner
i
My Church
By LOUISE WILSON
My church stands in a quiet place,
Long ago the members were of more than one race;
It's made of brick now, and has a fine steeple,
A cemetery, pretty lawn, and the congregation,
Sometimes a small group of people.
There's dignity and respect, a lot of love one for the other;
All stand and talk after service, of work to do, fishing trips,
Or how to help a needy brother.
When crops were very thirsty, the earth so dry,
It seemed as if every green thing was just going to die;
Members asked the pastor to pray for rain,
We all silently joined him, believing it was not in vain.
Before that service ended the thunder just rolled;
Then came the downpour, a blessing tenfold.
You need not take my word, ask the members, anyone
They'll quickly tell you that what I've said was done;
Maybe you know a soul you feel needs to be saved
Bring them on down, the road is paved.
I
Revival is held the last week in June,
Time passes quickly, it will be here soon;
Everyone is welcome, there is good preaching,
Good food, too, on homecoming day,
Most people know of Reedy Creek Church
And will gladly tell or show you the way.
NOTICE OF VOTING
PRECINCT CHANGE
This is to notify the public that the voting place in
SIXPOUND TOWNSHIP Precinct N. 2 has been
changed from The Old Macon School to the Macon Fire
Department in Macon. Located oh Hwy. 158 in Macon.
General Election November 8, 1988.
Sept. 7, 14. 21, 28, -Oct. 19, 26-Nov. 1
NOTICE OF GENERAL ELECTION
A general Election will be held in Warren County on
Tuesday, November 8, 1968 to elect the following officers.
President and Vice President of United States, Member of
Congress, Governor and State Officers, State Judicial Officers,
State Senate for District *2 and District *10, State House of
Representatives for House District *7 and House District *22,
District Court Judges and County Officers.
All voters registered with Warren County Board of Elections
are eligible to vote in the general election. Voters who are
already registered to vote need not re-register to vote in this
election. Residents of the county who are not registered to vote
must register by 5:00 p.m. October 10, 1988 in order to be
eligible to vote in the General election. Abo, a voter who has
moved since the last election must notify the board of elections
of that change by the same date October 10, 1988. A person may
register to vote at the Board of Elections office 103 Front
Street, Warrenton, N.C. between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or by
appointment at the home of his precinct register or judge.
Any voter who will be out of the county the entire time the
polls are open on Election Day, or who will be unable to go to
the polls because of sickness or physical disability may vote by
Absentee Ballot. The voter may apply for an absentee ballot
beginning on September 9, 1988. Application must be made in
person or in writing to the County Board of Elections. The
deadline for applying for an absentee ballot is 5:00 p.m.
November 1, 1988.
Tuesday, October 11, 1988 will be the starting date for "ONE
STOP VOTING" If you are going to be out of the county the en
tire day of elections you can vote in the office of the County
Board of Elections. The last day of "ONE STOP VOTING"
is S:00 p.m. Friday, November 4, 1988. The deadline for
receiveing the voted absentee ballot is 5:00 p.m. Monday,
November 7, 1988.
Any questions about registration, absentee ballots, ONE
STOP VOTING location of polling places and other election
matten may be answered by telephoning the Board of Elec
tion. Office at 287-2114.
RUBY JONES
fcptr.M* Supervisor
at Kehukee Baptist Church in the
region of Scotland Neck. Still, he
felt unfulfilled and was eager to
begin churches for the unsaved
settlers.
It was then that he moved into
Bute County (now Warren Coun
ty). In the vicinity of Grove Hill,
he set up his headquarters and
gathered a congregation, which
he called Reedy Creek Church.
Dr. Hart set up an evangelistic
program that engaged the serv
ices of many ministers, an ac
complishment that utilized the
spiritual development of the set
tlers for many miles around. He
began using the church to ordain
many men to the gospel ministry.
He baptized, ordained and
trained young men and placed
them in nearby churches that
were in need of pastors. Thus,
Reedy Creek Church became the
center from which ministers
spread the word and beliefs of the
church. This brought on the
growth of General Baptist
churches in North Carolina until
there were 16 in 1755.
The term General Six-Principle
Baptist refers to the affiliation of
the earliest members. The doc
trine of the church at this time
taught members that Christ died
for all men. This meant that
anyone who believed in Christ
could be saved.
They were called Six-Principle
Baptists because of their in
sistence on the six points of
Hebrews 6:1-2, which are
repentence from sin, faith in God,
the doctrine of Baptism, the lay
ing on of hands and eternal
judgment.
William Walker, the first
pastor of Reedy Creek Church,
became dissatisfied with the
theology of the General Baptists.
In 1752, he traveled to the Baptist
association in Charleston, S. C.
and spent a year there learning
about the Particular Baptist faith
and the "Calvinistic" theory. He
returned in 1755 to resume his
pastorate and preach his new
beliefs.
The Philadelphia Association,
the only other Baptist association
at this time, became interested in
the condition of the North
Carolina churches. In 1755, the
association sent John Gano to
North Carolina to convince
churches to change from the
General Baptist to the Particular
Baptist belief. He attended a
meeting at Reedy Creek and
preached about the Particular
Baptist faith to the ministers of
the local Baptist churches.
In December of 1755, Peter
Peterson Vanhorn and Benjamin
Miller, both of the Philadelphia
Association, were sent to North
Carolina. They reorganized
Reedy Creek Church to the Par
ticular Baptist beliefs and the
doctrines of "free grace."
Although William Walker ha<
been serving as the pastor of
Reedy Creek at the time of their
arrival, he was put on probation
and replaced by Thomas Pope in
order to prevent a relapse of the
church into the General Baptist
theology. Reedy Creek was the
second church to convert to the
Particular Baptist faith.
The transformation of Reedy
Creek was radical. It has been
referred to in many history books
as a "re-constitution" because
the new beliefs of the church re
quired the adoption of a new
constitution.
The transformation to the Par
ticular Baptist faith involved
many things. It meant that in the
requirements of conversion and
baptism, the emphasis would no
longer be placed on baptism. Con
version or regeneration was the
key.
The previously loosely or
ganised church was now a close
ly organized body which attested
for the conduct and life of its
members. The church also cele
Reedy Creek Baptist Church, one of the first ten
churches formed in North Carolina, is situated in
the Grove Hill community of Warren County.
Members take pride in the church's history and
work hard to keep the church and the grounds im
? ?? I ? ? ? . J
maculate. The pastor, the Rev. Donald L. Godfrey,
who recently accepted the pastorate at Hickory
Rock Baptist Church in Louisburg, preached his
last sermon at Reedy Creek Baptist Church on Sun
day. (Staff Photo by Dianne T. Rod well)
brated the communion of the
Lord's Supper regularly.
The members of this newly
organized congregation consisted
only of the elect who pledged to
be helpful to all men, to worship
God on the Lord's day, to be
responsible for their children's
religious instruction and to live
lives that would honor God.
The belief of the Particular
Baptists was that Christ died for
only those chosen or elected by
God, instead of the General Bap
tist belief that God died for all
men. Particular Baptists were
also called Regular Baptists or
Particular-Regular Baptists.
The Reverend Donald L. God
frey, pastor of Reedy Creek Bap
tist Church, said that the
Separate Baptist flavour entered
the Reedy Creek body in the
1800s. The church of today stands
as a Southern Baptist body, he
said.
The Rev. Mr. Godfrey ex
plained that when he first ac
cepted the pastorate of Reedy
Creek, his first, it did not faze him
to think that he was the pastor of
one of the oldest churces in North
Carolina. "When I started to
research the church's history, I
felt as if each of the pastors were
resurrected and that I came to
know each of them in a different
way. It gives me cold chills to
think that I am carrying on their
tradition."
And what a tradition it is.
Reedy Creek Baptist Church,
easily deemed as one of the first
ten churches organized in North
Carolina, was established when
Baptist churches and preachers
were almost unheard of in the
state. The church was the center
of the changeover from the
General to the Particular Baptist
faith and can be use to determine
the earliest history of North
Carolina.
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