A Brief History of Mount Freedom Baptist Church 1832-1976
Jessamine County, KY
By Jerry B. Hopkins4
The first meeting of the people of the Mt. Freedom Community, Jessamine County, Kentucky was held on the third Saturday of June in 1832. It was agreed at this time to meet the 4th Saturday and Sunday of every month, and to be constituted into a church "agreeable to Gospel Order." After deferring the organization in July, the church was duly constituted and organized on the third Friday in September, 1832. The presbytery was moderated by the Rev. John Rice, pastor of the Shawnee Run church in Mercer County, and the corresponding messengers present represented six churches - Hickman, Mt. Gilead, Boggs Fork, Tates Creek, Shawnee Run, and Mt. Pleasant The church at this time adopted a covenant and articles of faith which was orthodox and usual for a Baptist constitution for the church. The present constitution of the church is basically the one adopted here, as the church in modern times has not undertaken a revision of it. There were fourteen charter members of the church.Several firsts were recorded in a short time. The church joined the Boone's Creek Association. Brother Isaac Minter, a charter member, was called upon to exercise "His Gift of Prayer and Exhortation" for the church and was the first to preach to the body. John Rice was the first pastor called to the church and the first one to refuse the call. Isaac Minter was the first person to whom the church granted a letter of dismissal (February 1833) and Elizabeth Payne was the first member to be received
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by the church in April 1833. Communion was observed in May of 1835 in a joyous service, and the first pastor of the church accepted his charge in May of 1833. He was John Dean of Madison County. The first deacon who was elected was Isaac Chrisman who was ordained in August, 1833.Because Mt. Freedom was a small and poor church, and because there was a tremendous lack of Gospel Ministers, the church had difficult in securing and keeping a preacher. At this time -1835-1837 - the male membership of the church was appointed a pulpit committee to find a preacher. The first revival meeting of the church was held in 1837 resulting in 31 whites and 7 negroes joining the church. One of the revivalists, Josiah Leake, was called as pastor, and he served until 1840. During this period of the church's life there was a great concern with church discipline of the members. Drunkenness, unsound doctrine, adultery were all causes of exclusion from the church body. More than 40 such cases of church discipline were recorded before 1860.
The financial strength of the church was weak as is evidenced by the janitor's report for 1839. Joseph Minter, a deacon and trustee, was the janitor at 25c per meeting and at his death the church yet owed his widow 87 1/2 cents.
On the scene of the history of the church at this time appears a man who influenced the life of Southern Baptists significantly, James R. Graves. During the protracted meeting of 1842, Graves joined the church upon the transfer of his letter and examination of his doctrine. He played a prominent part in the community life and in the church life. In July, 1842, he served as a delegate to the Boone's Creek Association, and a full page of his script was preserved as he also served as clerk pro-tem of the church. In April, 1843, Graves and R. G. Rowland were invited to preach to the church, and he served on the committee which chose the lot on which the church hoped to erect their own building. It is recorded by special meeting of the church in October, 1858, that Graves and Rowland were ordained to the Gospel Ministry by the Church in October, 1842. By 1858, Graves was a famous preacher.
The 1840s were an exciting time for the church. It was in these pre-Civil War years that the church experienced much growth and prosperity. It was also the time of the bitter church split which was to warn the church that no good can come of a vindictive discipline. The episode can be called "the parable of the fiddle."
Mason Owens was pastor of the church when Peter Campbell objected to his recall on the charge that he had seen "a fiddle in Owens' house and had seen Owens trying to play it." The church dismissed the charge as not morally wrong, but the split was on. Owens then accused Campbell's friend, John Bradshaw, with un-Christian conduct toward Owens. The church sustained Owens and excluded Bradshaw. After several attempts to reconsider the exclusion, the church finally restored him. Owens then resigned and asked for his letter, but the church instead called in ministerial brethren to seek a solution. Bradshaw then accused Owens of falsehood and insincerity, and on strong testimony the church suspended all the privileges of Owens. In July the church excluded Owens, and as a result of the Owen's group attempting to represent the church at the 1847 Associational Meeting, his exclusion was announced to all the Association and published in the State Baptist paper. One of the sad conclusions of this episode was that Bradshaw was excluded in 1853 for bad language.
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In 1848-49 the church was recuperating from the preceding episode. Several of those who quit or were excluded were restored under the leadership of T.I. Drane. In 1850 the church joined the Methodists in building a union church building. During the pastorages of Rowland, Cooke and Clark, the church was at a low ebb. Often there were too few present to conduct business. From the time of the pastorate of Elijah Neal in 1850 to 1885 the records and activities of the church are interupted with jumps of up to 4 1/2 years in the records. During this period several things of importance were accomplished, however.In 1868 the church joined the Elkhorn Baptist Association of which it is now a member. In 1870 the church voted to begin a Sabbath School, although no mention is made of one meeting until June, 1887, it is assumed there was one prior to that. In 1873 the District Board of Missions was petitioned for aid in support of the church's pastor. The District group helped the church often. In November, 1883, the church bought the Methodist interest in the building for $200. In 1884 F. H. Lowry was baptized and ordained a deacon in 1888, and John C. Cox was ordained a deacon in 1885. Both of these men became stalwarts in the life of the church in the early 1900s.
Under the leadership of B. F. Taylor the church extended "an arm of the church" to High Bridge, and saw much result from the move. In 1891 the church began a more systematic way of supporting missions in that an offering was taken every Sunday. In October, 1897, the church conferred with Clover Bottom Baptist Church about starting a church in Wilmore, and under the leadership of G. W. Wheatley the church voted, in August of 1900, by a vote of 12 to 4, to move to Wilmore. The old property was sold to J.C. Cox for $300.
In 1904 the church began proceedings to buy pews for the building. With the aid of $60 from sister churches they were bought and paid for by 1905.
The finances of the church were just beginning to rise in 1910. From the $150 per year that was paid the pastor in 1840, to the $400 paid to G. W. Telford in 1910, the church, under the leadership of Clarence Walker went full time in 1912 and the pastor's salary went to $800. Also in 1912, George Cox was one of three deacons to be ordained. Together with F.J. Allender, who was made a deacon in 1922 and Harland Wells who was ordained in 1926, he was one of 3 deacons with over 30 years of service - being a deacon 47 years.
Electric lights were installed in the building and a parsonage built in 1913. On Missions Day in April, 1915, the interest and prosperity of the church were demonstrated with an attendance of 203 and an offering of $123. Only recently has the church surpassed these records.
In 1918, under the leadership of A. J. Clere, the church proposed and built some Sunday School rooms at the back of the building at a cost of $2,500; E. H. Blakeman came to the church in 1919 as the first pastor called on an indefinite call, and in that year the church began extensive improvements to the building. Estimated at a cost of $1,200 the amount went to nearly ten times that a mount before the church was through. At the same time the church accepted a $5,000 goal to help retire the debt of the Convention. These two large responsibilities coupled with the coming years of depression in the 1930s was to lay a heavy burden on the church.
The church was experiencing large additions to its membership in these years. Prosperity was a part of the church's life and the church was in fellowship. In 1926 the church organized th BYPU
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with Miss Grace Duncan as president. And in 1929 the church offered J. M. Roddy $1,800 per year and moving expenses to come as her pastor. This was the highest amount paid the pastor until 1946 - though it often was under this amount. But during the depression years the church was under the pressure of retiring the building debt. Church sales were used and homecoming days with goals set for the buildng fund were also used. According to the report of older members, the parsonage was sold in 1939 and the proceeds ($3,000) was used to retire the debt and pay the preacher's salary. C. D. Boozer was pastor at that time and served longer than any other pastor up to that time - 9 years and 11 months. In 1940, the church had the first Vacation Bible School which was recorded. It was to become an annual ministry of the church.In 1943 under the leadership of Dudley Pomeroy, the present parsonage was bought from C.C. Glass for the sum of $1,800.
Also in 1943 the first several attempts to sell the old church property and to relocate the church was recorded. It was stated by the vote of the church that the property was not for sale at any price and a copy of the resolution was sent to the Trustees of Asbury Seminary. The issue was raised again under the pastorate of Charles Graves, and again it was unanimously rejected by the church in 1944.
In 1945, under the leadership of John Kurtz, a new furnace was put in the church building. A song leader was employed at a cost of $25 per month, and the issue of the selling of the church property was again brought up. B.C. Rose moved to reconsider to sell the property and George Cox spoke of possible locations but the church defeated the motion to reconsider.
In 1946 the Central Baptist Hospital drive was begun with an initial offering of $650, and the church later accepted a goal of $2,100 twoard the project. B.C. Rose was chairman of that committee.
Under the leadership of Pastor Joseph Dick Estes, the church in 1949 adopted the six point system for Sunday School and the eight point record system for BTU. Both of these record systems remain indispensible in the progress of the Sunday School and BTU today. In 1950 the church began construction of rest rooms at the back of the church. Under the leadership of Pastors Fred Richardson and Vernon Perkins, the church progressed toward goals and work. Converts were added and classes begun. Under the leadership of A.L. Douglas, the Sunday School was partially departmentalized which was the basis for the complete grading of the Sunday School in 1959.
In 1953 the issue of selling the church property was again brought up, and a committee to investigate the prospects of selling was appointed. A called meeting was voted for April 1956, and at that meeting it was unanimously decided to sell if the right price and location could be obtained. The matter rested there, for the pastor resigned in that year.
In December of 1956, Don Manuel became the pastor. The Lord graciously led the church forward in worderful ways in the next three years. Over 150 additions to the church were recorded and the attendance and finances of the church increased substantially. It was in the area of building that the Lord's greatest leadership was displayed, however. Acting upon the previous vote of the church and as a result of a request by the Seminary, the church appointed an investigating committee to negotiate for the sale of the building and for the purchase of a new location for the church. On January 19, 1956, the committee reported to the church in a special business meeting and as a
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result of the report the church voted to sell their property to Asbury Theological Seminary for $80,000 and to buy the Lewallen property at Main and Lexington Avenues in Wilmore. The transactions were accomplished and the work on a new building was begun with an official ground-breaking ceremony in September 1958. Under the leadership of the Supervisory Committee - Henry Carl, chairman, Hardin Underwood and George Goodlett - the work progressed rapidly. J.G. Winburn was added to the committee upon the loss of Henry Carl, and Hardin Underwood was made chairman. The building was finished for dedication on September 12, 1959 - 127 years from the founding of the church. Built at a total cost of $127,000 and adequately seating 400 people, the building represents the work of our forefathers and our dreams for our children. To God be the Glory.Following Don Manuel came E. L. Haddix who stayed only a few months. He resigned the church to assume the pastorage of a Baptist church in Germany ministering to American military personnel.
Shortly after Dick Snell's resignation, J. D. Hyatt was called as pastor of the church. After staying only a few months, he resigned the work to go to a Florida pastorage.
In November 1975 Jerry B. Hopkins was called as pastor. He came to Mount Freedom from the Tates Creek Baptist Association and Bethlehem Baptist Church where he had been pastor on two different occasions (1966-1969 and 1974-1975).
A significant part of Mount Freedom's history has been its missionary interest and giving. The church continues in this strain today giving to all mission causes in the Southern Baptist Convention. Being a part of this great tradition of missionary outreach that extends literally throughout the whole world is exciting.
=================== [From Kentucky Baptist Historical Society Newsletters, July, 1980, via Internet. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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