The History of Hopewell Baptist Church
Many years ago there was usually a great gathering of people, from surrounding districts, at Mount Ridge Baptist Church, “on her meeting days”. They would have joyous times and were indeed glad to mingle together in one true spirit of love and Christianity.
Some of the people who attended these services were living quite a distance from Mount Ridge in one of the most beloved communities, known as the Fincher District. These people were great believers in church work. They often visited there mother church in her meeting and revival days and enjoy the wonderful sermons delivered within her walls.
As years passed and the community began to grow larger, some of its leaders decided, as the distance was so far and with slow ways of travel that it would be wise to erect a house of worship in their community for the convenience of their people.
In 1879 a band of workers organized and called their organization “Hopewell”. With the assistance of Mount Ridge’s most experienced leaders, Reverend Andy Hawkins, Deacons Dick and his staff, they were able to hold many meetings at different homes. They began meeting in an old cabin then later held temporary meetings under a brush arbor at the cemetery.
Reverend W. M. Easterling was Hopewell’s first Pastor, with Deacons Thomas Johnson and J. W. Washington as the first officers. These individuals were well thought of in their own community as well as in surrounding districts.
In 1880 Reverend Joshua Betten was called as Pastor. The first church was built during his Pastorate. It was constructed of hewn logs as most buildings were in those days, and built near the cemetery. Three members were ordained as deacons - Deacons Jiles Gay, Thomas Dwight, Sr. and Martin Famber.
A few years later they bought an acre of land, where the church now stands, and built the church on it. It was destroyed by fire two or three years later, but because the structure was partially covered by insurance, it was immediately rebuilt. This edifice stood for many, many years and served as a wonderful meeting place for its members and friends.
In 1923, the church structure was in very poor condition, and as such was torn down and rebuilt under the leadership of the late Reverend D.W. Dillard who had served as pastor for some time in the old church. He was a great church worker and an able bodied gospel preacher.
Reverend E. Y. Armstead of Rome, Georgia, succeeded Reverend Dillard. It was during his stay with us that Hopewell became known far and near.
The Sunday school was revived, a piano was bought, the choir took on a new life and splendid work was done.
Years ago the third Sunday in May was set aside as Homecoming Day. In the year 1940 the church was remodeled and redecorated throughout for this occasion. People came from many places to worship with us on that day. The services were wonderful and everyone had a glorious time. The next morning - May 21, 1940, the members were notified that the church had burned to the ground sometime during the night. This seemed more than we could bear. With the debt of the remodeling fresh before us, and the loss of the building, we were a depressed people.
But, being great lovers of the church, and with the advice of our beloved Pastor, and friends like the late Col. W. M. Sapp and others we began to erect another church. This time we decided it should be a brick structure. So on the same spot in the same year 1940, we built and completed the new church.
The cornerstone was laid on September 29, 1940 by the Dalton Lodge #238. We held our dedication services on October 6 of that year under the auspices of our pastor Reverend E. Y. Armstead and Col. Sapp. Since that time we have lost both Reverend Armstead and Col. Sapp. But memories of hard work and council from both these fine Christians shall ever be our guide to carry on.
Many of our faithful leaders have moved away, many have passed on to the great beyond, and many have fallen by the wayside. Sometimes it seems almost impossible to carry on, but then we look back and review the hardships our fore-fathers had to bear and we take courage to go on to heights above.
In 1945, we were blessed to have with us the efficient Reverend J. L. Vaughn, moderator of the North Georgia Association and pastor of Lovejoy Baptist Church of Rome, Georgia. We feel that God revealed to Reverend Armstead before he passed that Reverend J. L. Vaughn was to be our leader. In the early 1950’s Deacon Mack C. Gaston with the help of others dug the basement, and Hopewell became the first black church to have a fellowship hall and kitchen.
Rev. J. L. Vaughn resigned as pastor of Hopewell in March 1958. He recommended to us a man believed would be capable of carrying on as God would guide him. Reverend J.H. Allen was called to this church as pastor in March 1958. He resigned January 1964 and in March 1964 the Reverend R. E. Jones was called to the pastorate and he continued with the church until June 1965.
Rev. M. A. Rhetta was called to the church in October 1965, and remained with the church until he was called to his hometown church in Alabama in September 1966. He recommended Reverend J. C. Bonner IV of Chattanooga, Tennessee and the church saw fit to call him to its pastorate in November 1966.
Reverend Bonner did an exceptional job with the church as did all our ministers. We regretted very much to lose him. But after the death of his father,
Reverend J. C. Bonner III, pastor of Westside Baptist Church of Chattanooga, Tenn. he was called to its pastorate in May 1968.
In July 1968 Reverend E. J. Good of Chattanooga, Tennessee was called to Hopewell and he continued with the church until he resigned in January 1972.
In April 1972, Reverend Marvin B. Wadley of Atlanta, Georgia was called as pastor. At this time the parsonage was built and new property was extended to the cemetery. He continued with us until August 1973.
Reverend Jimmy Ingram was called to be our pastor in March 1974. His service proved to be very successful and the church moved forward under his leadership. Hopewell had services on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month for several years; full time service began in May 1975. The Reverend Jimmy Ingram resigned the first Sunday in December 1978 effective the fourth Sunday. The Lord guided him to the Greater Friendship Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Lord blessed Hopewell on May 18, 1979, with a new pastor Reverend C.J. Bryant, III. This being his first pastorate, Brother Bryant caught hold of the plow and struck it deep and with his outlook you could see Hopewell growing round by round.
On Saturday May 9, 1981 once again the hearts of the Hopewell Family were heavy. The church burned to the ground again, just one week from homecoming. With faith and determination and help from God, once again we pulled ourselves up and in 1982 we were back in the present location. Several Deacons were ordained during Rev. Bryant’s leadership namely; Freddie Johnson, John A. Nelson and Mart Stidmon were added to carry out the work of the Lord.
On May 28, 1984 Reverend C. J. Bryant resigned. On February 15, 1985 the Reverend Archie O. Hanner was called and under his pastorate goals were set and accomplishments were made. Sunday April 26, 1987 the church note was burned. On August 8, 1992 Reverend James Washington, Jr. became our Assistant Pastor. During this time several deacons were ordained including Dr. Kalu Nchege, Robert O’Neal, Jerry Watters, Larry Gross, Horace Cofield, Sr. and Wade Broome.
The parking lot was paved and fencing was added to the church lawn. Wednesday night Prayer and Bible Study were revitalized along with the Willing Workers, Missionary Society and the Youth Department.
The Sister’s of Hope was founded on March 29, 1996. They adopted a mission and goal of “working together in love to do the will of God”. The Deaconess board was founded on July 19, 1998.
The Pastor’s study, along with the First Lady’s office was beautifully decorated by concerned church members. A new roof was placed on the church, and a van was purchased along with other changes in 1997. Several new members were added to the roll. The Sisters of Hope ministry completed several projects.
In the Mack C. Gaston Fellowship Hall, two new stoves were purchased and installed, along with a new sink and counter. The vestibule was refurbished by the choir.
In 1998, Reverend James Washington, Jr. our Assistant Pastor was directed by the Lord, to become the acting pastor of the Prospect Missionary Baptist Church in Lafayette, Georgia, then to our dismay on February 27, 2000, he was formally installed as their Pastor.
Rev. Archie O. Hanner continued as Pastor until October 1999.
On May 19, 2000, Pastor Samuel R. Jackson was called to feed our souls. Renovations were done on the parsonage to accommodate our pastor and his family. Bible Study classes have been rejuvenated and Youth Ministry was organized and has made a great start. The Transportation Ministry was established.
In 2002 we experienced some wonderful changes. The Youth Church was held on the first and second Sundays, with a dedicated staff to work closely with the Pastor to ensure that the youth of Hopewell are growing spiritually in this changing world. A new copier was purchased for the office. Several ministries took on projects for the beautification of the Lord’s house. The back door to the fellowship hall was replaced by the Usher board. The awning at the backdoor was donated by the Choir and the Deacon Board.
As the year 2003 has ushered in with renewed vigor and hope to serve God more in our lives daily, God has blessed us with our Assistant Pastor, Minister Windell Smith. The Deaconess ministry furnished one of the rooms with Baptism gowns and first aid equipment.
With God’s help Hopewell has been and will continue to be a spirit-filled church, full of great potential for saving souls and being a continual witness to God’s greatness.
We extol and give Our Heavenly Father all the glory, honor and praise for what He has done and what He is doing of us now. TO GOD BE THE GLORY...
Since homecoming last year Hopewell continues to grow into becoming the “image of Christ.” To help facilitate this growth, changes have take place both physically and spiritually since last homecoming. We have renovated our Fellowship Hall, modified and enhanced our Public address system, made renovations in the sanctuary and changed the appearance of the exterior of the church’s front(new carpet) and parking lot side of the church(the beautiful cross donated & arranged by Deacon Jerry Watters and his family). Our Men’s Ministry and Male Chorus have been revamped, Women’s Ministry inaugurated, a Food and Clothing Bank Ministry as well as Nursing Home Ministry added. In addition, we have taken in several new members who have added to what we are doing here at Hopewell in a variety of ways.
We have licensed another minister (Minister Pat Gross) and our Sunday school has reached record attendance. Under the direction of our capable pastor the church membership has grown with young children as well as adults accepting Christ as their personal savior.
Last year we were faced with another challenge as Pastor Jackson resigned as our leader. His last official Sunday was June 26, 2005. The church continued moving forward by calling Elder Windell L. Smith on August 19, 2005 as pastor of Hopewell. The church family was in agreement.
Under the direction of our newly-elected pastor Minister Wade Broome preached his “Initial Sermon” to his church family on Sunday, November 6, 2005. Family and friends were present to witness this grand occasion.
With the church growing not with members, but spiritually and financially, a new ministry position was created namely a Financial Secretary. The Trustee Board was established to assist the pastor with the business and legal aspect of the church. We have seen record numbers in our giving which has increased by nearly 20%.
The church has been equipped with a Windows 2003 Server windows based computer network which holds the database of membership data. We also have a DSL connection to the World Wide Web. We have progressed to a computerized accounting system with printed checks.
New officers of the church were installed on the third Sunday in January. With everyone in their places our Vision and Mission statements and other ministries began to move forward. The Youth Department was restructured as we moved to a more active Teen’s Ministry and progressing Children’s Ministry.
The Women’s Ministry was revitalized and is very active. The Lord’s Supper has been re-instituted to the homebound and sick and shut-in members as well as the local nursing home residents and any others that have a desire to observe this ordinance of the church. New Members orientation was implemented and for the first time we have an Evangelism classes instructing members in the area of sharing the Gospel. Monthly Leadership meetings were implemented with a new focus for tomorrow.
There was rejoicing when Elder James Washington, Jr. and his family returned to the fold. We now have 3 ministers to assist the pastor, Thank you Lord! New members have been added to the membership with a desire to do the master’s will. The Lord continues to bless us spiritually with His Word. We give all praises to our Master for blessing us abundantly.
Another year has come and we’ve seen Hopewell move even further in the grace of God. With the Lord as our guide the church is now incorporated and recognized by the state of Georgia as a legal non-profit organization, namely Hopewell Baptist Church of Dalton, Inc. In addition to becoming incorporated we completed and filed for tax exempt status with the federal government as a 501(c) 3 certified non-profit organization. Because of our financial needs we hired a CPA to assist us in the areas of federal tax compliance and payroll.
We reached a higher level of ministering in August when our newly trained Evangelism team broke grounds by going outside the church to witness and hand out tracts at Wal-Mart. The Evangelism team also became the first church allowed corporately to witness and hand out tracts inside the mall. Many lives were touched and we are able to see the fruits of our labor. The women’s ministry was renamed the Daughters of Esther and have increase their efforts of drawing women to the Lord by hosting the 1st Annual Women’s Conference. They were followed by our Teen Ministry which responded by hosting their first Youth Conference.
The Lord continued adding to our ministerial staff with Minister Bobby Calhoun, Jr. delivering his initial sermon on October 8, 2006. Also, the Lord added Deacon Kenneth Willis and Deaconess Barbara Willis on March 10, 2007. During the ordination service time was taken for the church to officially set aside Rosa Shanks, Muriel Blalock, Minnie Jackson and Joann Robbs as Mothers of the Church. Sister Georgia Miller was bestowed the honor of being the Church’s Mother.
A new lighted church sign complete with marquee was purchase in addition to a new electronic keyboard. We were also blessed to enhance our media ministry with a tape duplicator, a compact disk duplicator and a compact disk recorder. We are now providing copies of all services to members and friends of the church who are not able to attend services. God keeps on blessing us as we remain faithful to him. We are looking forward to another year of ministry.
Another year has come and God has once again been good to us. Kingdom building is one of the things we focused on this past year. We realized that in order to be effective in ministry a few things had to be in place. Therefore, our by-laws were completely restructured to assure compliance with the every changing law of the land. Excitement moved throughout the congregation when we received word in August of 2007 from the Internal Revenue Service that Hopewell Baptist Church of Dalton, Inc. was approved as being a legal 501(c)3 certified non-profit organization. This has opened doors for us to ministry greater levels within the community.
July 2007 found us deeply involved in the area of Outreach and Evangelism as the Outreach Ministry began providing meals to homeless population located under the Waugh Street Bridge. Our Youth Ministry joyfully sponsored their first Youth Explosion which highlighted the youthful talent from various churches throughout the surrounding area.
Following the vision that God has given us through our Pastor, a greater emphasis has been placed on “Unity”. We reached out to the community and implemented quarterly fellowships which not only increased our number of friends but has allowed us to carry the gospel across ethnic lines.
As the church continued growing spiritually, our Sunday school received a facelift and a new name. We moved in a more progressive direction by implementing Precept Ministries’ 40 Minute Studies into our curriculum. The Fulfillment Hour is challenging those who attend in the area of personal living.
The Joshua Men’s Ministry and the Daughters of Esther were very much alive and active spreading the Gospel of Christ through conferences and workshop featuring renowned men and women of God from across the country.
As the year comes to an end we are riding high on the Spirit of God as he continue taking us to new dimensions in ministry. We are looking forward to another year of ministry.
This past year was a joyful and productive year for the Hopewell Family. The Music Ministry once again shined for the Lord during our music workshop which featured great participant from the local and surrounding churches. A Gospel Concert was held featuring gospel, contemporary music and a high time was had by all.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” Psalm 133:1 we have found this to be true. Our “Circle of Friends” have grown over the year by being obedient to the Lord. All of the church’s celebrations continue with more purpose than before. (Family & Friends, Black History, Revivals and our Unity Celebration).
Our newly developed ministry entitled “You’re Worth Saving” held several indoor clothes give-aways which were a huge success extending a helping hand; and through these efforts many have chosen to come and fellowship with us. Thank You Lord, for allowing us to become willing vessels.
Again this year “Family” was a focal avenue within the church. Our “Family Development Ministry” joined together with another local church to sponsor a Marriage Workshop. The Youth Ministry was restructured to greatly impact the lives of our teens and children. Their lives have been heightened by learning more about the Lord with their own “Fulfillment Hour” and “Worship Service”. One of the greater accomplishments in ministry this past year as the development and implementation of the “Vessels of Praise” Dance Team which showcased their talents by the guidance of the Holy Spirits. Through their ministry our hearts have been lifted to new heights; they have performed not only at Hopewell but at different churches around the community and for other community functions.
To be continued next year..………The Lord will keep you from all harm-He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121: 7-8.