| New Hope Baptist
Church began in 1873 as believers met to worship under a brush
arbor near the present day sanctuary. Two years later
property, including a log building was purchased. J.M.
Reid was the first pastor. The cemetery began in 1875;
Rev. A. Bonds was pastor. In 1881, the Hamilton
Association including five churches in Florida and three in
Georgia was organized; New hope was a member. J.J. Frier
served as pastor in 1888 and J.W. Granthan in 1891.
Records indicated New hope had 123 members.
The present sanctuary was built with free labor in
1907. The lumber, a dollar a wagon load, was hauled from
West Lake Mill by mule and wagon. J.T. herring served as
pastor in 1908, followed by R.E. Parnell, A.J. Young, J.A.
Pearson, and E.T. Todd. Records indicate that the salary
in 1919 was a hundred dollars a year. In 1913, the minutes
indicate other organizations within the church; W.L. Overstreet
was pastor.
W.H. Holmes served as pastor in 1916, followed by B.A.
Geiger, M.J. Fowler, A.N. Woodward, J.E. McClellan, J.L. Odom,
R.W. Henry, A.M. Parker, L.L. Butts, John Dicks, W.K. Tomkins,
Bobby Dykes, J.E. Wade, Frank K. Bennett, M.M. Rowell, Raymond
Dykes, Truett Comer, Walter Pitts, Glenn Lawhon, Harold Reams,
Norman Brown, Preston Devall, Pat Patten and Jeff Cordero.
In 1922 WMS (now WMU) was organized with dues of ten cents a
meeting, often raised by selling eggs. The women of the
church raised money to paint the inside of the building by
selling chickens. The men gave a hog to raise money to
apint the outside of the building.
In the forties, sheets were hung to divide the sanctuary for
Bible School. Baptisms were held in the Wash Sink.
During the late fifties, the rooms behind the sanctuary and the
indoor bathrooms were added. This space was used for
classes and for fellowship space. During the fifties,
baptism was held at swimming pools.
In 1975, the fellowship hall was build with kitchen, office,
bathrooms and class space. After its completion, the
sanctuary was renovated and the baptismal pool added.
During this time, the bus ministry was started with an old
school bus, later replaced with a van. In 1984, the
sanctuary was bricked, the steeple put in place, and a front
porch added. The next building project was the
construction of a pastorium build by New Hope men on land
donated to the church.
In 2002 ground breaking was held for the new education/office
space constructed with the help of Campers on Mission and New
Hope Members. After its completion, the old fellowship
space was renovated, creating a large kitchen and meeting room.
The looks of the buildings have changed, but the membership
is, as in the beginning, made up of believers who gather to
worships and study the word of
God.
(Reprinted from 2004 New Hope Directory)
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