FOREWORD
Today marks the beginning of our 175th year as an association of Baptist churches. Since 1833, the churches of the Bethel Baptist Association have been working together, “strengthening others in sharing Christ”. What you hold in your hands is but a brief summary, in timeline form, of the rich history of our beloved Association.
Since
God is sovereign in the affairs of men, and the Lord Jesus Christ rules as Head
of His Body, the Church, in compiling such a history we must first acknowledge
that this is “His Story”. As the
Acts of the Apostles might be more fittingly described as “the Acts of the Holy
Spirit”, so the role of the Spirit in moving and guiding the cooperative
efforts of His churches in
We are much in debt to three of His choice servants for the preparation of this manuscript. Our 175th Anniversary Committee, consisting of Mrs. J. T. (Frannie) Manry of the Blakely First Church, Mrs. Dorothy Everson of Edison Church, and Mrs. Joan Herndon of the Beulah Church, have worked many long and hard hours in compiling this history and “compressing” it into a readable length. We and future generations of Bethel Baptists are the beneficiaries of their painstaking labor of love.
Today,
the Bethel Baptist Association consists of 34 congregations ministering in six
different counties of
“By the year 2020, we see a fellowship of 50 strong, healthy
churches working together to reach ALL people with the
Gospel of Christ, serving others in the Name of Christ,
and extending God’s Kingdom to the far corners of the
globe through the power of Christ.”
As we celebrate our 175th year together, let us remember the great things God has done in our past, let us obey Him in the present, and let us trust Him with the future.
James A. Holloway
Associational Missionary
October 16, 2007