OUR BEGINNING
    The First Baptist Church of Gray had its beginning in the minds and hearts of  two ladies pictured above. Annie Greaves Stewart (Miss Anne) on the left and Catherine Louise Morgan (Miss Kate) on the right. Miss Morgan taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Gray. She began having Sunday School and adult devotions there before the church was established.

    These ladies who were former members of the Baptist Church at Clinton extended an invitation to Rev. E.W. Sammons, minister and educator, to preach at Gray in  1882. A small group met intermittently from this initial effort until the church was organized August 2, 1905.  Miss Morgan died before the church was officially established. Mrs. Stewart remained faithful and was one of the charter members, as was the Sammons family and others. Attendance at the initial services was so great that it became necessary for meetings to be held in a brush arbor to accommodate the numbers who came for preaching. (The above taken from "The New History of First Baptist Church, Gray Ga. 1905-2005")                                                                                                                      

    On August 7, 2005 First Baptist Church of Gray, Georgia Celebrated its 100th year of serving the Lord. As mentioned above it was in the minds and hearts of a couple of Christian ladies who launched its beginning.

    On this day, August 7, 2005, a lot of previous members along with several pastors who has served here came back to help us make this day, a day to be remembered. Each former pastor had his time in the pulpit again. Some shared his memories of being here at First Baptist.

    One of the past members who came was William "Billy" Piper and his wife Lorena. Billy, as we know him, is the grandson of Rev. Ellis W. Sammons one of the early pastors. He remembers well when the first church burned. He and his aunt were on the way to the church and saw the church on fire as they crossed the railroad tracks. 

    We had two services this day to accommodate the crowd. One at 8:30 and another at 11:00. Carol Ann Epps and Vicki Cobb shared memories of yesteryear. There was music to be sure for we are a singing church.

    Again to accommodate the crowd, lunch in the Fellowship Hall was in two shifts--11 AM and 12:30 PM.

    What a day of joy, seeing and fellowshipping with old members who came back "home" to be a part of our celebrations. Some we had not seen in a long time. Also seeing pastors whom we had not seen in a while made our day complete. 
 

HIGHLIGHTS OF 100 YEARS AT FBC
By Carol Ann Epps and  Vicki L. Cobb

Carol Ann Epps

    The history committee met for the first time in January of 2001. We were given the job of writing a church history to be published in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the church. Four and half years seemed like a long time, but it really went by fast. I would like to introduce the committee to you. Mrs. Marguerite Anderson allowed us to meet in her home around the dining room table. We met there for the majority of our meetings. She was a wonderful source of information and was willing to take on any assignment. Mrs. Louise Pulliam Kelley was also a wonderful source for information on the church. These two ladies have been in this church a long time and have been very active members. Mr. Bobby Bentley has excellent computer skills, takes great pictures, and is very interested in history and had already gathered lots of information for a history that he compiled a few years ago. Vicki Cobb used her computer skills and great writing skill to take Mr. Bentley's findings and put them into book form. I called the meetings, was the liaison to church council and with the help of Mr. Thomas Elder, found a local publisher. Our meetings were very interesting. All of us have known each other for a very long time and have strong ties to this church. We all raised our children in this church. I want to thank each member for a great job. The books were completed and went on sale in June. They may be purchased today at the welcome center near the fellowship hall after 11:30 or you may contact the church office or me.

Vicki and I would like to tell you a little about the history of the church. As many of you know, our church got its start because of two ladies who had been members of the Baptist Church in Clinton. Small groups met at the schoolhouse and then the meeting place was moved to a brush arbor on the property that is now the site of the home of Mr. J. C. Folendore and Mrs. Joyce Conn Folendore. The Church was organized on August 2, 1905 with twenty constituent members. Several ministers spoke that day, but one of them was Rev. E. W. Sammons, a relative of Mrs. Mira Sammons' late husband, Mr. Sam. The land for a building was deeded on March 1, 1906, and on March 24, 1907, the first service was conducted in the newly built church. Rev. E. W. Thiot was the first to serve the church, but the first called minister was Rev. J. E. Pound. Over the years all areas of the church grew and there were changes in ministers. In 1942, renovations were made to the building and construction was begun on an annex. 

Vicki L Cobb
The fire may have destroyed the building of Gray Baptist but the spirit of the people was unscathed as they resolved to move forward and flourish.  This spirit continues today.  Our people have worked through many trials and tribulations only to realize that we were stronger after the experience.  Our faith and trust in the Lord has been richly rewarded.

The church has maintained an active Sunday School since its inception.  There have been 16 Sunday School superintendents to serve the church during these 100 years along with a host of dedicated Christian teachers.  Many have been led to Christ through these classes and activities.

Missions has remained a major emphasis since the early days.  The WMU ladies have ministered to the sick and bereaved throughout our history.  These ladies, organized in "circle" and later "mission groups", have frequently been the backbone and the muscle for implementing church projects and activities.  They have sponsored the Sunbeams (remember Miss Sammons and "I'm a Little Sunbeam"), now called Mission Friends, GA s, RA s, YWA, BYPU and BTU.
The Brotherhood participated in sponsoring some of these.

Mission teams have served locally, in other states and abroad to take the message of Christ to the unchurched and non-believers.  Teams were commissioned to serve in West Virginia from 1977 - 1993.  Support was continued for the work there even though we were no longer going.  Other teams have served in NY, Idaho, Utah, FL, Washington, DC and many
points in between.  Others have served in Africa and Belgium.  A former member became a missionary and served for many years in the Philippines.  You can find the team members listed in the appendix of our history. Vacation Bible School is the greatest mission of all right here in our church. 

The music ministry has flourished since its meager beginning.  The first two new members after the 20 charter members were musicians.  Both played piano and one sang.  The music ministry was enhanced in the early 30's when the WMU had the piano tuned and purchased hymnals (which of course burned).  In the 1940's, 20 ladies formed the choir under the
direction of a talented and accomplished musician.  They were responsible for the purchase of a new spinet piano.  An organ was added in the mid 80's.  We have been blessed with a host of talented accompanists and choir directors through the years.  The choirs range in age from little tots to Young at Hearts.  The music ministry has been and continues to be a blessing each week in our services as well as the special seasonal performances.

FBC was involved with Central Baptist Association in planting churches that have been fully constituted with large memberships: Manly Memorial Baptist (290), Friendship Baptist (400), Central Baptist (240) and Lakeside Baptist (690).  FBC also helped establish and support New Life Baptist, an African-American Church in Haddock.               
Deacons have been an active group.  They have led in family ministry, in deacon ministry teams, in guiding building committees and other activities.

The Young at Hearts ministry and choir have been a blessing for all ages as they have shared with the church on many, many occasions.

Our ministers have been a blessing.  We will hear from some today.  Our church has had several from our congregation to go into the ministry - This is always a joy for any church.

Of course, our building programs have been a highlight.  From the building of this building, the addition of the Sunday School wing, the little white building, the Fellowship Hall to the marvelous Sanctuary going up next door.  We indeed need to count our blessings received during the last 100 years and look forward to the future as we do the Lord's Work here on this
corner in Gray.

As we searched and researched the history of our church, the members have always been the vital part of our church - after all the Church is People.  Records were burned from the earliest days, but we talked with many to recreate some membership rolls.  We found that we had four who could claim continuous membership records of 70+ years.    At this time, we would like to recognize these members - two sisters and two brothers: Mrs. Frances Allen (whose health
prohibits attendance), Mrs. Margaret Briscoe (please stand), Mr. Emmitt Bragg (please stand), and Mr. Harris Bragg (whose is not with us today).  I am proud to say that one of these standing is my mother.  Now we would like to recognize other members: all who have had continuous membership for 60 or more years, please stand.  All with 50+ years -- All with 40+ years -- All with 30+ years -- All with 20+ years -- All with 10+ years -- All with 5+ years -- All who have been members for less than 5 years.  We are thankful for these and the many others who are with us today and for the ones who have passed on.  Our church is what it is today because of the multitude of wonderful Christian people who have been and are here.




Updated 8-16-05