First Baptist Church
Houlka, MS
Church History
The Houlka First Baptist Church was organized in 1842. This early church was made up of people from the Toxish and Redland communities who had moved south along what is now Highway 15 to Old Houlka. In May 1844, Mr. Lewis Moore conveyed two acres of land to the Houlka First Baptist Church, upon which the congregation built a building. Water from a nearby spring was emptied into a baptismal pool carved out of solid rock. The first church was destroyed by fire during the Civil war. The location of this church is believed to have been near what is now the home of Mary Buchanan.
About 1893 or 1894, the church was reorganized. The first founders were Joe Hamilton, J. R. Mayo, W. S. Savely, James Thompson and Aquilla Delashment. These and others brought their membership from Shiloh. Early in 1900 the Houlka First Baptist Church was built west of the school at Old Houlka. The location of this church would have been somewhere between Masterfibers and the late Miss Mary Vance Joyner’s house. After the railroad came through New Houlka, the Houlka First Baptist Church was rolled from Old Houlka to New Houlka on logs through woods, over creeks and without a mishap. Legend is that a glass of water left on a table during the move did not spill. In 1920 a new frame building was built consisting of an auditorium and fourteen classrooms.
In 1956-57 a new building was constructed. The Steeple and Bell from the early church were used in this construction. This building housed the membership of the Houlka First Baptist Church until December 11, 1994, when it was destroyed by fire. The Church was debt-free at the time of this fire.
In 1969 our church adopted to build children’s and recreation building and the first Constitution and By-laws were adopted on September 7 of that year. During 1973 a church bus was purchased and the church Kindergarten was organized. Since 1973 Ms. Alice Clark has served as the Kindergarten teacher. In the fall of 1986 a new and larger van was purchased.
In the fall of 1987 a Family Life Center was begun and completed in the spring of 1988. For two (1994-1996) years the Family Life Center and the Children’s Building, which survived the fire along with a doublewide trailer, supplied by the Mississippi Baptist Convention, provided the facilities to allow the Houlka First Baptist Church services and activities to continue without interruption.
On December 8, 1996, a new chapter in the history of Houlka First Baptist Church began in a beautiful new building with a membership of 383. A dedication service was held that day with Dr. Bufford Easley bringing the dedication message.
In 1998 an additional van was purchased for the church and a mobile home for the director of Children and Youth. A new Children’s Playground was installed in November 1999. The parking lot of the Family Life Center was paved in 2001, and in 2002 an Audio Visual Projector System was purchased. During the 2003 year the Family Life Center was renovated, and a new 25-passenger bus was ordered. We received the 25-passenger bus in 2004 without debt, and the 1986 van was given to Schooner Valley Baptist Church, a local church in our association. In 2005 a bus cover and storage building has been purchased and the gym renovated. Also in 2005 we adopted North Hills Baptist Church in Wiggins, Ms. after Hurricane Katrina. The period of adoption would be one year at which time an assessment would be made concerning future assistance. In May 2007, an era came to an end when “Miss Alice” retired after thirty three years and the kindergarten program closed.
During the life-span of the church 25 men have served as pastor: J.S. Ware, F.L. Seaward, J.F. Powell, J.H. Ware, J.L. Henderson, R.A. Cooper, Hubert Collins, S.P. Andrews, A.C. Purr, S.F. Andrews, C.T. Davis, J.W. Kitchens, Arthur Leslie, G.A. McCoy, Bob Posey, Mack Rutledge, T.J. Murphy, Julian West, A.E. Evans, Bobby Burress, Donald Cotton, Woodrow Horn, Bruce Cappleman, Rick Burton, Gary Blair, and David Blackwell. Rev. Cooper served as pastor for 20 years. Rev. S. P. Andrews served the longest period of any pastor of the Houlka First Baptist Church. He served the church for 2 pastorates.
The following have served the church as Youth Directors: Rafford Bullock, John Talbert, Clark Eyl, Dale Funderburk, Chris Aldridge, Robin Kendall, Brian Tillman, Wayne Worsham, Michael Herring, Jonathan Childress, Mark Mathis, Shawn Bigham and Jonathan Bryant.
The Lord’s Supper Table in our hallway and the stained glass windows in the Houlka Funeral Home were from the 1920 church. The podium from this same church is in our existing facility and is still used on occasion.
In May of 2007 the church purchased the property east of the Family Life Center. Plans are under way to build a “Garden Sanctuary” on this lot. Work began in 2008 with it being completed in 2013. In 2014 a new computer and Audio Visual Projector System was purchased for the sanctuary.