A church is more than a building or a place for Sunday School, worship services, youth and other age-appropriate activities. Indeed, a church is a congregation of believers – a family – an organized group of people who follow Christ and desire to serve Him. Others are constantly invited to visit the services and participate in the activities of the Body. Many eventually become members themselves.
New Faith Baptist Church was founded in 1993. It began with our charter members simply meeting in a house.
Then, we moved into a Nazarene church. They had their services at one time; we had ours at another. God moved their hearts to eventually offer us the facility, and several acres of land, for $50,000. However, the site on where our building now stands opened up from a group of Baptists. Their asking price for the facility and about two acres of land was $150,000. But, they said, “If you’re serious about this, we’ll sell it to you today for $100,000.” Our congregants, of that time, agreed, went down, and the storied history of our church upon that land began. Oh, how different it is today from the few pews and the stinky chairs! God has anointed our facility and it’s “cozy” and “homey” for members and guests alike.
Pastor Bob Harper
The charter pastor was Bob Harper. Only one other man was employed as our preacher between 1993 and 2014.
With the departure of that pastor, Pastor Harper came out of retirement and, one last time, returned to the pulpit at New Faith. A true humanitarian and agent of God, Pastor Harper announced, in June, 2014, that he was no longer able–due to multiple health issues–to make the visitations to his flock that he felt strongly that God calls a man of the cloth to perform. With great reservations and a sadness in his heart, he hesitantly retired after the Sunday, June 22, 2014, services. To this day, Pastor Bob continues to attend Sunday services as he is able.
New Faith was fortunate, however, to have two, additional retired pastors in the congregation. As a “Pastoral Seach Committee” began their work in July, 2014, Rusty Orr and Bill Roberts took turns, in the pulpit, bringing God’s Word and encouragement to our church family.
Pastor Gary Smith
On December 14, 2014, prospective pastoral candidate Gary Smith gave his first message. Gary accepted the call to New Faith and began his full-time tenure in March, 2015.
Twice, our present facilities were expanded. We were able to add a social hall addition to the original structures and praise God that our entire building is mortgage-free.
This brief introduction is a call to our membership, as well as to all those who have honored us with their visits, to join our service for Christ. Be a faithful Christian and loyal member. Be a true friend of the church. Be steadfast in your faith. Attend the services. Participate in the worship. Serve the Lord with us; honor Him.
Pastor Gary Smith resigned in November of 2018. But, in a simply amazing series of obviously God-ordained moves, the pulpit would be filled with another full-time pastor in less than two months!
Pastor Brandon Carter
On January 6, 2019, the church engaged the upbeat and visionary Brandon Carter as their new head pastor.
By Easter Sunday, 2019, attendance had risen from single or low double digits to 109 at the service.
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, New Faith sought to reach those parishioners who could not attend services in person. Live streaming on Zoom and Facebook Live, as well as FM transmission of the service to the parking lot, helped placate a church full of members anxious to worship corporately.
By April 28, 2021, numbers were back to normal and the church resumed a concerted effort to add a larger sanctuary on the north side of the existing building. By the spring of 2023, the Sunday morning attendance was averaging 90 and there were no parking spots available (we parked on the grass). New Faith received a building permit on March 1, 2023.
On Sunday, July 16, 2023, the entire congregation of eligible voters–with only one dissenting vote–approved hiring Howard Watson Construction, LLC, to build the new sanctuary as well as procure a loan if the church was unable to pay the cost in full.
On Sunday morning, August 27, 2023, we broke ground on the construction of the new sanctuary, using the motto, “Follow In Faith!”
Come join us for an even brighter future of serving the Lord from a church with a rich, rich history!
