Today our church celebrates its 169th year of service to our Lord Jesus Christ. The church was begun in 1848 on this very plot of ground given for this purpose by the Benjamin Clardy Family. The raw land was cleared by slave labor. It is interesting to note the environment of the times when our church came into existence in 1848.
Arkansas was only 12 years old.
The American Civil War was yet another twelve years away.
Abe Lincoln was a youngster living in a log cabin in Illinois.
All transportation was animal drawn except for early steam engine trains.
There were no roads other than wagon trails.
There was no electricity.
All lighting was by candle or kerosene lamp. The incandescent light bulb was not invented until 1880, and was slow to catch on.
There was no radio
There was no television
There was no telephone
There was no automobile
There was no airplane.
There was no indoor plumbing
There was no air conditioning.
There were no antibiotic medicines
There were no calculators.
There were no computers.
There was no refrigeration
There were no McDonalds or KFC.
There was no pizza
There were not a hundred other things that are taken for granted today.
There were hearty pioneers.
There were God’s people, His churches, and ministers.
There were protracted revival meetings, lots of folks saved, and baptized.
There were a few Missionary Baptist Churches in Arkansas, and in 1848 there was Francois.
Thank God for our fathers, and for all who journeyed with her through these years.
FOR THOUGHT: The woods remain full of associational Missionary Baptist Churches. Some of them predate statehood of our state. They are the remnant of Anabaptists who came to the new world, and by the grace of God prospered greatly, they multiplied, and they remain as Baptists were in apostolic days. Do you know the origin and history of the church of your membership?