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About Our Church |
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Green Creek First Baptist Church is a rural church located in
the southern part of Polk County. The current building was
constructed in 1951. In 1990, the connecting educational
wing with fellowship hall was built. In this wing there
are also six classrooms, a choir room, the choir director's
office, and a conference room. There are six classrooms
and two nurseries located in the basement of the original
building. The main floor consists of the sanctuary,
pastor's study, secretary's office, and work room. The
third level contains four classrooms and two storage
rooms. The gymnasium across the road that is part of the
Green Creek Community Center is available for use by the
church. The cafeteria at that center is also available for
a small fee.
The average attendance for our worship service is 125, and the average for Sunday School is 117. There are 212 active members and 213 inactive members (as of July 2006). A broad base of members includes nurses, teachers, management, blue-collar workers, self-employed business owners, farmers, and retired people. Along with our 10:40 worship service, we have 9:30 Sunday School, 6:00 evening worship, and 7:00 Wednesday night prayer meeting, worship and Bible studies. Other fellowships we have are: Children's Church, AWANA program, youth programs, monthly men's prayer breakfast, Billy Graham Telephone Ministry, special Bible studies, senior adult ministry, and a Hispanic ministry in which our associate pastor, Juan Molina, ministers and visits the Hispanic community. A part-time youth minister leads our youth programs. Green Creek First Baptist Church is a mission-minded church. We support the following missions: Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program, Polk Baptist Association, Steps to HOPE, Community Benevolence, NC Retirement Homes, NC Disaster Fund, Grace of God Rescue Mission, BCM Ministries International, Green Creek Family Life Center, Thermal Belt Outreach, Hospice, Juan Molina Education Expense, JAARS, a church in Mexico, Billy Graham Telephone Ministry, and mission trip funding. The population growth is booming in Polk County. The county approved nine sub-divisions in 2005. Two large, upscale golf course developments are coming at the same time to Polk County. Several of these are in the Green Creek area. The area is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. There is one high school in Polk County. It was built in 1992 with an addition in 2005. A new middle school was built at Mill Spring and opened in 2005. It is very modern with a focus on new technology in every subject. There are four elementary schools located in the county. The closest to our area is Polk Central, about six miles north of our community. All schools are excellent and achieve among the highest marks in the state each year. A History of Green Creek First Baptist Church On September 3, 1796, a small group of 44 people in the Green Creek area of Rutherford County (now Polk County) met in a log building on Jack's Branch, approximately one-half mile from where it empties into Green's Creek and organized a Baptist church, naming it Green's Creek Baptist Church. Most of the charter members were members of Green River Baptist Church, according to the decrease in membership at Green River reported at the 1797 meeting of Bethel Association. This break-away from Green River to form Green Creek was evidently not because of disagreement, but more due to the distance of travel required to attend worship. A fire in 1855 destroyed the building and its contents, including all records and mention of the charter members. We do, however, have from minutes of the Bethel Association a list of some of these charter members. The leader of this group was Elder John Blackwell, a lay preacher and a Revolutionary War soldier. Elder Blackwell acted as supply pastor until 1803, at which time he was elected regular pastor and served until 1828. Elder Blackwell was a faithful and active leader during these early years and was well liked by the church body as well as his fellow pastors. He retired in 1828 because of his age. He died in 1840 in Walker, Georgia. Many descendants of Elder Blackwell and of charter members are still members of Green Creek First Baptist Church today. The first mention in the minutes of foreign missions was in March 1890; this may or may not have been the beginning of participation in foreign missions, but it is the first time seen on record. The first mention of state missions participation is August 1897. The Women's Missionary Society was started in 1912. The meetings were normally held on Saturday before conference on Sunday. "Circles" were formed and consisted of 10-15 women living in close proximity of each other, so that the walking distance was shortened. The ladies would often take on special projects for the church including making quilts for the needy families in the community. The "WMS" would hold special prayer meetings in which they prayed for the young people of the church. Click on pictures to enlarge:
Take heed now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it. I Chronicles 27:32 (KJV) Forty-two pastors have served Green Creek First Baptist Church in the past 205 years. We are thankful for each of these men and their families as they served God in ministry at Green Creek. We are eternally grateful for the wisdom, knowledge, and love each one has shared, and the spiritual growth we have experienced under their leadership. Excerpted from the 2001 church directory
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| ©2007 - Green Creek First Baptist Church -
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