A Look at Some of the 175 Years of History of the Bethel Baptist Association

FOREWORD

<= /span>Today marks the beginning of our 175^th year as an Association of Bapti= st churches. Since 1833, the chu= rches of the Bethel Baptist Association have been working together, “strengthening others in sharing Christ”. What you hold in your hands is but= a brief summary, in timeline form, of the rich history of our beloved Association.

<= /span>Since God is sovereign in the affairs of men, and the Lord Jesus Christ rules as = Head of His Body, the Church, in compiling such a history we must first acknowle= dge that this is “His Story&= #8221;. As the Acts of the Apostles might be more fittingly described as “the Acts of the Holy Spirit”, so the role of the Spirit in moving and gui= ding the cooperative efforts of His churches in South West Georgia must not be overlooked. He is, through and sometimes even in spite of our feeble human efforts, building His Kingdom and preparing His Bride for that blessed day of= His appearing. To God be the glor= y!

<= /span>We are much in debt to the three of His choice servants for the preparation of this manuscript. Our 175^=
th Anniversary Committee, consisting of Mrs. J. T. (Frannie) Manry of the Blakely First Church, Mrs. Dorothy Everson of Edison Church, and Mrs. Joan Herndon of the Beulah Church, have worked many long and hard hours in compiling this history and “compressing” it into a readable length. We and future generations of Bethel Baptists are the beneficiaries of their painstaking labor of love.

<= /span>Today, the Bethel Baptist Association consists of 34 congregations ministering in = six different counties of Southwest Georgia.= This Association, which began in t= he 19^th Century, is now moving forward into the 21^st Century. Since 2000, we have planted our fi= rst African-American congregation and have engaged in our first formal domestic= and international mission partnerships. During this 175^th year, we will be completing and occupyi= ng a new associational office building, the first structure designed and built exclusively for that purpose. Our “20/20 Vision” Statement reads:

“B= y the year 2020, we see a fellowship of 50 strong, healthy churches working toget= her to reach ALL people with the Gospel of Christ, serving others in the Name of Christ, and extending God’s Kingdom to the far corners of the globe through the power of Christ.”

<= /span>As we celebrate our 175^th year together, let us remember the great things God has done in our past, let us obey Him in the present, and let us trust Him with the future

&n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; James A. Holloway

&n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; Associ= ational Missionary

&n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; October 16, 2007

= A LOOK AT SOME OF THE 175 YEARS OF H= ISTORY OF

= &nb= sp; = THE BETHEL BAPTIST ASSOCIATION

“What is the significance of anniversaries? You have only to think a moment fo= r the answer. He who

does not look to the past to see the way we have come, cannot with clarity interpret the present

nor with courage chart the future.”

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Quote from

= &nb= sp; = = Dr. Louie D. Newton’s

= = September 23, 1982 column in the Christian Index

1707-----The first Baptist Association founded in America was the Philadelphia

= Association in Pa.

1733-----General James Edward Oglethorpe and 116 peopl= e arrived at Yamacraw Bluff on the

ship Ann to begin the colonization of Georgia. There must have been at least 1 or 2

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = Baptists on board the s= hip.

1771-----Rev. Daniel Marshall moved to Georgia from S.C.

1772-----Kiokee Baptist Church, the first Baptist church in Georgia, was founded by

Rev. Daniel Marshall.

1784-----The first Baptist association in the state wa= s organized. The Georgia Baptist

= Association had 5 chur= ches.

1801-----First of three conferences was held at Powelton, Ga., which later led to the organization

= of the Georgia Baptist State Convention.

1813-----A Baptist Foreign Mission Society was founded= in Savannah.

1818-----Early County was constitu= ted and was 3,750 square miles in size. It included the &n= bsp;

= present day counties of Early, Calhoun, Clay, Dougherty, Baker, Mill= er, Colquitt,

= Mitchell, Thomas, Semi= nole, Decatur and Grady. There were no town= s in the area

= until a small village = on the banks of the Chattahoochee was chartered as Ft. Gaines in = &nb= sp;

= 1830. Then Albany was charte= red in 1838, Cuthbert in 1844, Lumpkin in 1850,

= = Georgetown in 1859, Blakely in 1870, Arlington in 188= 0 and Edison in 1902.&nb= sp;

1822-----The General Baptist Association of the State = of Georgia= was constituted June 29,

= 1822, and was the beginning of the formation of the Georgia Baptist Convention.

1828-----The Columbus Association was organized becomi= ng one of the 17 Baptist

= associations in Georgia at this time.

1833-----The Christian Index moved to Washington, Ga. from Washington, D.C. Jessie

= Mercer was the owner. = Due to ill health in 1840 Mercer offered the Index to the

= Georgia Baptist Convention and they accepted the offer. Mercer passed away in

September 1841.

= One hundred seventy five years late= r the Index is still giving Georgia Baptists the

= news of Baptist work at home, acros= s the nation and around the world.

1833-----Mercer Institute was organized in Penfield, Ga.

&nb= sp;

1833-----THE BETHEL B= APTIST ASSOCIATION WAS ORGANIZED IN RICHLAND,

= GA. Fifteen churches withdrew from the Columbus Association and on November

= 23^rd at Richland, Ga. these churches were constituted into the new Bethel Baptist

= Associatio= n. The geographical area reached from Columbus so= uth to the Florida line =

= and east from the Chattahoochee River= to Dougherty, Webster and Sumter

= Counties. Articles of Faith and a Constitution and By -Laws were adopted. These

= have remained in place being amende= d or up-dated when necessary.

1839-----The question of being a Missionary versus an = Anti-Missionary organization had been = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = =

= an issue for Baptist churches for over a decade. The Association voted at the annua= l

= meeting in 1839 to become a Missionary organization.

1840-----The Bethel Assoc= iation gave its first offering for Domestic Missions --- $44.12 ½ .

= The slavery question was a hot topi= c in both the North and the South.

= The Association sent o= ut its first missionary. Peter Ethridge was to labor in the

= “destitute region” on our border in Alabama. He traveled 1,123 miles, prea= ched

= 130 sermons, baptized 34 and constituted 2 churches. He was on the field 128 days

= at $1.50 a day and he had to furnish his own horse.

1841-----All churches wer= e urged to start Sabbath Schools though most small churches had

= preaching only once a month. It was a struggle for many years to rea= lly get the schools

= going on a regular basis. At every annual meeting of the Association= the churches were

= urged to start Sunday Schools and in this year of 2007 all the churc= hes, including the

= New Zion Church (Mission) reported having a Sunday School. = &nb= sp;

1842-----The Bethel Association voted to become a part= of the Georgia Baptist Convention.

= There were now 38 churches in the association with a membership of 2= ,429 made up

= of both white and black people.&nbs= p; Over the first years of the association, as new counties

= were being chartered in the state, many drawing land from the origin= al Early County,

= new associations were being organized and churches were received and dismissed from

= the Association. This = was noted in the minutes of the Association every year till 1915

= when Mt. Ararat was admitted. It was 47 yea= rs later in 1962 that Southside Church in

= Blakely, Ga. was admitted. Faith Church in Cuthbert, Ga. was admitted in 1968 an= d

= the New Zion Church in Blakely, = Ga. was established as a mission of the Association

= in 2003.

1845-----The Southern Baptist Convention was organized= , in Augusta, Georgia, May 8-

= 12, along with 2 boards--Domestic Missions and Foreign Missions. The = Bethel

= Association voted to associate with and support this convention.

1846-----The first offering taken in the Bethel Associ= ation for Foreign Missions was $36.33.

1851-----The question of establishing a Female College in the Association at Cuthbert= , Ga. for

= the purpose of educating young ladies was discussed and approved. For the next 73

= years the business and operation of the Bethel Female College was written= into the

= minutes of the Association in great detail. The events of secular hi= story, the Civil War

= and the following Reconstruction period, WW I, economic conditions of the nation,

= crop failures, e= ven epidemics and illnesses affected the college. Conditions caused it to

= change hands several times and it was finally closed and the property sold in 1924. =

= The money from the sal= e of the property was placed with the Baptist Holding

= Commission and the interest of this money was used to pay the tuition and board

= of worthy boys and girls from the Association to attend Norman Junior College at

= Norm= an Park, Georgia.

= The importance of education has continued throughout the years and an annual

= report is made to the Association of support of the Georgia Baptist = Colleges and

= The Southern Baptist Seminaries. = &nb= sp;

1852-----The Association voted to raise $500 by the ne= xt session to support a missionary

= in Africa.

= There were now 56 churches in the Association.

1853-----The Methodists started Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia which is still, in 2007, =

= offering educati= onal advantages to young people of all faiths and walks of life. This

= college has been a great blessing to its denomination through the ye= ars, as was the

= Bethel Baptist College during the 73 years of its existence. = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = =

= The question of tempera= nce had been an important issue in the Association since its

= organization. Temperance Committee Reports were m= ade at each annual session.

= For many years church members were excommunicated for the sale or us= e of alcohol.

= After confession and repentance they could be reinstated to the chur= ch.

1854-----The Association employed Isaac B. Deavors as = an instructor to the black members of

= the Association.

1856-----Just what did it take to attend an associatio= nal meeting in 1856? A messenger to the

= Bethel Association in that year writes in the Index of his trip from= Morgan, Ga. to

= Blakely, Georgia. “We traveled two days in horse drawn vehicles. Spent the night

= with a hospitable brother in Randolph County and found domiciled for the night a

= dozen other brothers and sisters bound for the Association. Next mor= ning I soon found

= myself a member of a caravan of a dozen vehicles headed for Blakely, which was

= reached Friday afternoon. Services began Friday evening, embraced Sunday, and

= continued through Tuesday afternoon. We left Wednesday morning, spent the night

= with our generous host in Randolph Country, and arrived back home la= te Thursday

= afternoon.” A round trip had required eight days and seven nights. =

= In this year of 2007 a trip from Morgan to Blakely takes about 30 to= 40 minutes.

1857-----25^th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BETHEL ASSOCIATION. = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

= The Association now covered 11 counties, with a total of 59 churches= in the

= Association, 37 ordain= ed ministers and 11 licensed ministers. There was a total

= membership of 4,498 ( = 3,228 whites and 1,267 blacks). The minutes listed the name of

= each church, the year of its consti= tution and its pastor.

= Dwight Hayes was appoi= nted “missionary to the colored people of the association”. =

= Financial report: $59.90 for Minutes; $236.22 = for Associational Funds; Home

= Missions, $48.20; Domestic Missions, $58.17; Foreign Missions, $15.00; Central

= African Missions, $586= .87; Colporteur, $120.00; Total $1,152.36.

1858-----Missionaries of the association: William H. Clark and wife, Central Africa; J.R.

= Hogue, Choctaw Nation; James Perryman, Creek Nation and Dwight Hayes= .

1861-----The Civil War began and affected the people a= nd the churches of the Association in

= every possible way.

= The churches were urged to contribute to the support of the work of the Bible

= Colportage among the s= oldiers of the Confederate Army. In 1862, $1100 was collected

= for the continued Army Mission and Colportage among t= he soldiers. The purpose of

= of the Georgia Bible and Colportage Society located at Macon, Ga. was the printing and

= distribution of religious tracts and materials. This Society sent out men all across the

= South with materials for the southern soldiers and could not keep up with demands for

= more Christian reading materials. They contacted the American Bible Society, which

= was located in the northern states, with a request for Bibles. This = Society sent a

= large number of Bibles through the military lines of the northern ar= my to help its

= sister society. One of the most requested pieces of material the southern soldiers asked

= for was the Christian Index.

1863---- The churches of the Bethel Association were u= rged to increase the salaries of their

= pastors so that they c= ould visit the families of the soldiers and help obtain relief for the

= more destitute familie= s.

= The Indian work was being continued by = Bro. Hogue at the Armstrong Academy,

= in the Choctaw Nation. The war had not reached that part of the coun= try. The Mission

= Board continued to pay= the salaries of the native preachers.

1865-----The collections for Mi= ssion purposes were at a low ebb.

= Classes at the Bethel College were being held in the president’s home as the college

= building was being use= d as a military hospital.

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = At the annual meeting, for the first time, separate services were held for the white

= and the black people. = The white group met at the Bl= akely Baptist Church and the

= blacks at the Blak= ely Methodist Church.

1866----= -No foreign missionaries were on the field, due to the poverty caused by the Ci= vil War.

= For the fi= rst time there were more black members than white members in

the A= ssociation; this too was caused by the Civil War.

= In the years foll= owing the war the South was in a terrible condition. Loss of lives,

= poverty and rules issued to the southern states by the federal government caused

= problems for the states to be readm= itted into the union. Geor= gia was the last of the

= states to sign the necessary = papers for reinstatement in 1870.

1869-----During Reconstruction days the blacks were withdrawing from the white churches

= and being urged to constitute churc= hes of their own. As a result, our black brethren

desired to organize an association = in Southwestern Ga. Delegates were sent from the = &nb= sp; =

= black churches to the Mt. Moriah Church in Stewart Co in November 1= 870 for the

= organizational meeting= . As their mother association they asked the Bethel Association

= to set up a committee to aid, advis= e and instruct them in their organization. =

1871-----The only mission work supported by the Associ= ation at this time was the Indian work.

= Construction was begun= on a home for orphan children in At= lanta, Ga. Some of the

= women of the 2^{nd
Baptist Church of Atlanta recognized the need for a home for the}

= destitute and helpless= children who were orphaned by the Civil War. In 1888 a charter

= was received by the GB= C, to establish the Georgia Baptist Asylum for Orphaned

= Children. The first ca= mpus was opened in 1899 in Hapevill= e, Ga. In 1940 it became the

= Georgia Baptist Childr= en’s Home and a campus was added at Baxley, Ga. In 1956 The

= Pine Mountian Campus w= as added and in 1968 the original campus was relocated to

= Palmetto, Ga.&n= bsp; Over the years many programs and ministries have been added to meet<= /p>

= the needs of the child= ren of Ga. and again the name was changed in 19= 85 to Georgia

= Baptist Children’= ;s Home and Family Ministries. Today there are a number of homes,

= for both children and adults with many different types of needs, in several locations

= across the state. The Association has supported this work since its beginning, both

= financially and for nearly 40 years (1920 until 1960) in the loading of 6 or more

= railroad cars of produce every Fall. In this year of 2007, and for a number of preceding

= years, the churches of the Association brought both food and non-foo= d items to the

= Annual meeting for loading trailers or trucks that were then driven = to the proper

= locations.

1873-----Mercer University was moved from Penfield, Ga. to Macon, Ga. and continues in this

= year of 2007 to offer educational advantages to people of all races and cultures.

1874---- The Sunday School department was authorized b= y the State Convention.

1875-----A resolution was adopted by the Association a= sking each church to appoint a

= committee to urge all members to contribute to the General Mission Work.

= Support was still being given to Brother Hogue and the Indian Work. =

1876-----No missionary labored in the bounds of the As= sociation. Bro. L.R. Sims, however;

= labored as a volunteer missionary traveling 1,149 miles, preaching 54 sermons,

= baptizing 4 persons and assisted in ordaining one deacon.

= Total gifts given that year was $40= 9.80. Only 5 Sunday Schools were reporte= d.

1877-----The State Mission Board was constituted. This= board along with the now North

= American M= ission Board and the International Mission Board have continued

= for = all the years of the Bethel Association to give Baptist people ways to serve Go= d

= by both giving and going. We give through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering =

for N= orth American Missions, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International

Missions and the State Mission Offering each year.

1878-----Brother Thomas Muse was requested to prepare,= at his leisure, a history of the = Bethel

= Association from its organization to the present.

1882-----50^th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BETHEL BAPTIST ASSOCIATION.

= There were 40 churches in the assoc= iation with 22 reporting Sunday Schools.

= Total gifts to all causes were $1,180. Total membership was 3,573.

1883-----The Association pledged $3,000 to aid in the endowment of Mercer University.

= In 1884 the Association gave = $1,560 to Mercer.

1885-----The Baptist Young Peoples Union (BYPU) was organized. Its purpose was fo= r the

= teaching and training = of young people to serve God in and through the local

= church and out i= nto the whole world. After two name changes: Baptist Training

= Union, then Church Tra= ining Union, the present term now in 2007 is Discipleship

= Training. Sixteen of o= ur 34 churches have Discipleship Training. =

1886-----The minutes reported that a newspaper, The Be= thel News, was being printed.

= Brother Thomas Muse was reappointed as the Colporteur for the Association.

1887-----The Association was divided into 4 districts:= 1. Early and Clay Counties.

= 2. Calhoun and Ter= rell Counties. 3. Randolph County. 4. Stewart and Quitman

= Counties.

1888-----The Woman’s Missionary Union was organi= zed as an Auxiliary to the Southern Baptist

= Convention.

1889-----The Association resolved to build a cottage o= n the Mercer campus named for J.T. Clark,

= a well respected lawyer, preacher and judge in the Association.

= There has been a student at Mercer for the last 4 years from the Association.

1890-----The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ope= ned promoting Christian Education.

= Cuthbert, Georgetown and Enon churches reported organization of Woman’s

= Missionary Unions.

1891-----Brother Thomas Muse turned over to the Execut= ive Committee of the Association the = &nb= sp; =

= minutes he had kept of the Association for over 50 years. Bro. Muse = was responsible

= for starting several of the churches of the Association, starting the Executive

= Committee and serving on it for many years, starting The Bethel Fema= le College

= and serving as a trustee for the college for many years. He and his wife had a boarding

= house where the college students lived. He traveled the Association = on horse back to

= preach at nearly all of the churches, baptized about 3,000 persons, = served as the

= Colporteur across the Association several different times and served= as moderator of

= the Association for 25 years.

1895-----Bro. Thomas Muse passed away April 19, 1895 h= aving lived in the Association for 59

years. Br= other Muse was born in April 1810, in Va., mig= rated to Georgia by way of <= /p>

Ne= w York and Tallahassee, Fl. He arrived in Blakely, Georgia, in 1836 to start a third

store. He started a prayer meeting at the = store that resulted in the formation of the

Macedonia Baptist church,= presently the First Baptist Church of Blakely.

He is buried in the Cuthb= ert, Georgia= city cemetery.

1900----= -Woman’s Missionary Union was organized in the association.and the minutes printed <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

&nb= sp; = in the minute book for the first time. This was a fast growing organization. More

= societies were started in the churches each year, gifts to mission causes increased

= and Sunbeam Bands, Girls Auxilaries, and Royal Ambassador groups, for the

= children, were organized in most of the churches.

1901-----In a rented 5 room house the Tabernacle Infir= mary opened to offer medical assistance

= to the people of Atlanta, Ga. This later became the Geo= rgia Baptist Hospital and for

= over 100 years it continued to care for the medical needs of all rac= es, classes and

= creeds. A training school for nurses opened in 1902 and was closed in 1992 giving

= way for the opening of the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing in 198= 9. The hospital

= grew and changed with the changing times= . By the 1990’s the hospital had placed

= medical faciliti= es in 9 different locations in the state. It also had the first Life Flight

= Helicopter Emergency Service in the state of Ga. In 1995 the Georgia Baptist

= Medical Center merged with HCA and the downtown property, in Atlanta, was sold.

= The people and churches of Georgia= have supported the hospital with an annual

Hospital Day Offering .

1907----= -75^th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BETHEL BAPTIST ASS= OCIATION.

= Twenty nine of the 38 churches in the Association reported having Su= nday Schools.

= Total gifts: $3,681.22.

1908----= -The Associational Woman’s Missionary Union was divided into 2 districts, = with

= 20 of the churches reporting having organizations.

1909----= -A Layman’s Movement was organized, the forerunner of the Brotherhood

= organization.

<= /p>

1913----= -In a survey taken by the Georgia Baptist Convention, excluding towns and cities,=

= there was one Bapt= ist Church for every 40 square miles.

1917----= -During World War I mission work was being done among the soldiers.

1918----= -The influenza epidemic across Southwest Ga. caused the= Association to meet for only

= one day.

1919-----The Association was participating in the $75,000,000 Campaign of the Southern Baptist

= Convention. For several years special offerings were taken for this project.

1921-----The Association was divided into 7 districts.=

= 1. Ft.Gaines, Bethel, Georgetown, Midway, Mt. Gilead and Mt. <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Vernon.

&nb= sp; = 2. Blakely, Beulah, Colomokee, Hilt= on, New Hope, Pine View, Providence,

= Sowhatchee and Mt. Ararat.

= 3. Edison, Enterprise, Morgan, Bluffton, New Bethel and Salem.

= 4. Arlington, Bethany, Damascus (Early), Elmodel, Hillside, Leary= and Milford.

= 5. Shellman, Dover, Elim, Frien= dship and Rehoboth.

= 6. Cuthbert, Damascus (Randolph = ), Enon, Morris, Springvale, Mt. Hebron and

= Carnegie.

= 7. Coleman, Vilulah, <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Mt. Vernon, Shiloh and Antioch<= /st1:place>.

1922-----The Bethel Association Encampment was held at= Bluffton for the religious training of

= people from all over the state. This Encampment was held every summer for 10 years

= and was attended by la= rge numbers of people; 229 in 1931 with over 200 visitors each

= day. Classes were conducted by preachers and lay people, and missionaries, home on

= furlough, gave great i= nspirational messages. Churches in the Association supplied

= food and workers in the kitchen. This was the forerunner of the pres= ent day camping

= program. = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

1923-----A new Associational Constitution and By-Laws = was voted on and adopted.

1925-----The Cooperative Program was a plan of giving adopted by the Southern Baptist

= Convention. The plan w= as adopted by most of the churches in the Association and

= continues to the prese= nt time.

1926-----Miss Eva Guillebeau was now at work in the As= sociation as an Associational

= Worker, visiting the various churches, teaching classes and organizi= ng the work.

1931-----Plans were made for the Centennial meeting th= e next year.

1932-----THE 100^th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BETHEL BAPTIST ASSOCIATION = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

= was held at the Edison Baptist Church. Sermons and addresses were delivered by Dr.

= Louie D. Newton of Atlanta; Dr. Spright Dowell, President of Mercer University; Rev.

= M. L. Laws= on; Dr. Carl L. Devane of Alexandria, La.; Dr. Raleigh White; Rev= .J. W.

= Framer; Dr. J.E. Sammo= ns, President of the Geo= rgia Baptist Convention; Rev. A

= Barnum Hawkes and Rev.= W. D. (Uncle Billy) Hammack, Coleman= , Ga. who was then

= in his ninetieth year.= The 3 day session was well attended by Association members

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = and many visitors. There were 42 churches in the association with a membership = of

= 5,507. Cooperative Program gifts were $5,716.83.

1933-----The SBC organized the Hundred Thousand Club. = The churches in the Association

= participated in this endeavor as they had done with other projects o= ver several years.

= God’s Acre, Butter, Egg, Pig and Calf projects were offered to help the farmer and his

= family find money for mission projects in the Depression Days of the 1920’s and

= 1930’s. Later programs such as The Every Member Canvass (1936), Debt Free by ’43,

= and A Million More in’54 showed people the advantage of working together to meet

= the needs.

= It was the 25^th Anniversary of the R. A.’s and the = 100^th Anniversary of both the

= Index and Mercer University.

1934-----The Association gave Miss Annie Sandlin, of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Cuthbert, Ga., $100 to be used for her

= mission work in China.

= The = book entitled “History of Bethel Association Including Centennial Meeting&= #8221; by

A. L. Miller of Edison had been printed and was on sale for $2.00 a copy.

1937-----It was recommended that a Workers Council be = formed to meet and plan work for the

= Association.

= The Head of the State Brotherhood Department visited the Association urging the

= Organization of Brotherhood programs i= n all of the local churches.

= An appeal was made at the annual meeting for the continued support of the

= Annuity Board program, which was begun in 1916.

1940-----World War II, which began in Europe in 1939, was causing great concern for our

= Foreign Mission work, and by the time the United States entered the war= in 1941 many

= of the missionaries had returned home,

1942-----Only 1 missionary was left in Europe, in Spain. In Japan Dr. Maxwell Garrett had

= refused to leave when the other missionaries left and it was reported that he was in a

= POW camp in Tokyo.

1943-----Because of the gas rationing the Association = met for only one day.

1944-----The Executive Committee asked for the authori= ty to investigate and be empowered

= to employ an Associational Field Worker and to find ways to secure t= he funds to pay

= the worker.

= The State WMU revealed plans for a Camp to be located in North Georgia near

= Clayton, Georgia.

1945-----REV. W.R.CALLOWAY began serving as the first Associational Field Worker August

= 15, 1945. He served th= rough June 1946, a total of 10 months. This position later

&nbs= p; &n= bsp; became known as the “Associational Missionary”.

1946-----The second Associational Field Worker REV. LA= MAR BROOKS began serving

= September 1946 and served for 1 year, until September 1947.

= The Sunbeam Bands had been in operation for 60 years and the Children’s Home

= for 75 years.

= The first mention of the Training Union event of “M”(Mob= ilization) Night was

= made. This= has been a continuous event. The highest ever attendance for one meeting

= was in 1953 when two groups met in two different towns with 1,377 pe= ople present.

= The name “M” Night was changed to Associational Disciple= ship Rally in 1995.

1947-----The State WMU Camp at C= layton, Ga., Camp Pinnacle, opened offering summer

= camping for the children, youth and women of the state. This camp has been in

= continuous operation.

= REV.G. A. COOPER began serving as the Associational Field Worker in =

= December, and he served for 2 years and 3 months, until March 1950.<= /p>

= The State Brotherhood Department was organized.

1948-----The war in Palestine forced all our missionaries to leave the country.

= The WMU observed its 60^th Anniversary

= The Cuthbert Church organized a Brotherhood group.

= The annual report of the Field Worker was included in the minutes for the first

= time. Some of his service and activities included: days on the field, 266; miles

= traveled, 14,515; churches visited, 134; Sunday Schools visited, 31; mission points

= visited, 8; other serv= ices visited, 65; visits in homes, 252; soul-winning

= conferences, 25; letters and cards written, 678; tracts given out, 2= ,955; sermons

= preached, 65; addresses, 22; committee meetings, = 16; group and Associational

= conferences, 25; individual confere= nces on church work, 78; and community visits,

= 168, plus 18 conferences of various grou= ps both in and outside of the Association. He

= edited and distributed 3 issues of “The Bethel News” (2,300 copies) and he purchased

= a 16mm RCA projector and equipment and showed films on evangelism and soul-

= winning to 50 different groups.

1949-----The churches in Cuthbert and Edison now had Brotherhoods.

= The Executive committee asked that a separate treasurer for the Associational

= Field Worker’s Fund be elected at the next meeting and that all funds for the

= Associational Field Worker be kept separate from the regular funds of the

= Association.

1950-----REV. J. R. BOWEN became the fourth Associatio= nal Field Worker in September and

= served for 9 years and 6 months until March 1960.

= The Georgia Baptist Convention established a Brotherhood Department offering

= missionary education and service programs for the men and boys of the church.

1951-----Thirty of the Association Churches cooperated= with the state wide Simultaneous

= Evangelistic Crusade. =

= Nineteen boys and 5 counselors attended R.A. Camp and 26 girls and 7 counselors

= attended G.A. Camp. This was the first camp to be held since the 1930’s. No location

= for the camps was given. The camping experience for the children and youth has

= continued for nearly every year meeting at different locations over = the years. These

= included neighboring associations, Camp Hicita at Kolomoki State Park= near

= Blakely, Georgia and on the campus of Andrew College in Cuthbert , Georgia= .

1953-----Fifty-four boys and girls attended 2 weeks of= camp in a neighboring association.

= Starting in July the Association sponsored a Saturday morning Radio Program

= called “The Beth= el Hour” which was aired over the WDWD Radio Station in Dawson,

= Ga. These programs were led by the pas= tors with several programs led by Mrs. Harvey

= Jordan, of Leary, = Ga., the Association WMU Superintendent. These programs

= continued until December 1954.

1954-----The question of securing a home for the Associational Field Worker and how to fund

= it was brought up at the Annual Fall meeting of the Association. A committee w= as

= appointed to research the question and report to the Executive Committee.

= A Business Woman’s Federation (for the women working away from the home= )

= has been organized as part of the Associational WMU. Seven churches reported having

= organized a group.

= The summer camp under the direction of Bro. Bowen, the Associational Field

= Worker, was held at Camp Hicita at Kolomoki State Park, with 116 boys and girl= s

= in attendance. Pastors and dedicated lay people from across the Association made up

= the staff.

= The first Associational School of Church Music was held at the Cuthbert Church

= and was conducted by Dr. Edmond D. Keith, State Associate Secretary = of Church

= Music.

1955-----The Association bought the Stewart house in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Edison, Ga. as a combination residence

= and office for the Associational Missionary for $5,000.

= This was the year the name was changed from Associational Field Work= er to

= Associational Missionary.

= A committee was appointed to place a marker in Cuthbert, Ga. at the site of the

= Bethel Female College.

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

1956-----The Georgia Baptist Convention opened Baptist Village, first home for senior adu= lts,

= located in Waycross, Ga. One of the first people= to enter the home was Mrs. H. T.

= (Mar= y) Singleton of Edison= , Ga. This work has continued until the present time with

= several other locations being opened across the state for the caring= of elderly people.

= The R. A. work in the local churches was moved from the WMU Departme= nt to the

= Brotherhood Department.

1957-----125^th SESSION OF THE BETHEL ASSOCIAITON. There are now 38 ch= urches in

= the Association with a= total membership of 7,072, with 4,718 resident members and

= 2,354 non-reside= nt members. Twenty-four of the churches have less than 100

= members. T= otal Cooperative Program gifts was $21,823. Total gifts to all local

= causes was $238,202.

1958-----The marker for the college site arrived and w= as ready for placement. A short history

= of the college was included in the annual minute book of the Associa= tion on page 29.

1960-----REV. G. L. (Gordon) BROOKS became the fifth Associational Missionary, serving 2

= years and 8 months from April 1960 through December 1962.

1963-----REV. J. V. PITTMAN became the sixth Associati= onal Missionary. He served for 5

= years until sometime in early 1968.

= The Georgia Baptist Assembly, located at Toccoa, Ga., opened for conferences and

= meetings and has continued to offer programs and events.

= Southside Baptist Church in Blakely, Ga., requested membership in the Be= thel

= Association. This was the first new church organized and admitted in= the Association

= since Mt. Ararat was admitted in 1915.

1968-----REV. CARL CULPEPPER became the seventh Associ= ational Missionary, serving for

= 16 years until June of 1984.

= Faith Baptist Church was organized in Cuthbert, Ga. and was admitted in the

= Association.

1969-----Miss India Everson of the Edison Baptist Church advanced to = the second highest rank

= in the Forward Steps program in the G.A. Organization. The next year, 1970, after one

= year of college, she served as a counselor at Camp Pinnacle, the WMU camp located

= near Clayton= , Ga.

1971-----Rev. Wallace DuVall, Foreign Missionary to Nigeria= for 15 years, spoke at the annual

= Fall session of the Association.&nb= sp;

= The association held its first R.A. Congress meeting at the Southside Baptist Church

= in Blakely, Ga. with nearly 100 boys and adults in attendance.

1973-----The Shellman Baptist Church held a service of dedication for Rev. and Mrs. Cleve

= Buttermere for foreign mission service to Costa Rica.

1976-----In the interest of time a motion was made at = the annual meeting that all reports, which

= had been being given d= uring the meeting, be compiled into one book and handed out at

= the beginning of the annual session. The motion was adopted.

1977-----The Home Mission Board, of the SBC, establish= ed a Sister State Partnership program

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = which promoted the opportunity for greater mission work within the nation. New York

= was the first Ga. Baptist state partnership in 1977 and it was renew= ed in 1985. Others <= /p>

= which followed were: Connecticut = in 1991, Alaska and the Chicago Metropolitan

= Baptist Association in 1995 and Utah-Idaho in 2000. These partnershi= ps were usually

&nbs= p; for a three year duration. <= /p>

&nbs= p; Donna Blackburn, of the Vilulah Community, served as a State BSU Summer

&nbs= p; Missionary. This marked the beginning of a lon= g career in Student Work. At the age <= /p>

= of 9, Donna accepted the call into full time = Christian Ministry<= /st1:PlaceName> while attending the

= Summer Association youth camp at Camp Hicita, at the Kolomoki State Park= .

During her formative y= ears her home church Vilulah Baptist, and the consistent

Christian life style o= f its members, provided the firm foundation of her faith.

= The summer camp program also played a very important part in her fai= th development,

= both as a camper and later as a camp staffer.

In college she was very involved in= the Baptist Student Union. After college, at

Wesleyan and Tift, she serve= d as the Summer youth worker at the First Baptist Church

in Cuthbert, Ga. From there she moved to Atlant= a, Ga. where she began her min= istry as

a State Missionary wit= h the GBC. For twelve and one half years she served as Missions

Coordinator of the Departmen= t of Student Work. During those years she continued her

education at Columbia Presby= terian Seminary and Georgia State University, earning

her Master’s of Education Degree in Adult Education= .

In 1991, she beg= an her ministry as the Associate Campus Minister at the Georgia

Southern University Bapti= st Student Union in Statesboro, Ga. and also the Campus

Minister of the East Ge= orgia College BSU in Swainsboro, Ga.

She has t= aken students on mission trips to Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana,

the North-Eastern United States, Germany and France. She has served as Special

Projects Coordinator and President= of the Georgia Baptist Student Union State Alumni

Association and was in charge of t= he Reunion Celebration to commemorate the 75^th

anniversary of the BSU in Georgia. =

1980-----All of the Associational Missionaries, since = 1955, have lived in the house which was

= bought in 1955 and also doubled as = the Association Office building. A study

= committee was appointe= d by the Executive Committee to look into the buying of a new

= house or the building of a new house as the residence for the Associational Missionary.

= The Association responded with Disaster Relief to the Mobile, Al. area by sending

= 20 tons of ice and hiring the semi-truck to deliver the ice.

= The Cuthbert and Shellman churches participated in the Rev. E. J. Daniels

= Evangelistic Crusade, Tell Georgia.

1981-----A World Mission Conference was held with 20 churches participating.

1982-----150^th ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BETHEL BAPTIST ASS= OCIATION

= was held at the Edison Baptist Church, Edison Ga. on October 12, = 1982. Special

= Anniversary Guest speaker was Rev. Ches W. Smith III, President of t= he Georgia

= Baptist Convention. Dr. Louie D. Newton had addressed the 100^th= Anniversary

= meeting in 1932 and was expected back for this session. Due to illne= ss he was not

= able to attend but sent his greetings.

= There were 38 churches in the Association with a total membership of 7,410,

= with 5,170 resident members and 2,240 non-resident members. A number= of

= organizations reported: Sunday Schools 35; Church Training Unions 13; Woman’s

= Missionary Unions 27 a= nd Brotherhoods 14. Cooperative Program gifts totaled

= $119,375; gifts to Associational Missions $19,466; gifts to other mission causes

= $216,733. Total gifts to Missions $236,199 and total money given by = all the

= churches for all causes $1,530,635.

1984-----REV. MARCUS HICKS became the eighth Associati= onal Missionary serving 14 years

= and 4 months, from July 1984 until October 1998. During his tenure t= he name was

= changed from Associational Missionary to Director of Missions (DOM) = .

= The Executive Committee accepted a motion from the Board of Trustees= to convert

= the missionary residence into an office and conference space. The mo= tion

= was seconded and passed. A DOM housing allowance was added to the Association

= budget. Later in the year the Board of Trustees reported to the Executive Committee

= that the property that= was purchased in 1955 was L shaped and that the bottom part of

= the L had been sold to= the neighbors next door for $1,200. This money would be

= applied to the renovat= ion of the office.

= The Georgia Baptist Convention entered into an international partnership with

= Liberia in 1984. Others which followed were: Panama= in 1988; Germany in 1990;

= France in 2001;= Moldova in 2002 and Mexico in 2006. These were us= ually for a 3 year

= duration.

= Dr. James O. Dorriety, pastor of First Baptist Church of Blakely, Ga= ., went on a

= mission trip to Zimbabwe.

1985-----The WMU contributed new drapes and other decorations for the newly renovated

= Associational office.

= Miss Beth McAllister, of the Faith Baptist Church of Cuthbert, Ga., = went as a

= US2 missionary to Baker= sfield, Ca.

= The youth group of the First Baptist Church of Blakely, Ga. went on a summer

= mission trip to Puerto Rico.

= Camp Glenn, the R.A. camp near Brunswick, Ga., was sold and property = was

= bought at Forsyth, Ga., for a new camp to be named Camp Kaleo.

1986-----Rev. and Mrs. W. C. Ruchti, retired missionar= ies from Italy, spoke at the Fall

= Associational meeting. Mrs. R= uchti is the sister of Mrs. Wallace DuVall, missionary

= to Nigeria.

= Open house was held at the newly renovated office building February = 9^th.

= Twenty-seven churches were enrolled in the Simultaneous Revivals in March.

= Several churches reported participating in the “Good News America= , God Loves

= You” revivals.

= Rev. and Mrs. Ray Shelton, retired missionaries, served as the Summe= r Camp

= missionaries.

1987-----A decision was made to have two meetings of t= he Association during the year. The

= election of officers was moved from the Fall meeting to the Spring meeting, so that

new l= eaders could attend training conferences offered in the Spring and Summer.

1988-----Twenty-four churches participated in the World Mission Conference. There were

= 14 missionaries in attendance.

= Joy and Art Redding, of the First Baptist Church of Blakely, Ga., we= nt on an 18 day

= Volunteer Medical Mission Trip to Tanzania, E. Africa= . Joy, a nurse, and Art, a

= pharmacist, joined 14 other volunteers on this trip sponsored by the= Foreign Mission

= Board of the SBC and the Virginia Baptist Convention.

= A group, called Baptist Builders, has been organized to go from plac= e to place

= across the state helping churches and organizations with building projects.

1990-----Hurricane Hugo created wide spread disaster a= cross the Caribbean area and the

= mainland USA. The people of the Associ= ation responded by sending several vehicles

= of supplies to the neighboring states. Three people went as workers.= The people of

= the Association gave $12, 080.70 to be use for Disaster Relief.

= Central heat and air conditioning was installed at the Associational Office.

= Twenty-four churches participated in the Simultaneous Revivals.

= A Missions Fair was held at the First Baptist Church in Blakely, Ga., May 6, 1990.

= Twelve different depar= tments of the Georgia Baptist Convention were represented

= with displays and booths. More than= 325 people attended the event.

1992------At the fall meeting of the Association a mot= ion was made, seconded and passed that

the Association adopt a resolution urging members of our churches to make a stand

and vote NO against the G= eorgia Lottery.

1993------A World Mission Conference was held in March= with 15 missionaries present. It w= as

= reported to be one of the best conferences ever, even though one mis= sionary had to be

= replaced the day before the meetings started and a substitute had to= be found quickly.

= Another missionary had to leave in the middle of the week because of= a family crisis.

= Everyone said they would never forget the “blizzard of ‘= 93” that caused the Saturday

= night service to be cancelled.

= Mrs. Ruel Everson, from Edison, Ga., resigned as the clerk of the Association after

= serving in this capacity for twenty-one years. The Association expressed its appreci-

= ation for her many years of s= ervice to the Association.

= &nb= sp; The Associational Missionary, Rev. Marcus Hicks, made a proposal that the jobs

of the clerk and the office secretary be combined into one job, and that a set salary be

= included in the budget. This was approved.

= &nb= sp; Fourteen men from the Association went on a work detail to Camp Pinnacle to do

= repair work on the cab= in that is assigned to our Association.

1994-----The flood of ’94, which caused so much destruction in the southwest part of the state,

= became an opportunity for ministry for the people and the churches of the Association.

= Many volunteers = went to Albany, Ga. and Newton, Ga. taking needed supplies of food,

= clothing, household it= ems and cleaning supplies. Money was also collected and sent

= through the proper channels.

= The Calhoun Correctional Institution (CCI), located in Morgan, Ga., opened in

= 1994. Mr. Mitten Crens= haw, the prison chaplain, spoke at the Annual Associational

= meeting telling of the opportunities for volunteers at the prison. A number of men,

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = from several of the chu= rches in the association, took the necessary training to be able

= to go into the prison. They have st= arted a Sunday School class and a Bible Study

= group. The = Association spent $502.50 for new Bibles for the prison. This work

= continues.

1995-----In January, Articles of Incorporation were pl= aced with the office of the Secretary

= of State, in Atlanta, Ga., for the incorporation of the Association.

1996-----The WMU ladies filled 1,200 hospitality bags = that would be given out to the many

= visitors who came to Georgia for the 1996 summer Olympics. They also collected

= 500 personal hygiene items and contributed $500 that was sent to missionary Karen

= Gray in Vetorie, Brazil, for use in her work w= ith AIDS victims.

= Two of the pastors of the Association, Rev. Ken Blackwood, Cuthbert = First

= Baptist and Rev. Robert Bracewell, of the Georgetown Baptist church, went on a

= mission trip to India. =

= The churches of the Association donated 2,700 pounds of food and oth= er

= supplies for the Children’s Home.

1997-----The Bethel Association Advisory Council recom= mended the establishing of an

= annual Associational offering. This would be taken during the annual Associational

= Mission Emphasis Week and the money used for Capital Improvements. A= dopted by

= majority vote.

1999-----REV, JAMES HOLLOWAY became the ninth Associat= ional Missionary in April

= 1999 and is still serving the Association at the present time, 2007. Note that once

= again the name has been changed, from Director of Missions back to Associational

= Missionary.

= &nb= sp; The International Mission Board, of the SBC, sent out a request to a= ll the churches

= for help with a project entitled “Love Gifts to North Korea.” Crop fail= ures had created

= a famine situation and we were asked to send rice, corn, soybeans and peanuts.

= Rev. Bruce Paffo= rd, Minister of Music at the First <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Baptist Church in Blakely, Ga.,

= went on a 10 day Mission Trip to Alaska with the Sons of Jubal, a male choral group

= consisting of full time Ministers of Music from the state of Georgia.

= The Colomokee Youth Ministries Group went on two mission trips.

2000-----New By-Laws were adopted. Then a motion was m= ade to amend the new By-Laws

= to replace the 1963 Baptist Faith a= nd Message and to incorporate the new 2000 Baptist

= Faith and Message as our Stat= ement of Faith. This motion was to be discussed in the

= local churches during the up-= coming year and voted on at the 2001 annual meeting.

= Our Association began participating= in the “Sister State Partnership” with Utah-

= Idaho Convention. Rev. James Holloway presented a Covenant Agreement that was

= drawn up between our Association and the Eastern Idaho Southern Bapt= ist

= Association.

= &nb= sp; In response to the 1999 IMB request for grains to be sent to North Korea

= our Association collected 20 bags of rice and corn. These had to be bagged in special

= bags, which when filled weighed 110 pounds each. Many tons of peanuts were

= bagged in Colquitt, Ga. The bags were then sent to seaport= s for shipment to

= North Korea.

= Preparations were underway to begin a Hispanic Ministry in the Association.

2001-----The Association began its first English as a = Second Language (ESL) Ministry at the

= Morgan Baptist Church. Volunteers from four different churches were involved in this

= Ministry. Several mini= sters from the Association took part in the group devotion

= time and there were 20 students enrolled in the program.

= A patriotic musi= cal presentation, “With Libe= rty and Justice for All,” with a mass

= choir of people from the churches of the Bethel Association, drew ar= ound 900 people

= to the Mangham Auditor= ium in Blakely, Ga. on July 1^st.

= Eight men from our area trained for, and participated in, the “Operation Starting

= Line= ” outreach at the CCI in Morgan. =

= In March eight preache= rs from the Eastern Idaho Southern Baptist Association

= came to our Associatio= n and preached in simultaneous revivals. Over the 3 year

= partnership a number of people from= our Association made a total of 8 trips to Idaho,

= working in several dif= ferent programs and events.

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = The youth group from the Colo= mokee Baptist Church made a mission trip to

= Hendersonville, N. C.

= &nb= sp; The Association sponsored its first ministry at local Fall Festivals= at

= Kolomoki State Park and at “Christmas at the Fort” in Ft. Gaines, Ga.

= &nb= sp; At the annual Fall meeting, the Association voted to accept the 2000 Baptist Faith

&= nbsp; and Message as o= ur Statement of Faith.

= &nb= sp; Bethel Association created its first website: www.bethelassociation.com

2002-----As a continuing part of the ESL program, to h= elp people be better able to minister to

= our Hispanic neighbors, a six week course in “Conversational S= panish” was taught

= by Dr. Terrell Ruis, o= ur SW Georgia Ministry Resource Consultant. Thirty peo= ple

= were enrolled in= the course.

= Several people from the Assoc= iation took part in Phase1 Disaster Relief training

= in Albany, Ga. More volunteers are alw= ays needed but one must have the training

= to be permitted on disaster sites. =

= Our R. A. boys enjoyed the Fi= rst Associational Racer Derby that had been held

= in many years.

= On April 21^=
st, the First Baptist Church of Blakely hosted a joint worship

service with several of the churche= s in our Association and the Mt. Pilgrim Baptist

= Church, of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Albany. Ga. Mt. Pilgrim was the first African-American church in the

Mallary Association and they and th= e African-American Raines Baptist Church of

= Dawson, Ga., partnered with volunte= ers from 7 of our Bethel Association churches

= in a summer mission VBS outre= ach to Baptist Branch Homes, in Blakely, Ga.

= There were 42 children and youth en= rolled in the Bible school.

= There was an ongoing e= ffort to start a Southern Baptist African-American

= Church in the Blakely = area. A prospective Pastor was found and began the evaluation

= process of= the Georgia Baptist Convention. <= /p>

2003-----In November 2003 Jimmie Terrell from the GBC = led a training session for church

= leaders, especially for Church Finance Committees on how to set-up a ministry-

= based budget. Then in March of 2003 there was a Church TreasurerR= 17;s Workshop with

= emphasis on pastor’s compensation issues and IRS compliance. <= /p>

= The ESL ministry continued to grow with a second location started at the Arlington

= Baptist Church. A workshop was held in Nov= ember to train new leaders and 5 people

= participated in the training.

= A target date of January, 2004 was set for starting worship services= for the new

= African-American mission.

= The Idaho Partnership agreement “officially” expired but= we continued to offer

= help to the Eastern Idaho Southern Baptist Association. Two of our young people

= served on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in the summer and 2 pasto= rs preached

= revivals in September.

= The Association began studying the possibility of an International Partnership with

= Mexico.

2004-----At the fall meeting of the Bethel Association= , Ewell Jarrett presented recommendations

= from the Building Committee that a = new office building be constructed on the same

= lot as the existing building in Edison, Ga. Design drawings were included in his report.

= There was $25,133.78 i= n the building fund and no construction would begin until the

= fund reached $50,000. At this time = local financing could be arranged for the balance of

= the construction costs.

= Rev. and Mrs. Gary Hadden, from the= Arlington Baptist Church, and Rev. James

= Holloway, Associational Missionary, each made fact finding trips to Mexico, in

= preparation for future mission trip= s.

= Eight men from the Mt. Gilead Church went to El Salvador<= /st1:place> to help build a

= dormitory for Salvador= an pastors at Santa Anna.

= Another group of eight people, from several of the churches in the Association,

= participated in Summer Vacation Bible Schools in Scotland. Rev. Dan Gillum, of

= the New Bethel Baptist Church, coordinated this trip.

= Erin House, a yo= ung lady from the Cuthbert Baptist Church, spent two months in

= S. Africa on a mission trip with a youth group.

= Rev. = Bruce Pafford, Minister of Music of First Baptist Blakely, went on a Mission

= trip to Moldova, with the Sons of Jubal. This trip was part of the Georgia Baptist

= Convention’s partnership with = Moldova.

= For nine months the New Zion Church <= /span>(Mission) had been = meeting at the Baptist

= Branch Homes in Blakely, Ga. Average attendance had been between 12 and 13. A

= store building in the = Station West Shopping Cente= r had been under renovation for

= several weeks. A Dedication and Open House was held on November 14. Several

= groups and ministry opportunities had been participated in with good attendance. =

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> = In October 2004, six people from our association went to Playa del Carmen, on<= /p>

the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, fo= r the purpose of building pews for the Fila-

&nb= sp; delfia Baptist Church. They also taught English as a second language at night,

= handed out tracts in the afte= rnoon, and showed the movie “The Passion of Christ “

on two nights.

<= /p>

2005-----Hurricane Katrina left behind many, many, opportunities for mission service. <= /span>

= The Association = partnered with the Lilly Orchard Baptist Church near

= Escataupa, Ms. S= everal groups made trips helping to rebuild the church.

= Fifteen people from the Association, who had had the Disaster Relief training,

= and were on call with the GBC Disas= ter Relief food program, made two trips to

= Westwego, La., where they spent a wee= k at a time feeding some of the volunteers,

= who were working in the clean-up operation.= On the first trip, 2 weeks after the

= hurricane hit in late August, they served 10,000 meals a day!!! The second trip

&nb= sp; = was in October. The churches = also responded by collecting and sending food,

= water, clothing and money. The youth group from First Baptist Blakely made two

= trips to Gulfport, Ms. helping several families = clean up their houses.

= Nine of the Association churches participated in the Wave Revivals.<= /p>

= = The Coleman Baptist Church, which had b= een closed for some time, was making

= an effort to restart. =

= Rev. Tom McClendo= n, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Cuthbert, Ga., was

= invi= ted by the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) lea= ders of the IMB, to participate

= in a Virtual Strategy Planning and Training session so that his church might bec= ome

= involved a= s a partner in church planting. He was given Smolensk, Russia as= his

= target. Bro. McClendon,= and his son Tommy, spent 10 days in Russia on a fact

= finding trip to identify specific ministries and partnerships that m= ight be developed.

= Rev. = Howard Scott, Ft. Gaines Baptist Church, did mission= work with Campers on

= Mission in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Kentucky.

= = Rev. Tommy Mullis, from the Transylvania Association in Western North

= = Carolina, spoke at one of the Executive Committee meetings about the mission

opportunities in that area. The Association began planning two trips to N.C.; one for

= youth and the other for adults.

2006-----Relief work continued along the Gulf Coast and 3 teams from the Association,

= went on mission trips to the region.

= Contributions for the new office Building Fund reach= ed the $50,000 goal

= and a ground breaking date was held for February 12. It was a freezi= ng cold day!

= In April 2006, four people from our Association joined with another group for an

= 8 day mission trip to Bay St. Louis, Ms.

= The Cuthbert 1^st Church sent a mission team to Smolensk, Russia in June.

= Eight men from the Association went back to Playa del Carmen, Mexico,= in

= September to help build more rooms on to the = Baptist Church .

= &nb= sp; The Association had 22 people trained in Disaster Relief. Fourteen more went for

= training, bringing our number to 36 trained people.

= Totals for 34 of the 35 churches listed in the Associational Minutes for the year

= 2005-2006 are: Sunday Schools, 34; Discipleship Training, 17; WMU’s, 23; Men’s

= Ministry, 21; gifts to the Cooperative Program, $298,894; Associatio= nal Missions,

= $113,= 290; State Missions, $25,000; Annie Armstrong, $41,907; Lottie Moon, $84,053;

= Other gifts, $112,375. Total of all receipts, $4,097,236.

The minutes of the 2006-2007 year a= re yet to be written. We have a long, fruitful history.

From early in the 19^=
th century, men on foot and on horse back and families in covered wagons moved into a wilderness territory that had, just prior to their coming, been in t= he possession of the Native American Indian. It was a land of no roads, no bri= dges over the streams or rivers and no towns. Yet they came, carving out homeste= ads, establishing towns, building churches and schools, growing with the changing times until we have reached this fast paced, technological, space age of th= e 21^st century.

As we stand on t= he threshold of the 175th Anniversary Year of 2007-2008 we cannot rest on our laurels. During World War II, at the height of the blitz in Great Britain, someone wrote on the wall of = one of the underground air raid shelters “There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the ligh= t of one small candle.” As long as there are lost people in the world ther= e is a need for continued mission work to reach them with the salvation message = of Jesus Christ,

the light of the world. F= or many of us the torch must be passed to the younger generation, to keep the work moving ever forward. Twenty-five years from now they will be looking at the= up-coming 200^th Anniversary of the Association. What will the minutes book= s of the Association reveal of them as keepers of the faith and the flame?

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Resp= ectfully submitted =

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Mrs. Ruel Everson

= &nb= sp; = Edison Baptist Church, <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Edison, Ga.

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Mrs. Henry Herndon

= &nb= sp; = Beulah Baptist Church, <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Cedar Springs, Ga.

= &nb= sp; = = Mrs. J. T. Manry

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; First Baptist Church, Blakely, Ga.

&nb= sp; Men Who Have Been Licensed Or Ordai= ned By The Churches Of The Bethel Association

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Within The Past = 60 Years.

= Licensed = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Ordained

1946--Lamar Brooks---------------Edison = &nb= sp; 1946—Lamar Brooks------------Edison

194?--Tucker singleton—---------Edison &= nbsp; = 194?—Tucker Singleton---------Edison =

194?--Wallace DuVall-------------Edison = &nb= sp; 194?—Wallace DuVall—-------Edison=

1952—Lester Giles-----------------Bethany = 1952—Lester Giles—------------Bethan= y

1954—William (B= illy) Goins ----Bluffton = = 1955—William (Billy) Goins---Bluffton =

1973—Lewis Adki= nson—---------Faith &= nbsp; = 1959—Huge Goolsby------------Shellman

1974—Jim Cox—------------------Ft.Gaines = 1965—David Baxley------------Bethany

1974—E. Henderson—------------Mt. Ararat = 1965—Joe Underwood----------Beulah

1975—Rad Benjam= in Lewis------Hilton = &nb= sp; 1965—James Roberts----------- Dover

1976—Derrell Thompson---------Faith = &nb= sp; 1966—David Shelton------------Pineview

1976—Eugene Posey------------- -Southside = 1973—Ronald Chitwood------- Mt. Ararat

1977—Allen Redden---------------Springvale = 1974—Glenn Adams------------Bethel

1978—Bob Gibson-----------------Bethel<= /st1:place> = &nb= sp; 1974—Jim Cox-------------------Ft.Gaines

1981—Frank McFather------------Cuthbert 1 st = 1975—Donald Beard------------Springvale

1981—Eugene Posey---------------Blakely 1 st = 1977—Larry Corder-------------Blakely

1981—Lonnie Eug= ene Watson----Blakely 1 st = 1978—Rodney Wilson--------- Coleman

1983—Wayne Thomas-------------Coleman = 1978—Billy Ledbetter----------Salem

1985—John Nalls-------------------Bethel= = &nb= sp; 1978—Jim Robinett------------ Shellman

1989—David Crowdis------------ -New Bethe= l = 1978---Jan Cox------------------ Shellman

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = 1979R= 12;Floyd Hipp-------------- Faith

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1979—Jon A. Smith------------ Sowhatchee

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 1981—Randy Booth------------ Colemen

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1981---Joe Tatsak-------------- -Enterprise

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 1982—Edward L. Mason-------Bethel

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1982—L. Eugene Watson-------Southside

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 1983—Gary Washburn----------Bluffton

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1983—Wayne Thomas----------Coleman

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = 1983R= 12;C. Tom Allen ------------Leary

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1984—Henry Frisbie-------------Mt.Vernon

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1985—Tho= mas Paul Digles-----Beulah

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1985—Robert A. Kidd--------- -Cuthbert 1 st<= /p>

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = 1985R= 12;Ben Adkinson------------Southside

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1986—Allen Thomas------------New Hope

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = 19= 86—Jim Eubanks------------- Morgan = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; 1987—John Nalls----------------Bethel

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1988—Rodney Houston---------Bethel

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 1989&= #8212;John Jenkins--------------Bethany

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1990—David Crowdis-----------New Bethel

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1991—Steve McLeod------------Rehoboth

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1992—Dan Elkins----------------Bluffton

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1993—Mike Lee------------------Ft.<= /st1:PlaceType> Gaines

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1993—Gary Robinson--------- Mt. Vernon

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1994—Eric Erskine------------ Mt. Hebron

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1995---Boyd Martin Evans----Beulah

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1995---Robert Bresh----------- Blakely 1st =

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1997—Robert G. Bracewell—Georgetown =

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1997---Jackie Williams-------- Salem

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 2002---Dwayne Green--------- New Bethel

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 2002---Joey Hudspeth--------- Mt Ararat

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 2002---Rick Garrett------------ Cuthbert 1st

= = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 2003---Richard Albritton------ Southside

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 2003---Thomas McLendon= --- Cuthbert

= = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 2003---Jessie Grimsley---------Calvary,

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Dawson while serving- Morgan

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 2005-= --Tab Howell--------------Morgan

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Between

= &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 1977---Randall W. McLendon--Cuthbert

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = & Bill Kidd------------------Cuthbert

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 1985---Mark Epperson----------Cuthbert

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = ????---Jarrett Reagan------------- Vilulah

= = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charles White--------------Vilulah

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Al Craft---------- -Blakely Baptist

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Bill George------- Blakely Baptist

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; James Maxwell------------Morgan

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Harold Pullen-------- Damascus E

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; William B.Wood---- Damascus E

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; Robert Pullen-------- Damascus E

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = = Huge Fraser-----------Damascus E

= &nb= sp; People recommended to the Foreign Mission Board as Missionaries

= &nb= sp; = and their church and family ties in the Bethel Association

Cuthbert = &nb= sp; Miss Floy White and Miss Annie Sandlin China Early 1900’s

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

Carnegie = &nb= sp; Miss Janie Starr = &nb= sp; = China = 1927

Bluffton = &nb= sp; Rev. and Mrs. Carol Veatch = &nb= sp; Bahamas

Edison = &nb= sp; Rev. and Mrs. Wallace DuVall = &nb= sp; Nigeria

1st Baptist Blakely = Rev. and Mrs. Virgil McMillan = &nb= sp; Japan

Shellman = &nb= sp; Rev. and Mrs. Cleve Buttermere = Costa Rica̵= 2;Bahamas=

Vilulah = &nb= sp; Rev. and Mrs. Jarrett Reagan = &nb= sp; Singapore

1^st Baptist Cuthbert = ; Rev. and Mrs. Ken Blackwood = Venezuela ̵= 1; East Asia

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

= = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;