Pastor's Pulpit

Yesterday our church celebrated its 40th Anniversary Homecoming. We had a wonderful day with some visitors with us in the morning service. It was a special time as we recognized some of our members. First the Charter members were honored: Mrs. Julia Pennington, Dorothy Draper ( these were not able to attend ) and Jean and Leonard Bass. A certificate was presented mentioning the number of years they had served the Lord and their church.
Next we honored those who were the longest consecutive attending members: Mrs Fran Walston, Mr. & Mrs. Bill Jones, who have attended for 36 years, and also Mrs. Julia Pennington, and Dorothy Draper who have attended for 40 years. These were all presented a certificate and a Bible to commemorate this day. Then we recognized Mrs. Clara Ricks for being a faithful supporter for 36 years. Kaitlyn Robbins was recognized as the longest attending Bus rider ( 11yrs, ) and Mrs. Ora Lee Bunting was recognized for her faithfulness for the past 32 years.
After the morning service we had dinner in the fellowship building and which again was delicious as usual. It is hard to believe that Gethsemane Baptist Church has been in existence for 40 years. Looking  back over the records, I discovered that in 1972 the church began a bond program to purchase the 4.5 acres of land and to construct a church building on the property located on Waterworks rd, ( now London church rd, ).
In 1974, the church purchased 2 buses to start its first bus ministry. From that humble beginning of approximately 50 members, the church has grown and continued to be a soul winning station in Wilson county. I became the pastor in August of 1983, after the church had lost some people and attendance had dropped from over 80 to below 30, total membership was about 62. By 1987, the church membership was 100, by 2002 total membership was 140, today the membership is around 163, we are thankful for the people God has brought to our church family. In 2005 the fellowship building was constructed, and in 2009, the auditorium was remolded for a second time and more parking was added. We are happy to see God continue to bless our church with souls being saved and we believe if we keep preaching the truth and taking the Gospel to the highways and hedges in obedience to the Great Commission we will continue to see God's blessing.
Pray for us. We are excited about what the Lord has for us. Looking forward to our 8th annual youth rally June 1 with Evangelist Brandon Morris. Check out the video we have on the blog. Our revival begins Sunday June 3 - June 5. Come join us for a soul stirring meeting!

For souls,
Pastor Taylor