ABOUT US
Mission Statement
The Mission of Ashley's Grove Baptist Church is to love God, love others and to minister to the whole person by:
sharing the gospel, equipping believers, and helping the needy.
Motto
Love God, Love Others, Live Lives of Loving Service
Statement of Faith
The History of Ashley's Grove Baptist Church
With a love for God’s Word in their heart and a vision of a new church in their minds, fifteen to twenty people gathered together on a Sunday in 1892 in a one-room wooden school building to begin a new Sunday School in the Holly Grove Community. During these years the Sunday School acted as a branch of Hebron Church.
As the Sunday School grew, it was realized that a larger building was needed, and the time was right to formally organize into a church. In 1909 the church was organized with 88 charter members and named “Ashley’s Grove” in honor of Ashley Liverman, the “Prayer Meeting Man,” who had given so much of himself to the Lord’s service. It was also in 1909 that the new church purchased the first 2.16 acres of our present site for $80 and quickly went to work. The first building consisted of an auditorium and two children’s classrooms. Rev. Dancy Cale (1909-1920) became our first pastor. Although Sunday School was weekly, worship services were held only once a month.
Minutes from the early conferences reveal something of the early character of our church. There was a strong support for missions and charitable giving. Early offerings were collected to help a new church in Askewville, pay a mortgage on a member’s home, assist an orphanage, to help those who were sick, those who had lost their homes, ministerial students and others in need. Even though money was often scarce, whenever a neighbor was in need, the members of Ashley’s Grove Church rose to meet that need. The Women’s Missionary Society was organized and supporting missions as early as 1910. This commitment to Christian love, missions, and ministry continues today.
Through the years our church has formed fields with several other near-by churches to share in the support and services of a common pastor. During these years the church met for worship anywhere from one to three times a month. Things began to change during the pastorate of Rev. Robert Johns (1953-1958) when the church built the parsonage and had a pastor who actually lived in the community. As the membership grew and new needs arose the old church building was added to, renovated, repaired and modernized to better serve the Lord’s work.
One of the darkest days in the life of the church was January 11, 1968, when the newly remodeled church building burnt to the ground. Only the bell (which is still in service today) survived the flames. The next Sunday worship and Sunday School classes were held at the Ashley’s Grove Community Clubhouse. The children’s Sunday School classes met in different member’s homes. It was also on that first Sunday in the clubhouse that the church voted to end its field with Menola Baptist Church. Thus Rev. H.T. Baumgardner (1967-1969) became our first full time pastor.
With the resolve and commitment of faithful church members and generous donations from many outside sources, the job of rebuilding was soon begun. Under the leadership of James Vinson Sr., the new building was completed and the first service held on June 29, 1969. By God’s grace, the church paid its final payment on its debt on October 25, 1970. It was only two years and ten months after the fire.
Today Ashley’s Grove Baptist Church is still busy about the Lord’s work of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, teaching His Word, and serving our community in the love of God.
To God be the glory for all that He has done!