25th Anniversary

Thank you. You may be seated and let me welcome you to the Beacon Baptist Church. What a beautiful, beautiful day the Lord has given us today.

Just marvelous and it's so good to have you here. The beginning of Beacon Baptist Church goes back well before the formal beginning in May of 1973. The First Baptist Church of Alamance had supported Missionaries Bill and Glenna Grant over the years. And when it came time for the Grant's daughter, Marty, to be married, the ladies of the church graciously held a bridal shower for her. Afterward, PJ and Donna Coble drove Marty to South Carolina to meet her husband-to-be, who was serving as the weekend youth director at the Faith Baptist Church in Chester.

Little did anyone know then how these lives would cross later. When the First Baptist Church of Alamance came to a great crisis of belief, a group of people decided their only choice was to come out of that church and to begin a new church, solidly built upon the Bible as its rule of faith and practice. Missionary Bill Grant, contacted about the possibility of helping this new church, suggested his son-in-law who had completed his formal training and was looking for God's place of service.

Here was a group of people seriously interested in starting a new church and a man called to the ministry and willing to labor with them. They began to meet in the cafeteria of the E.M. Holt School in 1973. Some classes met in the corners of the cafeteria. Here are the teens with James and Brenda Dunn. Sue Vestal met her children's class in the hall.

And sometimes Margie Holland or Donna Coble would take their classes outside. The Beacon Baptist Church was officially born on the third Sunday of May in 1973. For the chartering service, five area pastors came to examine this congregation and its new pastor. It wasn't long until the Lord made it possible to purchase property on Kirkpatrick Road from Mr.

Early Hill, an elderly gentleman befriended by the Vestals and Camels. After only a few months, the new church was forced by the 1973 oil crisis to move from the school. But the Lord had provided a better place on the corner of Trail 8 and Moran Street.

The Central Baptist Church, originally founded by Elmer Cates, had now dwindled. And they agreed to allow the growing new church to use their facility beginning in September 1973. Elaine Johnson, now a member of Beacon, was part of that church and was used by the Lord to help make the building available.

I met the master, now I belong to him. In the fall of 1975, the growing congregation met at the Kirkpatrick Road property for a Sunday evening service. The official groundbreaking ceremony included Al Vestal, P.J. Coble, Bill Sponceller, Joe Redman, Ralph Fawcett, Pastor Barkman, Joe Young, and Gerald Counts.

And yes, Pastor B. has a mustache. Soon construction began on the auditorium and classrooms. And when it was finished, our facility looked something like this.

Gravel parking lot, a few sidewalks, the first building, and not much else around. The old bus in the background, I think that's probably Methuselah. We retired that bus, used it for storage for a while and eventually got rid of it altogether. Methuselah was the first bus in our bus ministry. If I remember correctly, a 1953 Chevrolet, we called it Methuselah because he was so old.

But we were tempted to call him Joe Camel because he smoked. 144 riders were on our five buses today, and the report goes something like this. Eddie Driver, who's just taken over the captaining of a new route, had the highest attendance today with 47. Charles Reynolds and Mark Vestal had 41 on their bus. Rance Geringer had 25 on his. Lee Vestal and Ken Capps had 16.

Aaron Lynch had 15 for a total of 144. The Lord has blessed Beacon with many children, including the pastor's kids. And so let's ask these mothers and their babies and fathers who are represented to come. If you would just stand right here at the front, we want to see who each of the babies are, who have been born to us since this time last year. And the second one here, the one that's making all the fuss and acting real ornery, that one's mine.

And we're just as thankful for as we can be. This is Cherith Lorraine Barkman. She was born about three months ago. The children of Beacon Baptist Church are well taught by the many faithful children's ministry workers. There are Anne Enoch, Charlotte Gaddy, Jack Hedgecock, Pam Faust, Barbara Coble, and Teacher Fawcett.

The Awana Training Program teaches by instilling the Word of God and by providing enjoyable activities, too. The first of several faithful youth ministers was James Dunn, now pastor of the Lifegate Baptist Church in Hickson, Tennessee. Eddie Driver served as youth minister in the late 70s. Bud Steadman, now the pastor of the Community Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana, and his wife Ruth came to Beacon in 1979 and ministered as youth director for three years.

Is it hard to recognize Mike Davis? Here are Jim Rocky, Sarah Redmond, Brian King, Todd Wilson, Hal Humphrey, and Marissa Wright. Pastor Rick Lesh came in 1983 and moved in 1995 to York, Pennsylvania, to pastor the West Side Baptist Church. Pastor Lesh was followed by Chip Davidson in 1995. From the very beginning, Beaconites have always enjoyed good fellowship.

Gerald Counts, kind of off the edge on the right, may have been too embarrassed to be seen with these well-dressed folks. In the early days, homecoming dinner on the grounds was exactly that, on the grounds. To make room for fellowship, as well as new classroom space, a fellowship hall was built and completed in 1983. A dedication service for the new fellowship hall was held on a Sunday evening in the new building.

And P.J. Coble, contractor for all the buildings, was honored. One of the most significant events in the life of the church was when the Lord took Pastor Barkman through the Valley of Cancer in 1983 and 84. After the Lord brought him safely through, the church had a surprise banquet.

I.O.Y.P.B. I love you, Pastor Barkman. Dr. Harold Seitler, Pastor Barkman's pastor, was the special speaker. About that time, the Lord enabled the church to pay off its original mortgage. A mortgage burning was held as a part of a special service of praise to God. In the 1990s, an educational and office wing was added to alleviate crowded classrooms and to enhance the teaching ministry.

A playground and gazebo were added shortly thereafter. Beacon has always had good ladies ministries that include fellowship as well as special times for teaching. The outreach of the Beacon broadcast was started the first year of the church. And for several years, Pastor Barkman went every week to the radio stations to do live or recorded programs.

The program continues today with daily and weekly programs recorded in a studio at church. Beacon Baptist Church has maintained an emphasis on missions throughout the years through the annual Faith Promise Project. The Lord has blessed and the people have learned to give generously and sacrificially for the cause of missions.

The first missionary from Beacon was James Dunn, the first youth director who went to the field of Bolivia. The church was able to purchase an automobile and to present it to him for use in his deputation. Jim Rice, now with the Lord, served with his family in Germany and at the Harborview Baptist Church in Antigua in the West Indies. Shall we pray? Our Gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we are thankful for that old cross of Calvary, Lord. Lord, thankful that you were willing to come and bleed and die on that cross.

Lord, that you were willing to shed your precious blood, Lord, that lost sinners could be saved, Lord. Wayne and Marty Anderson, members of Beacon, faithfully serve the Lord in Mexico City, Mexico. Here is Pastor Barkman visiting with Stuart Waugh, missionary to Africa and a Beacon member. Over the years, the Lord has raised up faithful men to minister and serve at Beacon. Pastor Bill Grant, after retiring from the mission field, has served for over 15 years. The Lord brought Mike Carnes and his family in 1995 to add their strength to the ministry at Beacon. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...