FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HURRICANE, WV

Click here to listen* to the sermon preached by Pastor Jeff Johnson of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church as guest speaker at FBC of Hurricane's 150th Anniversary celebration.  The beginning portion includes interesting history of the birth of FBC of Hurricane, as well as a clear and powerful message encouraging us to press on telling others that "God loves you." *Click to listen now, but be patient as the file is rather large and may take 2-3 minutes to download and play.  Right click the link to save the file to your computer.

On May 26, 1860, the Hurricane Baptist Church was founded near the Old Hurricane Bridge which is at the junction of Route 34 and Route 60 located on the north east end of present day Hurricane. Soldiers of the Civil War burned the log meeting room in 1863.  The congregation scattered, but reassembled in 1871.  In April of 1877, a deed was received from C.F. Huntington for the site of the present First Baptist Church.  Before the end of 1877, a large one-room frame building had been built and dedicated.  The bell, still in use at the back of the building, came from the steeple of that frame church which faced present day Second Street. In 1907, the church was renovated, and because Route 60, (present day Main Street), had been built at the rear of the church, the entrance and bell tower were changed from the south to the north end of the building. In March 1923, the congregation voted to build a new building, the one now used for offices, a library and some Sunday School rooms.  The brick structure included a full basement, a second level, a sanctuary baptistery, and classrooms.  Cost of the building was $32,000.  The cornerstone was laid on June8, 1924.  Some of the men on the building committee were: A.N. Sumner, J.T. Garrett, L.O. Hodges, and E.J. Qualls.  Descendants of some of these men are church members today. In 1953, the first addition to the sanctuary was built.  This addition contained five classrooms, a nursery, and kindergarten rooms at a cost of $45,000. In 1965, a Capital Fund Campaign was approved to build our present sanctuary.  A Groundbreaking service was held July 24, 1966.  The new sanctuary was dedicated on July 2, 1967 at a cost of $237,841.18.  In 1976, another fundraising campaign was begun to remodel and renovate the older portion of the church.  This provided a new youth and primary department, and remodeling in the kitchen and Fellowship Hall as well as a new library. During 1990-91, under the leadership of Pastor Michael Derry, the Advisory Council of the church began discussing areas of need.  One of these areas dealt with facilities which included: (1) repair of the large stained glass window, (2) fellowship / recreational facilities, (3) parking concerns, (4) Sunday School classrooms, and (5) storage for the bus and van. On November 12, 1991, the Forward in Faith and the Building Committees were approved to deal with facility concerns of the congregation.  A campaign was launched in 1993 to underwrite the project and the congregation voted to raise the sum of $500,000 before breaking ground.  The first phase of the project was additional parking, and the property west of the sanctuary was developed for this purpose.  Additional parking for 145 vehicles was completed in 1997. The second phase of the building project began August 10, 1998.  A groundbreaking ceremony was held August 23, 1998, and general contractors G. & G. Builders began construction of the Family Life Center, which includes 24,000 square feet of floor space. The upper level contains a completed Family Life Center for fellowship and recreational activities, kitchen, storage areas, and an upper level for office, showers, and dressing areas.  The lower level includes a nursery, several pre-school and Sunday School rooms, restrooms, and mechanical areas.  The lower level also currently provides classrooms for First Baptist Academy.  The date of initial substantial completion was June 10, 1999. A time of celebration, "Homecoming Jubilee," was held August 22-26, 1999.  On Sunday, August 22, there were special morning services and then the congregation moved to the Family Life Center for a dedication ceremony followed by lunch.  In the afternoon, there was special music and former pastors Ward Robinson, Joe Hodge, and Milan Johnson were given an opportunity to speak.  Monday through Thursday, young men from our church who have entered the ministry - Mark Young, Dwane Porter, Chad Thralls, Curtis Brown, and Dale Burke - conducted services.  The Jubilee was a great time of fellowship and thanksgiving to God for His goodness to First Baptist Church. On August 6, 2000, Dr. Charles Hendricks was installed as Senior Pastor.  Under his leadership, the lower level of the Family Life Center was fully completed.  Following his pastorate, the church called Dr. James Lutz as the senior pastor in 2004. On May 26, 2010, the congregation celebrated First Baptist Church's 150th anniversary and gave thanks to God for allowing FBC to be a consistent voice for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Hurricane community and around the world. (Majority copied from the 2000 church directory.  Items regarding the Family Life Center, current pastorate, and 150th anniversary were updated.  Please contact fbcohwebmaster@gmail.com for additional updates or corrections.)

 

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