Brother Terry Davis has been preaching God’s Word at HBC since 2008.

(Courtesy photo)

Jesus didn’t mention Hainesville, Texas when he told the apostles to witness “to the ends of the earth,” but He certainly had Hainesville in mind. And, from 1897 on, Hainesville Baptist Church (HBC) has been sharing the Gospel Truth, generation upon generation. 

HBC will celebrate its 125th anniversary serving the community Oct. 23. The slate of homecoming events includes Sunday School at 9:45 a.m., worship at 11, then lunch, special presentations, music and children’s activities, from noon until 3 p.m. The church is located at FM 49 and FM 778.

Conley Williams is a long-standing member and deacon at HBC. He recalls when families arrived for evening services by wagon. Mothers would leave their babies sleeping in wagons through the service.

According to Conley, as a prank, some teenage boys decided to swap the babies while their mamas were in church. 

“It wasn’t until they got home that they discovered they had the wrong babies, so the great reshuffle went on until everyone was home in their own beds,” he said. 

HBC was organized in 1897 by Rev. George W. Whitehurst on land donated by the Haines family. In 1906, with A.C. Wood as pastor, the church united with the Wood County Baptist Association. 

From 1908 to 1927, six pastors rotated through the pulpit, until the old church, across from the current HBC location, was constructed. N.V. Hamrick dedicated the building.

According to Williams, whose wife, Pat, was baptized at HBC in 2009, “HBC was basically a way station for new pastors coming out of seminary to learn how to pastor. As soon as a new assignment came up, a new pastor came in.”

From 1928 to 1972, 23 pastors served the church, including C.L. Vermillion, who served three separate terms. In the mid-1930s, fire ravaged the church, but it was quickly rebuilt. In 1954, under pastor Dick Yancy, the building was remodeled and expanded to accommodate Sunday School classes. A baptistry was added, along with central HVAC. That year also marked the first HBC homecoming celebration, starting the enduring tradition.

Said Chloee Flournoy, a regular HBC attendee from the early 1950s, “We belonged to Hainesville Methodist Church, but they only had a ‘circuit-rider’ pastor who preached monthly. We’d attend both services on those Sundays and worship at HBC the rest of time as one big church family.”

Chloee’s husband, Tom-Asa, taught Sunday School at both churches and drove the combined youth groups to area events. Brother Arthur Dimsdle, who was ordained at HBC in 1943 and recalled in 1973, was one of the church’s first long-standing pastors. He helped build up Vacation Bible School and the congregation by “shaking the bushes,” said Chloee.

Lynda Stanley, who moved to Hainesville with her husband, James, in 1963, remembers Brother Arthur coming to call one morning when James was repairing the porch.

“He asked if we were Christians, and we said ‘yes.’ Then, he left and returned wearing a tool belt to help James finish the job.”

Families new to the area bonded over their experiences at HBC.

Shirley Hudman and her husband, Barna, moved from Shelby County in 1970 and became fast friends of the church. Barna was a trucker, who was often on the road.

“I sometimes wished I was the trucker,” said Shirley. “I don’t know how I could have raised seven kids without help from that church.”

Shirley’s youngest daughter, Greta, recalls riding bikes to the local grocery store at FM 49 and FM 778, run by Buddy Tucker’s family.

“The men at the store told us about an alligator in Haines Lake and to steer clear,” she recalled. “So, naturally, we got on our bikes to go see it. When the gator showed up and snapped at our dog, we high-tailed it out of there and never went back.”

Sue Flournoy-Wisdom, Chloee’s daughter, was one of the kids raised in the church. She remembers when the weather was nice, homecoming services ended with dinner on the grounds. When the service was over, kids and adults feasted on a banquet of homemade recipes, followed by fun and fellowship. 

Sue remembers, “The dads entertained by getting me to sit in a chair blindfolded. They then lifted the chair an inch or two off the ground but told me that I was now six feet up and to jump. When I jumped, I just hopped right down off the chair. That got everyone laughing.”

The Lindley family bought their Hainesville farm in 1901. Nancy Lindley-Murphy first attended HBC with her grandmother in the early 1960s. Nancy was a gifted singer and pianist, who got her start in music at HBC and later performed with the PTL Singers on Tammy Faye Baker’s TV program. 

“I remember having to practice at church on hot summer afternoons with no air conditioning,” Nancy said. “My dad (Dan Lindley, a church deacon) refused to turn the AC on, because he didn’t want to cost the church added expense. I learned those songs real fast.”

From 1973-1987, the church expanded under pastors Dimsdle, Harry LaGrone and James Garrett. A parking lot, fellowship hall, parsonage, church steeple and P.A. system were added. In 1987, Brother Holland Atchley came on, as the church acquired Tucker’s old store for a youth annex. The Reed family also donated 174 acres to the church, helping fund fellowship hall and parsonage expansions. 

When Brother Atchley left in 2003, Brother Terry Davis and his wife, Janeye, were called to Hainesville. Under his watch, the church acquired 17 acres north of FM 49 and started construction of the new family life, administration, education and welcome center, completed in 2008. Soon after, the church donated the facilities south of FM 49 to the Hainesville Volunteer Fire Dept. 

Anneice Seeton, HBC’s secretary since 2003, remembers the move to the new facility.

“We had a lot of fun at that old place,” she said. “The annual Valentine’s party was my favorite. Especially the year Brother Terry and Ben Hinds (then head deacon) dressed up as the Blues Brothers, on a mission from God. I’m glad we carried that tradition over to the new church.”

Today, Monte Clearman serves as music director. Monte was called to ministry at age 12, studied music at Friends University in Kansas and was hired in 2013. He leads HBC’s First Praise choir.

“I call it First Praise, because God deserves our ‘first’ everything,” Monte said. “We praise our kids, we praise our jobs, but God deserves our ultimate praise, and music has the power to move us to that higher plane.”

At HBC, youth learn to worship early. Chris Bryant has been HBC’s youth pastor since 2012. He and his wife, Jessica, have discipled 10 graduating classes of 6th to 12th graders. 

“It’s truly one big family,” Chris said. “When you see your kids grow up in the Lord, then move out, get married and come back years later, you just marvel at the work God’s doing in their lives.”  

As for Brother Terry, he’s still in the pulpit, sharing his brand of expository teaching on Sundays and Wednesday nights and “telling it like it is.”

“This community knows who they are in the eyes of the Lord,” Terry said. “They come here ready to study, pray and worship together. And while the faces have changed, the common bond remains. Help those in need, grow in the Word and share the Word. That’s what Jesus commanded, and that’s what we do at HBC.”