As regular readers of this blog have determined, I attend One Way Baptist Church in Randleman, NC. The church is on Sunset and is easily mistaken for a museum as it looks to be too old and too small to be taken seriously as a modern day house of worship. It is small and will only seat 39 people plus the pastor. The church started as Highland Baptist church in the 1980's and had three or four different pastors but it just didn't grow and eventually the building was left vacant for many years. Seven or eight years ago another man restarted the church under the name One Way Baptist but after a few years his ministry failed due in part to poor health.
Four years ago, Charles Garrett of Thomasville and son of the founder of Wayside Baptist Church in Thomasville, took over leadership of the church. It began anew with some of his friends who came just to support him and a few family members who never intended to stay. The only person to remain at the church from previous ministries was Dora Tickle. My wife and I were perhaps one of the first to join the church in earnest, i.e., with the intention of making One Way Baptist my permanent church home.
During the following three and a half years I have seen a lot of things change at the church. Family members and friends of the pastor quickly dropped away. In fact, most were already gone by the time I started attending. The only ones left was the man who served as associate pastor. The only local family to join the church was still there making the membership count 14. We had some regular visitors. At the end of the second year the first family to join was gone and the associate pastor and his family left soon after, and the church was down to the pastor and his wife, my wife and I, Mrs. Tickle, and one other man, an older gentleman who lived alone.
Rather than follow suit with all the previous pastors there, we began out nine o'clock prayer. Every evening, no matter where we were or what we were doing, we stopped and prayed. over the course of the next two years people came and people went and a few stayed. Over the course of the last four years, over twenty people have made confessions of faith in Jesus Christ. We now have around twenty people in any given service. We even have toddlers and teenagers. It is a remarkable group of people, an assortment of misfits if you will. Except for me, all the men are disabled. Even though I'm retired almost all of the physical work around the church is done by me.
Thanks okay because I love my church. I was surprised when a couple showed up Sunday
morning. This couple are faithful members of another church in another town and come to visit us once or twice a year on Wednesday nights if their church isn't having service. Not only did they come but they brought their children and grandchildren with them as well. For the first time since the fellowship meeting our little church was full. We had 37 people in attendance.
In a couple of weeks, on February 9, 2014 Mountain Joy will be singing at the church from 10:45 until 12. This is the only group that has ever performed during the morning worship hour and we allow it because their testimony is so strong. They are talented singers as well but what draws our church to them is that they actually live the type of life they sing about. They aren't in this for the money or to showcase their talent.
All of us at One Way would be honored if you came that Sunday morning. Even though we are small we will find you a seat. In fact most of us would gladly give up our own seats for your sake. We do have a few that are very old and some that are crippled but that is to be expected.
One Way Baptist is a church of dedicated believers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't have any weird or strange beliefs or practices. We have a good Sunday School teacher who isn't boring. Even though our pastor can be long winded sometimes he speaks clear and plain and delivers good messages. But you won't hear him preach on the ninth. Well, maybe not. Come and see.
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