Just a few miles from Magnolia Baptist Church,
one of
Burnt Swamp Association’s original three members, another group of
Baptist believers
began to gather for worship.
After several weeks of meetings, in December 1897 the Antioch
Baptist
Church was organized with forty-four charter members
and Rev.
J.J. Blanks as
pastor. The original members included:
On February 12, 1898 the church elected
Bros. Abner Chavis, James H. Smith, and Nelson Smith as
trustees. In October of that same year, a new
pastor, Rev.
John J. Bell, was called.
The original location of the first church is
unknown but
presumably near the current site.
However, records indicate that in 1900 a one-acre lot was purchased
for
$1.00 from W.H. and E.B. Rozier to become the permanent site for
the
church. One year later, October
1901, the
first Sunday School was held in a new church facility constructed
on the site.
As with other Indian churches in the early years, times were
difficult and
the resources limited. The church did
not receive electricity until the mid 1940's. Through the
years, however, several remodeling
projects have expanded the facility (with the first
renovation