Third Article in 90 Days of Praise Series

Last week we shared the wonderful way God provided not only materials for our first building, but also a truck to move them to the jobsite.   This wasn't your typical construction project.   Entire families were involved in the collection and preparation of these materials.   The men transported the lumber from the scrap pile at Wherry Housing, and stacked it directly across the road from the present church building.   The owner of the property, even though he wasn't a member of the church, allowed the church to use his property without charge.   The hand of God was at work once more.

Entire families gathered several nights during the week, bringing their supper to the field and working well into the dark, pulling nails, arranging the lumber according to size, and stacking it in neat piles making ready for the day of construction.   All this was done even before we were formally organized as a church family.

Finally, it was decided we should have a week of preaching.   Thus, each evening for two weeks in July 1952, the church began to assemble as a family of worship for the first time.   The Association loaned us a tent, which became our first home as a church, from July through early November, 1952.   This tent was first raised on the lot just north of our present site; but, in just a few weeks, was moved across the road where the lumber was stacked awaiting construction.

It was on this site, in a borrowed tent, that Stones River Baptist Church was born, with just 27 charter members on August 5, 1952.   Even though Brother Amburn had been leading us through these early days, he was also the pastor of First Baptist Church, Smyrna.   Realizing the mighty hand of God on this new work, Brother Dwayne Amburn resigned his pastoral of First Baptist, Smyrna on August 1, 1952, and became the first pastor of Stones River Baptist Church on August 5, 1952.   To God be the glory for this was but the beginning of what God had planned for this congregation.
~ Brother Ross ~