Church History
A council composed of the following men met for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church in the "Greenpond" community: Rev. J.K. Mendenhall, S.S. Knight, Graves L. Knight, C.P. Nelson, E.N. Garrett, H. Vaughn, J.J. Shumute, and Martin Wood. The church was named Beulah Baptist Church. This took place on August 17, 1883. People came with their letter from Poplar Springs, Rabon Creek, and Fountain Inn Baptist churches. Rev. H.K. Ezell was called as the first pastor. The first deacons elected were Thomas Babb, J.H. Nash, and Robert Coleman. The land for the church building was given by L.P. Armstrong.
The church was a member of the Reedy River Association until it withdrew and became a member of the Laurens Baptist Association in 1897. Sunday School was organized on the second Sunday of March 1884. A weekly prayer meeting was established on July 19, 1884. On July 11, 1891, a motion was made and approved to light the church. A collection was taken at the next church conference for the purpose of purchasing lamps for the church. The Baptist Hymn Book was selected for the congregation in July 1895. On September 9, 1905, Rev. G.W. Bussey was elected as pastor indefinitely. Until this time, each pastor was elected for one year only.
October 29, 1940, found the church borrowing one thousand dollars to build a new church building. The plans were adopted, and the building began on January 5, 1941. The congregation met in the Greenpond School House until the new building was finished. On September 21, 1942, the congregation moved into the new house of worship.
The church built a pastorium in 1951 and Rev. Wingard Berry and his fmaily moved in on June 4th. Also during the 1950s, the church added new Sunday School rooms, indoor restrooms, a heating system, new songbooks, pews, and pulpit furniture.
Until September 14, 1958, Beulah Baptist Church had shared their pastor with Rabon Creek Baptist Church. On this date, the church voted to call a full-time pastor to minister to Beulah's congregation alone. The first full-time pastor was Rev. Wingard Berry. A study committee presented plans for a new educational building on September 6, 1959. The groundbreaking for this buliding was held on October 18, 1959. The new education building was occupied the first time on April 3, 1960.
Sunday morning, July 18, 1965, the church voted to build a new santuary complete with al the furnishings, heating, and air-conditioning. It was also planned to add chimes to the steeple. The goundbreaking service was held on July 15, 1965. The church is now fully organized with all organizations being formed. The educational facilities for teaching and training purposes include seven departments for Sunday School and twenty-four classrooms. August 16, 1981, the church approved a Constitution and Bylaws to govern the church and its activities.
The church voted on April 15, 1984 to remove the older part of the church, construct a new building, and remodel the educational facilities. Again, on May 19, 1991 the church voted and approved renovation of the present santuary. The church and parking lot area was again renovated in 1999. In the spring of 2002, renovation was completed on the pulpit area and a multi-media projector system was installed.
During the one hundred twenty-seven years existence of Beulah Baptist Church, there have been forty-six ministers. These men have guided the church through numerous wars and conflicts. Five men have been called into the ministry from Beulah: O.G. Hicks on June 11, 1904, Felton Cox on June 15, 1962, John Baughn on March 16, 2003, Chris Sullivan in 2008, and Brandon Amick in 2008. The church membership has grown from the twenty-nine charter members to over five hundred and fifty today.
