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Church Covenant We hereby enter into a covenant with our Lord and with one another to strive daily to live Christ-like, and make all of our decisions, both personal and as a body of believers, based on the Word of God – this being the basis of everything we do. The government of this Church is vested in the body of believers who compose it. We have a very few committees to manage the intricacies of church business, assisted by the Deacon Board. Union Baptist church is well known & respected in the community as being a very loving and mission minded body of believers. Church History The original church was founded July 29, 1809 and reorganized as an active & worshipping Body of Christ in 1998. Union Baptist Church is located five miles northwest of Thomson, formerly in Warren County. In the year 1808 there came into the minds and hearts of the people of this community a desire to organize a church here, as the nearest church of this faith was Sweetwater, about ten miles distant. The interest continued and the following year the church was organized, with twenty charter members. From the time of organization to 1812 the membership grew from twenty to thirty-eight. In 1820 the membership was 55 whites and 7 colored. In 1833 the membership was 95, 1861-109. The first church building was a small log house. The church was incorporated in 1825, and recorded in Georgia Laws of that year. Plans are Made for a New Church On May 13, 1841 the church met in conference and began making plans to build a “new meeting house.” The church was built in 1843 and in 1860 it was repaired and enlarged. Vincent Tharpe was the first pastor in 1809 to January, 1811. Nathaniel Thompson was the first church clerk form 1809-1813. This church has ordained six ministers of the gospel from its membership with 2 other members of Union having become ministers, though not ordained until they were taken away from the home church. Union Baptist Church became of member of The Kilpatrick Association, organized in 1914, and the association met here October, 1931. Union Church celebrated its centennial the fifth Sunday in October, 1909. Rev B.H. Ivey preached the sermon and gave the history of the church. The cemetery is not nearly as old as the church. The first grave was put here in 1866.To this day, the church elects members to the board of trustees that oversee the needs of the cemetery. An Old Church with a New Beginning In 1998, 13 charter members of Cornerstone Baptist Church acquired the use of the building and restoration began. The building itself had been sitting empty for 15 years. Shortly after occupying the building and to honor its historical significance, the members agreed to restore the church to its original name, Union Baptist Church. In 2000 the front addition and carpet was added to the church and our first Lord’s Supper was June 25th of that year. On March 26, 2006, ground was broken for the construction of a new fellowship hall and classroom addition. 2008 brought the completion of our fully funded building addition, and we welcomed the Rev C. E. “Butch” Baston as our pastor. Membership exceeded 125 persons. In August of 2011, we were fortunate to accept Stephanie Greene as our Choir Director & Worship Leader. Stephanie & her family have since relocated to be with family and continue ministry in Tennessee. Ann Marie Farmer stepped up as our Choir Director & Worship Leader. Reverend Baston retired in 2015 and then our church called Mark Bowers as our pastor. Pastor Bowers served from 2016 - 2019. Rev. Dr. Lee Walton was called to be our pastor in 2019 and led us faithfully till June 2023 at which time he was called to full time ministry in Louisiana. On February 25, 2024, our congregation was pleased to call Dr. Randall Whitaker of Grovetown, Georgia as our new pastor. At present our Church membership is at 75, with an active congregation of roughly 50 persons. The average age of active participants in the church is 40-60, but we have a strong group of young people coming up in the church, and we both desire, and expect to see the trend of younger families attending continue. |