Grape Creek Baptist still active at 100

BY MARY WICOFF

GRAPE CREEK June 25, 2008 01:24 pm

— Age hasn’t slowed down Grape Creek Baptist Church.
“After 100 years, we’re still active and growing,” said Nancy Rankins, a longtime member.
The congregation will celebrate the church’s 100th anniversary with a special service and open house Sunday.
Shawn Bennett will give a historical presentation during Sunday school, from the church’s start in a railroad car to completion of present facilities.
Pastor Phil Neumann will preach during the morning service.
At the open house at 2 p.m., four past pastors will reminisce about their time at the church. They are Neumann, Pastor Loren Bately, Pastor Herb Smith and Pastor Jim Whittenberg.
Everyone is invited to the open house, which will be at the church and the nearby community center.
Longtime members cite the family-like atmosphere and the pastors’ adherence to basic Biblical teachings when asked why they’ve stayed so loyal to the church.
John W. Copas, almost 83, started attending services in 1937 in the original brick building, which once stood where the parking lot is now. That building was used from 1910 to 1983.
He recalled the church then had no electricity or running water. A well wasn’t dug until the 1960s, he said.
Evangelists went around to different churches, and the sermons were long, Copas said.
No air conditioning? “Yes, we did,” he said. “We opened the windows.”
In the late 1930s, missionary women and students from Moody Bible Institute made a push to keep the church going. In 1962, a constitution and bylaws were drawn up.
Copas also noted that the late Danville mayor, David S. Palmer, attended services at Grape Creek.
Dorothy Yow, 74, a member since 1965, said she attended First Baptist in Danville when she was a girl, but had always wanted to go to a local church. When she attended a service at Grape Creek, she said, “That’s the church for me.”
Both she and Copas said they like the way the pastors in the past and now preach the gospel.
“Our pastor is one of the best,” Yow said, referring to David Leary. “He tells you how it is.”
Leary, who has been pastor for nine years, said average attendance on a Sunday is 120. While most of the members live nearby, several drive in from St. Joseph, Georgetown, Catlin and other towns.
The community of Grape Creek is located between Danville and Westville.
Darrell and Nancy Rankins, both 63 years old and members for 21 years, come in from Georgetown.
“It’s just a homey church,” Nancy said. “Our church is growing. We don’t know everybody as well as we used to.”
The membership is getting younger, too. There are 18 children of preschool age, and more babies on the way.
“Any church without children in it is a dying church,” Copas said.
Nancy also noted that new members mention the congregation’s friendliness.
“We always greet the people we don’t know,” Yow said. “It’s a family atmosphere.”
History
The First Baptist Church of Grape Creek was organized on June 30, 1908, with 14 members. For a year, the members met in a railroad chapel car, known as the Herald of Hope.
A building was erected in 1910 and demolished in the 1980s. The current building opened in 1986; stained glass windows from the old building were installed.
The community center/gymnasium was completed in spring 2007. It also has an apartment upstairs for missionaries.
Leary said the church hopes to build a picnic shelter in the next year or two.
COMING UP
Grape Creek Baptist Church will celebrate its 100-year anniversary Sunday. Sunday school will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by the service at 10:30 a.m. and an open house at 2 p.m.
For information, call the church at 267-7765.

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