Our History
Our church was founded in 1896 by Reverend Brad McLaughlin with a mission to bring the Word of God to the community. Since then, our church has been through many ups and downs but has always remained focused on the scripture and teachings of Jesus Christ. Our long and storied history is a testament to our commitment to the Lord and to our congregation. Today, our church hopes to continue to be a beacon of faith, hope, and love for our community and beyond. We hope that you will be encouraged by this brief look at our church's history. If you have any additional information about the church we would love for you to tell us about it.
Early Years
From 1896 till around the 1920's the records of our church are mostly absent. We know that when the church started out there were approximately 10 members that gathered together in the community schoolhouse. Then in 1899, the church sent its first delegates to the local association. Later in 1922, the congregation moved into a new building at its current location. The picture on the left is of that original location (date of picture unknown).
20's and 30's
In digging through the history of the church some interesting details come out. For one the church at one point was called Weaver Missionary Baptist Church. This was the name of the church when they called M.W. Hough as the Pastor on October 14th, 1928. From what we can tell the name remained that way until it was changed to Weaver Baptist Church in 1943. During that time we have records of four other pasters that served for varying lengths of time.
- W. D. Hallingworth (1929)
- J.P. Griffith (1931 - unknown) We have records of him as late as the 1960s serving as the church's music minister.
- W.D. Peterson (1933 - unknown) Like Griffith our records have Peterson showing up at some other random times as the pastor.
40's through 60's
As we continue through the church's history we come to another period of relative silence. The only pastor that is mentioned during this time is Bud Cole (1942 - 1943). It is not until the middle of the 1960s that we get anything new. We do know that during this time, 1951 to be exact, the congregation built a new building on its current sight. The pews we still use are from this church building, although they have been reupholstered since.
The two other pastors we have records for from this period were;
​
- Archie L. Stone (1966-1967, 1971-1974)
- S. J. Newson (1967-1969)
The 70's and 80's
Weaver Baptist Church in the 1970s and 80s was a growing and thriving place. The Church added a new fellowship hall and several new Sunday School classrooms to better meet the church's needs. In 1986, on its 90th anniversary, the church decided to start planning and raising money for a new auditorium.
​
During this time, the church records also start to show consistent pastoral records. These are the men who served the church during that time.
​
- Don Wheeler (1970-1971)
- Larry Jorden (1975-1978)
- Larry Washburn (1978-1979)
- Gary Cox (1979-1982)
- David Spanko (1982-1983, 1984-1985)
- Kelly Mosely (Interim)(1984)
- George Thomas (1986 - 1991)
The 90's and 20's
In the mid-90s, the church finished its new Auditorium. The first service held in the new building was held in December 1995. As the years continued, the church finished five additional classrooms to serve the church better. A few years later, the church decided to build a new multipurpose building to serve the church and the community better. The church building exists to server Christ and to help our community. Our hope is that this is something that will continue. As we continue to serve, our prayer is that the Lord will use his church to serve the community.
​
In the late 90s, the church called its first pastor, who would serve for a prolonged period.
​
- Lee Emerson (Interim) (1991 - 1992)
- John Branch (1992 - 1994)
- David Kirby (1994 - 1996)
- Armond Dulude (1996 - 1998)
- Tom Friday (1998 - 2021)