Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Moore will observe its 150th anniversary on Nov. 3 with an old-fashioned potluck lunch following its 11 a.m. service and a special program at 2 p.m. Festivities will include historical displays, music, speakers, photos, and videos, plus the unveiling of a permanent display.
On a Wednesday night in November 1874, a group of worshipers gathered under a brush arbor in the farming community. Although they had held similar gatherings before, this one was to decide if they should form a Baptist church. One attendee held a pine torch to provide light as they counted votes. Thirty-eight men and women voted yes, and they became charter members.
The desire to start a church in the Poplar Springs community did not spring up overnight. The seeds were planted about 70 years earlier at a four-day camp meeting a few miles from the church’s location. More than 5,000 people — Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists — traveled on horseback and in wagons to hear the gospel preached in a field near the intersection of Highway 417 and the South Tyger River in July 1802. Worshipers came from various districts in South Carolina, and some came from as far away as Georgia.
In the decades that followed, various individuals in Poplar Springs organized home Bible studies and Sunday schools. Traveling preachers periodically conducted services under brush arbors or in homes. Some people occasionally traveled to hear preaching services or revivals.
Forming Poplar Springs Church made the gospel more accessible to people in the community, but operating a church was difficult during the early years. Membership consisted mostly of farm families, and many struggled to make ends meet. However, people were determined for the church to thrive, and they gave what they had, whether that was a piece of land, building materials, carpentry skills, or the little cash they could scrape together. Members also were committed to spreading the gospel, and they frequently gave offerings to support various missions.
Since 1874, the two-acre site of the original church building has expanded to 21 acres. The current building, constructed 100 years ago, has undergone several additions and renovations, including construction of a new worship center in 2001.
Two other congregations — one Hispanic and one Ukrainian — now worship in the old sanctuary, meaning the gospel is preached in three languages every Sunday.
The church’s history team — Debbie Boyter, Linda Babb, Barry Bridwell, and A.D. Owen — has worked diligently for more than a year, studying church history, collecting artifacts, and interviewing members for two purposes: to organize a special celebration that informs people how the church began and developed over the last 150 years, and to gather, organize, and preserve documents, photographs, and videos of the church’s rich history. These materials, they believe, show how God has faithfully led the congregation in the past and will inspire members to look forward to what He will do in the future.