By Janie Calcutt King
Thirty-two years before the Civil War, and 40 years before The Baptist Courier, then published as The Working Christian newspaper, was established, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was organized in 1829. With eight charter members, a strong faith in God and in the future of their church, on four acres of donated land, Mt. Zion built a church to seat 100 members.
The church also established and housed a local school, Flintville Academy, with the remaining land becoming a cemetery and final resting place for ancestors born in the 1700s and after.
In 1880, a new church building was constructed to increase the seating to 250, with a door for the women to enter the church on the left and take their places in pews on the left side of the sanctuary, and a separate door for men to enter the church on the right and take their places on the right side of the sanctuary. Did this practice precipitate the bride’s and groom’s sides of the sanctuary in formal church weddings?
Mt. Zion Baptist was one of 12 churches that became charter members of Florence Baptist Association 135 years ago in 1890. After many renovations and expansions on the same foundation on the outskirts of Pamplico, S.C., Mt. Zion continues to hold services today, led by the current pastor, Eric Alldredge.
For nearly 200 years, Mt. Zion has been fulfilling the Great Commission, Jesus’s final command to His disciples found in Matthew 28:16-20: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
The Clarks
For over a decade in the mid-20th century, Mt. Zion was pastored by C.O. Clark. During this era, Mt. Zion nurtured the Christian lives of young people, who became Baptist ministers and ministers’ wives. Sisters Bonnie and Betty Belflower — along with their cousins, Barbara Gaskins and Janie Calcutt — grew up in Mt. Zion Church and all married Baptist ministers.
W.H. Calcutt grew up in Mt. Zion and attended Furman University, which was established by the South Carolina Baptist Convention. While a student at Furman, W.H. became friends with O’Neal Weeks, John Platt and Luke King, who all attended Furman and then earned their Master of Divinity degrees at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. Betty, Janie and Barbara all attended Coker College (University) in Hartsville, S.C.
Mt. Zion offered all of the Southern Baptist educational programs for young people, including Sunday School, Training Union, Wednesday night Prayer Meetings, Vacation Bible School, Girls in Action, and Royal Ambassadors. This Christian education contributed to these four couples’ hearing God’s call to serve for decades in churches across the Southeast.
Members of Mt. Zion Church, W.H. Calcutt and Bonnie Belflower married in 1959. Bonnie’s career was in social services for Sampson and then Cumberland counties in North Carolina. W.H. pastored churches in South Carolina and Virginia before being called to Mt. Elam Baptist in Roseboro, N.C., where he served as senior pastor for more than 37 years. Unable to settle into retirement, W.H. served as pastor of two additional North Carolina churches. Also a talented athlete, W.H. extended his ministry to include founding youth sport leagues, which led to many championship teams. After his second retirement, Sampson County showed their appreciation for his years of dedication to youth sports by inducting Calcutt into the county’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Born in Blackville, S.C., O’Neal Weeks married Mt. Zion member Betty Belflower in 1961. After completing graduate study in Europe and at the University of Kentucky, Betty became a professor of architecture. After pastoring churches in South Carolina and North Carolina, O’Neal earned his doctorate at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and became a professor, directing U.K.’s Marriage and Family Therapy program.
John Platt married Mt. Zion member Barbara Gaskins in 1963. Barbara earned her pharmacy degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and worked as a licensed pharmacist for nearly three decades. She also used her medical expertise on foreign mission trips. Originally from Denmark, S.C., John Platt earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University Theological School and pastored several churches in South Carolina, before serving as director of associational missions for Moriah and then Columbia Metro Baptist associations.
The Kings
Luke B. King Jr. married Mt. Zion member Janie Calcutt in 1955. Janie graduated from Coker College (University) and received her Master of Education degree from Luther Rice Seminary. She worked in the education department for 26 years. She served as career development counselor for 15 years prior to her retirement. Originally from Hartsville, S.C., Luke earned his doctorate from Luther Rice Seminary and pastored churches in South Carolina and Florida. Luke also served as a Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Extension professor for several years.
In a period of five years, Mt. Zion produced four couples, who lived their lives in the ministry. Other Baptist pastors and wives of pastors grew up in the church in the years before and since. Centuries of members of Mt. Zion have each grown to serve God in their adult professional lives. God works miracles in the hearts of faithful Christians in little country churches.
— Editor’s note: All the people mentioned in this article have served our Lord in different ways and places. All were called by God into the ministry. Please note that all the wives were engaged in Christian ministry alongside their husbands.