Holly Springs Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Two congregations, both born from the roots of post-Civil War immigrants, both putting down stakes near this very spot. The Bluff Springs Baptist Church.

The Philadelphia Baptist Church. Two separate flocks, two separate histories, and then, in 1903, a decision. They merged.

And from that union came the Holly Springs Baptist Church of Christ. The Reverend B. H.

Sims stepped up as its first pastor, and right from the start, this congregation had places to be. That same year, 1903, they joined the Liberty Baptist Association. Now, they needed a home.

Mrs. Harriet Coffman donated the land, right here, and sometime prior to 1916 the congregation raised its first sanctuary on that donated ground. Think about what it takes to build something like that.

The land given freely, the walls going up, a community deciding this place matters. Then 1928 rolls around, and they built a new sanctuary. Bigger, better, and it didn't take long for word to spread, because the Liberty Baptist Association held its annual meeting here in 1929.

Then again in 1957. You don't get chosen twice unless you've earned it. And there's one more thing the marker wants you to know about this church.

It became known as a training ground for young ministers. This little congregation out in Camp County, shaped by immigrants, built on donated land, has been turning out preachers and sending them into the world. Some stories just keep going.

What the marker says

The Bluff Springs Baptist and Philadelphia Baptist churches, both established near here by post-Civil War immigrants, merged in 1903 to form the Holly Springs Baptist Church of Christ; the Rev. B. H. Sims served as its first pastor. The congregation joined the Liberty Baptist Association in 1903 and built its first sanctuary here, on land donated by Mrs. Harriet Coffman, sometime prior to 1916. A new sanctuary, built here in 1928, was the site of the association's 1929 and 1957 annual meetings. the church, known as a training ground for young ministers, continues to serve the local community.