Shiloh Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. On May 17, 1884, five people walked into Bellview Schoolhouse. Just five.

And what they walked out with was the beginning of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Now, you might think five people is a modest start, but consider this: they weren't trying to fill a room. They were trying to build something that would last.

And brother, did it last. In those early days, the congregation only gathered once a month, but when they did come together, they didn't rush off. Meetings ran two or three days long.

That's not a Sunday service. That's a commitment. That's people who mean it.

Most of the pastoral leadership in those early years rose up from right within the membership itself. No outside voice telling them who they were. They figured that out on their own.

The church has always kept itself close to Hog Creek, and for a stretch of time the congregation met in a brush arbor down at a place called Blue Hole. Open sky overhead, the creek running nearby, and many a baptism held right there in that water. There's something about that image that stays with you.

Then came 1890, and the congregation took the name it carries to this day. Two years later, in 1892, they moved to this very location, and that same year they started up the Sunday school program. From five people in a schoolhouse, to a brush arbor on a creek, to a permanent home with a name and a school and a future.

That's not just a church. That's a story that kept writing itself.

What the marker says

On May 17, 1884, five people gathered in Bellview Schoolhouse to organize Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. The congregation initially met only once a month, with meetings lasting two or three days. Most of the early pastoral leadership came from among the membership. The church has always been located along Hog Creek, meeting for a time in a brush arbor at Blue Hole. Many baptisms were held in the creek. The congregation took its present name in 1890 and moved to this location in 1892. The Sunday school program was started that year. (1984)