The First Baptist Church of Anderson, Missouri, is one of the oldest churches in Southwest Missouri. It was founded on the first day of July 1848 by Henry Miller, a Baptist from North Carolina who settled on Elk River in 1847 in what is now McDonald County. Brother Miller, an active Christian, went to work to secure a church organization and in 1848 the organization was effected in his dwelling house. The original church consisted of nine members: Henry Miller, Mary Matthews, John R. Davis, Nancy Davis, Issac Lamance, Susan Lamance, Ben Matthews, and M.U. Howard.

The church met in Brother Miller’s home until 1851 when it began meeting at Beaver Springs every other month.

The original organization was assisted by three ministers from nearby areas, Abraham May and T.J. Hollman who both lived on Lost Creek in Newton County and William Toliver who lived near Rocky Comfort.

Mr. Hollman became the first minister and Brother M.U. Howard the first clerk. The church attached itself to the Spring River Association in 1851.

Hezekiah Dobbs and his wife moved from Tennessee to Missouri and joined the church by letter and soon thereafter Brother Dobbs was ordained to the work of the ministry. At the time he was pastor, he was the only minister living in McDonald County.

The church moved permanently to its location at Beaver Springs in 1854. The church minutes, however, reflect the fact that some meetings were still conducted in the homes of various members. One of those frequently used was the home of Brother Moses Martin who lived on Mill Creek.

The founders of the church were primarily people who came from the hill country of the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Coleman Chapman and his wife and son William joined the church by letter from Tennessee in 1857. Coleman Chapman later followed Hezekiah Dobbs as pastor and served in that capacity for fourteen years. His son William also later served as pastor.

The first trustees of the church were C.W.Chapman, James W. Tatum, and James F. Dunnigan. The first communion was held in July 1863 and the first Sunday School in the 1890’s.

The first meeting house was built of round logs 16 feet long covered with clapboards 4 feet long. It had a puncheon floor and one door, but now windows, and a fireplace with a wooden chimney. A church house that had logs that were 24 feet long replaced this building in 1857.

The Church grew as the area grew in population and prospered until the Civil War. At that time it is evident that meetings were held in the homes of some members, but many of the people were scattered. The records are very scanty and it is not until April 1867 that a regular report of meetings and memberships occurs again.

The period from the late 1869’s into the 1890’s is one of growth for this county and growth for the church. The Church found a third structure was a necessity. This time a very neat frame house, 16’ by 36’, was built and was thought to be large enough for all time. This proved false and in 1899 the house was enlarged to become a structure that was well heated and lighted and could seat 400 people. This building was on ground now a part of the Anderson Cemetery. It is interesting that Luther and Marietta Higgs were buried in the cemetery at the exact spot where the altar before which they were married stood many years later.

The church membership in 1900 was 150. After considerable discussion, the church moved to a location on Beaver Street. The church building, red brick with a bell tower and stained glass windows, was started in 1911 and completed in 1912. That year a revival took place that added 144 people to the church. An item from a newspaper read,” The greatest revival in the history of Anderson closed Sunday night after five weeks duration. Rev. Kennedy of Kansas City, Missouri, conducted the meetings with the Rev. W.M. Rudolph, pastor, assisting.” A church directory published in 1914 included 439 names.

Among those early members who worked on the church were Sam Eppard and his son Henry, Jake Roark, and George Allman. Luther James, Bill Williams, John and Ben Locke, and Ras and Henry Clark also worked on the new building.

A newspaper article written in 1927 speaks of a “Homecoming Day” on September 25. 1927, with an estimated 400 people attending. The Pastor preached in the morning and the former pastor, Rev. J.W. Kiltner, preached at night.

The centennial celebration was held in 1948. Paul Andrews was pastor, and there were 511 members. On July 1, 1973, the 125th anniversary was celebrated, Rev Randall Reeves was the pastor, and former pastor Don Palmer spoke in the morning service. Ten years laster July 17, 1983, was the 125th anniversary celebration. This was held six weeks after the new pastor Rev. James Lemons, Jr., had moved to Anderson. The theme was “Looking Back to the Past. . . Looking Forward to the Future.” It was commemorated with three worship services and a luncheon. The sermons were given by Randall Reeves, a former pastor; Dr. Ed Minors who was ordained at First Baptist Church; and the pastor Jim Lemons.

In February 1979 under the leadership of Pastor Emerson the church membership authorized the Building and Space Committee to seek out and bring to the church body possible future building sites for consideration of purchase. A recommendation was made in October to purchase the acreage of Joe Stewart across from the McDonald County High School at the intersection of Highways 71 and 76.

During the pastorate of Bruce Love, a “Catch the Vision” banquet was held and officially launched the new building campaign.

In 1990 the fellowship voted to erect a new facility at the Indian Creek property. Tom Ellis became the pastor in June 1993 and helped continue the vision of building on the new sites. A ground breaking ceremony at the new location took place on August 1, 1993. Those taking turns with shovels were the deacons, the young people, Rev. Ellis, and former pastor, Bruce Love. Bertha and A.T. Pogue were honored as the oldest in attendance. The vision that began fifteen years earlier became a reality in June 1994 when the first services was held on June 5th, and Dedication Sunday was June 12.

(The above information was taken from a History of the Church compiled by Jimmy Tatum.)