By Carley Wiggins
A few weeks ago, I was approached about writing an article for the paper concerning the one hundred twentieth anniversary of the Dillon First Baptist Church. I was a little bit surprised considering this church has many talented people that could probably do a better job than me. When I brought this up, I was told that the anniversary committee wanted me to do it. So, I will do the best I can.
Let me mention that two books of history have been written about the church, one by Miss Nancy Owens covering the first seventy years of First Baptist Church and a later book written by Miss Jewell Carmichael covering the history up to 2001. Both are well written and there would not be any way that I could mention all they have already said in their books. This will be just a sketch of this great Church.
Back in 1888, when the village of Dillon became a town and while we still a part of Marion County, and right after the ACL Railroad came through the town, there was a movement to start a Baptist Church in Dillon. On June 28, 1891, the movement became a reality as The Dillon Baptist Church as it was first called was organized with fifteen members. Meetings were held in a school building where the Church now stands. The first pastor was Rev. R.H. Burriss.
In 1894, the first house of worship was erected; the structure was made of brick. The school was moved to another location. The total value of the church and lot was $2,500.00. The membership had grown to sixty-six. The pastor during that time was J.I. Allen; his salary was $225.00 per year.
The name of the Church was changed to First Baptist around 1906 after Second Baptist Church was organized in 1903 and accepted into the association. On October 16th, First Baptist Church will have been a Church Home to thousands of people since its inception one hundred and twenty years ago.
In 1918, a Sunday school addition to the church was completed. It was a two-story building with ten classrooms and a small auditorium that could be opened into the church auditorium if needed. In 1954, a beautiful new sanctuary was completed as it stands today. The costs of the new sanctuary was $90,000.00, a far cry from the cost of the first sanctuary back in 1894, but yet still a bargain at today’s prices. The church has made numerous improvements over the years and stands as a house of worship that I believe God would be pleased with. It would seem that God has greatly blessed First Baptist Church.
First Baptist Church has been a great asset to the City of Dillon. Over the years it has shown great growth in membership and property. But we should always remember that the Church is not in the buildings or land, but in the hearts of the born again believers. We can go to Church every Sunday and each time the church doors are open, we could put vast amounts of money in the support of the Church and and still be lost and unprepared to face eternity.
I have known many people over the years that attended First Baptist Church, some that are deceased and some that are living. Many of these I would consider to be dedicated Christians and that is the backbone of the Church. In order for a Church to prosper, it must have dedicated people who are completely committed to Christ and to his living word in its entirety.
There are so many people that should be mentioned in this article that have contributed to the work of the Lord at First Baptist Church, but unfortunately space will not allow. I would like to name the pastors that have led the church over the past one hundred twenty years. W.E. Entzminger (1889-1890), R.H. Burriss (1891-1892), J.I. Allen (1893-1902), F.O.S. Curtis (1903-1906), J.S. Corpening (1907-1908), H.A. Willis (1909-1918), W.C. Allen (1919-1928), J.A. Ward (1928-1940), F.W. Lyon (1940-1948), A.T. Usher (1948-1959), Frank Zedick (1959-1979), F.H. Brown (1980-1993), W.R. Cullum (1995-present)
In order for a Church to prosper in the work of the Lord, they must have pastors who will preach the word without compromise, and they must have a genuine calling from God to serve him as he leads them. I believe that First Baptist Church has been blessed with dedicated pastors to lead one of Dillon’s largest congregations.
The purpose of the Church is not to see how many programs we can put in place or how many cookouts we can have. The sole purpose of the Church is to win the lost to Christ, if those who make up the Church don’t carry the message, how will they hear? I also believe strongly in missions. There are millions of people around the world who have never heard the name of Jesus.
I commend Dillon First Baptist Church on their one hundred twentieth anniversary and the part they have played in Dillon’s History. I would pray that as long as God sees fit for this world to exist, he would keep his hand on this Church and lead it in every aspect to glorify his name.