Our Church History

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church began in the fall of 1888 with a small group of people seeking a new place to worship. They secured Rev. C.S. Pellam to hold a revival meeting and this set the groundwork for the beginning of the church. On December 8, 1988, the church was constituted. The nine charter members were Mr. and Mrs. George Harris, Mr. Jeff Ezell, Mr. E.M. Matthews, Mr. J.M. Lee, Mrs. Maggie Bowman, Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Langford, and Miss Emma Langford.

Church meetings were held in the Pleasant Grove School House located on the northwest corner of the Troy and Dillard crossroads. On May 11, 1889, the church members established a committee to investigate purchasing land from Mr. J.D. Peters in order to build a new church. The committee consisted of Thomas Harris, Robert Bowman, and G.B. Langford. On June 8, 1889, the committee reported that Mr. Peters agreed to give two acres of land for the Pleasant Grove church. The deed was registered in the Probate Office on July 14, 1890.

At that time, Mr. Peters owned a general store, a sawmill, a gristmill, and a cotton gin (all later known as Marley’s Mill). The land that the church had secured was covered with giant long-leaf pine trees. Church members cut the trees and hauled them to the mill to be sawed into lumber. The first church was built by its members using this lumber.

The church originally had two front doors. At that time, custom dictated that men enter the left door and sit on the left side of the church while the women enter the right door and sit on the right side. Children were placed in the middle section of pews. Up front and to the left of the building held the Amen corner. As women gained some status in the church, an addition was added and the two doors were replaced by one large door.

It was also customary at that time to have a revival every summer. A series of meetings were held in the morning and at night. At the end of these meetings, attendees would gather at Mr. Peters’ mill for baptism services and then return to the church for the right hand of fellowship for the new members. If the church was already full when people attended the revival, they would park their vehicle (either wagon or automobile) close to the door or at the windows in order to hear the preaching.

On October 12, 1894, a deed was granted to the church for the cemetery. On December 8, 1894, a committee of Thomas Harris, Louis Moseley, and G.B. Langford was appointed to survey the cemetery. A new schoolhouse was built on the south corner of this land from lumber cut from the land and sawed at Mr. Peters’ sawmill. This schoolhouse served the community until it burned on February 13, 1934. The school house was rebuilt and used until the 1940’s.

In January 1955, once membership reached 350, the church decided a new building was needed. Groundbreaking for the new church was held on January 19, 1955. Mrs. Emma Paramore, the only living charter member at the time, turned the first spade of dirt for the new building. The building and planning committee members were Mack Moseley, Lloyd Ezell, Orie Whitman, Louie Searcy, D.B. Ezell, and H.R. Fain. Reverend Q.P. Jones was the current pastor. Members of the board of deacons included E.F. Byrd, Lloyd Peters, D.B. Ezell, Alf Byrd, W.G. Bullard, Alvie Roland, Elmer Hughes, Mack Moseley, Dewey Byrd, and Lloyd Ezell.

Church members built the new church with little hired help. Roy Whitman was in charge of carpentry work, and Roscoe Tomlin and Curtis Marshall were in charge of masonry work. Mack Moseley and Espy Chancey donated additional lumber that was used to frame the new church and builders utilized the lumber from the first church building to finish the basement. On June 5, 1954, Mitchell (Mickey) and Margaret Andrews were the last couple to be married in the original building. On July 31, 1955, members held the last service in the old wood church. The first service in the new building was held on August 7, 1955.

In 1959, church members added a pastorium. The church bought the material while members furnished most of the labor. The building cost approximately $20,000. In 1966, with increased enrollment in Sunday School and Training Union, a need for more classrooms was met by the construction of a two-story brick educational building which also included a kitchen and fellowship hall.

In 1973, church membership reached 646 and the need for additional space for classrooms and worship services increased. On February 18, 1973, church members held a groundbreaking service for a new sanctuary. The present building was constructed at a cost of $100,232. The basement consisted of a kitchen, fellowship hall, and restrooms. The building was a joint effort of members donating their time and the work of contractors. The building and finance committee for this building included Stanley Parker, Lloyd Ezell, Leon Dansby, Norman Tharpe, Malcolm Peters, W.J. Moseley, James B. Langford, and Roy Whitman.

In 2005, a 1475-square-foot addition was built on the north side of the church. This addition included handicap accessible restrooms and a multipurpose room upstairs, a 2000 lb. capacity elevator, and a 500-square-foot pantry downstairs. Expansion to the original carport provided 1055 square feet of space. The parking lot was expanded to 24,900 square feet and was resurfaced. Cost for this expansion was approximately $320,000. Church members paid for the new addition through donations to the Chest of Joash and with a loan from a bank. The 15-year loan was paid off in approximately three years.

Around February 2016, construction began on a Youth Building complete with a full facility kitchen, classrooms, an open basketball court, and restrooms. Youth activities including meals, Bible study, games, and fellowship are centered in the facility.

Pastors who have served at Pleasant Grove:
1888 C.S. Pellam
1889 W.W. Faulkner
1902 J.A. Phillips
1909-1910 J. Hamp Gunter
1911-1915 J. M. Loftin
1916-1918 R. C. Deal
1919-1929 W. M. Bush
1930-1932 J. Hamp Gunter
1932-1933 C.A. Johnson
1934-1935 W. M. Bush
1937 P. W. Lett
1939 C. W. Milliford
1940-1944 W. H. Beasley
1946-1948 John B. Johnson
1949-1950 W. M. Bush
1951-1957 Q. P. Jones
1958-1962 Floyd Porter
1962-1966 J. C. Ogg
1966-1970 Donald F. Callahan
1970-1975 Wallace Russell
1975-1979 Roy Cordle
1980-1996 Isom Hill
1997-2000 Timothy Davis
2001-2013 William Hart
2015-2021 James Bell
                                                                                                                   2021-2023 Mike Whitt                                                                                                                        2025-present Brandon Witt