2080 Seven Pines Rd.
Fountain, NC, 27828

History of King’s Cross Roads Free Will Baptist Church

King’s Cross Roads Original Free Will Baptist Church was organized on May 19, 1888. The eleven charter members were: J. T. Abrams, J. I. Corbitt, J. W. Overman, W. R. Corbitt, James Fulford, David Bibb, B. F. Garretney, David Tugwell, Joseph Tugwell, J. T. Tugwell, and Thomas W. Little.  Records show first attendance at a general conference in August, 1888.  A $0.50 contribution was carried to the convention.  The contribution was raised to $1.00 in August, 1889. The first clerk was J. T. Abrams.  The first recorded ruling elders were J. I. Corbitt and J. W. Overman, and the first deacons were J. T. Abrams and David Tugwell.  The first pastor was Elder J. T. Phillips.  His salary was $20.00 per month.

Services were held once a month on the third Sunday.  Services later increased to two meetings per month, every first and third Sunday.  In 1961 the Church began having services every Sunday. In the early years of the Church, to be a member in good standing included attending quarterly business meetings.  If absent three quarterly business meetings in a row, a good explanation had to be given for being absent.  Also in the early years of the Church, people were brought before the church body if accused of sinful acts.  If someone asked for forgiveness, they were forgiven; if they would not ask for forgiveness, they were excommunicated from the Church.

The Ladies Aid Society was organized in the early 1930’s and continues to be an active part of the church.  The Ladies organization is now called the Woman’s Auxiliary and is active in the Central Conference of OFWB Woman’s Auxiliary of North Carolina.

Sunday School was begun in 1938.  Mr. L. A. Fulford was the first superintendent.  Today, the Sunday School continues to be an important part of the training ground for learning the Bible and spiritual truths.

The youth have always been a very important asset to the church.  There have been different youth organizations through the years.  Today the Church sponsors Cherubs, (up to age 8), Ambassadors of Christ (ages 9-13), and Youth Fellowship Auxiliary (ages 14-19), and each fourth Sunday night is Youth Night.

From the 1940’s through the mid 1960’s Kings Cross Roads Church participated in a Sunday night training program called FWB League.

The men organized a Laymen’s League in 1968.  The Laymen’s League is active in the Central Conference Laymen’s League and in the local church.

The King’s Cross Roads Church adult choir has always been available to render music to the church and community.  Over the years, the choir has presented their message in song at the old “County Home” and in surrounding churches.  In the early 1950’s the choir had a radio ministry on WGTC radio in Greenville.

To make room for a growing Sunday School, the original 30’ x 40’ building was enlarged in the early 1940’s.  This was the first of two additions in the 1940’s.  The first was an addition that included four Sunday School rooms, pulpit, and choir area.  The second addition added five more Sunday School rooms and a basement recreation room.  Also, the centrally located potbelly coal heater and centrally located chimney were replaced with two potbelly coal heaters and chimneys located on each side of the sanctuary.

The church received a major renovation in the early 1950’s.  The interior of the church was renovated including redesigning of the pulpit, choir area and some Sunday School rooms.  Drop down panels were added so that Sunday School rooms could be utilized to enlarge the sanctuary capacity.  This renovation included covering the walls and ceiling with Celotex, new pews, new communion table, new hymnals, and carpet for the pulpit and main isle were added.  The coal heaters were replaced with gas heaters in the sanctuary and Sunday School rooms.  The exterior was changed by replacing the
two front entrance doors with windows.  A single entrance with double doors and a covered porch were added.  All existing double-hung windows were replaced with stained glass windows.

The next addition was in 1960.  This addition included inside toilets and two Sunday School rooms.  The Laymen’s League was responsible for the addition of a baptistery in 1969 and a Fellowship building was begun in 1971. Another improvement during this time was the complete carpeting of the sanctuary and Sunday School rooms.  The Fellowship building was completed by the Laymen over the next several years.  The concrete block, slab on grade building, with a kitchen and toilet facilities added 2250 square feet to the Church facility.  The Fellowship building includes two roll-up doors
that can divide the building into three sections.

Modern times have seen the adding of central heating and air conditioning systems.  Carpet was added to the entire sanctuary and Sunday School rooms.  The exterior of the church was covered with aluminum siding in 1973.  The Fellowship building also has been covered with aluminum siding and connected to the main structure, adding a storage room and another Sunday School room.

The interior of the church received a face lift in 1974.  The Celotex covering the walls and ceiling was replaced with gypsum wallboard.  The walls received vinyl wall covering and the ceiling received a sprayed finish.  New carpet was added and the woodwork was restained.  The 1970’s also saw the addition of a handicapped ramp. In the 1980’s the front porch was closed in to make a vestibule.

Plans began in 1995 for a new sanctuary to accommodate a growing congregation. The new 4400 square feet wood frame structure was completed in September 1996.  The new sanctuary and the existing building were connected by a new vestibule with covered porches at the front and back.  This addition included new pews, new pulpit furniture, new piano and new hymnals.

After completion of the new sanctuary renovations were made to the old facility.  The first renovation was to the existing toilets and Sunday School rooms located between the old and new sanctuaries.  The entire area was remodeled into two larger toilets, a storage closet and a hall to connect the old building with the new.  A Sunday School room at the end of the hall was remodeled to become a new Nursery.  A portion of the pulpit area of the old sanctuary was enlarged to add level access to the existing Sunday School rooms.  The fold-down panels were removed and the walls studded and covered with gypsum drywall.  Two Sunday School rooms were built in the rear of the old sanctuary leaving the front of the sanctuary and the pulpit area to serve as a small assembly area.  The old baptistery was removed and the Sunday School rooms in the rear of the building were  remodeled by combining two 10’x10’ rooms into one larger 10’x 20’ room.  A wall was added in the large central room to make a hall and Sunday School room.  All walls and ceilings received a facelift of gypsum wallboard and new carpeting.

The parking needs of the congregation required the securing of some more land.  Approximately two acres were added from the nearby Pierce Farm.  Two more acres were secured in 2003/2004.

A motion was passed in March of 2003 to begin planning for a new Christian activity center on the new property. A building committee was appointed and in the fall, plans were approved by the congregation for a new 14,000 square foot building to include a gymnasium, activity room, kitchen, nursery, office, toilets and a covered activity porch, covered unloading area and a large parking lot.  Construction was begun on this facility in 2004 and was completed in the fall of 2005.

In 2007, the structure of the nursery and children’s church program was redone.  The nursery was divided into two areas with infants in the back half and mobile toddlers in the front.  A paging system was also added so that parents could leave their babies and toddlers in the nursery with total comfort that they would be paged if needed.  The two year olds and three/four year olds were moved out of the nursery and two new children church programs were added.   The nursery and children church rooms were painted and decorated for the new changes.

In the fall of 2008, the church adopted a new program “AWANA” for children ages 18 months to 18 years of age.  The program required a lot of dedication from our church family.   They meet each Wednesday night in the Activity center to learn more about God’s word.

In 2009, the nursery received new carpet.  A new church sign was placed in front of the Activity center.

The church has been blessed with many good pastors, including Elders T. N. Manning, Alonza Tyson, E. D. Hathaway, and the Reverends D. W. Alexander, E. J. Harris, J. C. Moye, Chester Pelt, Bob Wiggs, R. P. Harris, D. A. Windham, L. B. Manning, Joseph Lehman, John Williams, Frank Flowers, David Thick, Frank Brinson, Bobby Futrell, Arnold Price, and the present pastor, the Reverend Bruce Jones.

King’s Cross Roads Church is a member of the Convention of Original Free Will Baptist and supports the ministries associated with the FWB denomination.  These ministries include the Free Will Baptist Children’s Home, Home and Foreign Missions, Mount Olive College, Ministers Program, Cragmont, Retirement Homes, the Sunday School Board, and Carolina Bible Institute.

The congregation of King’s Cross Roads Original Free Will Baptist Church is proud of its heritage.  We give God the thanks and the glory for all things accomplished. Our faith and hope for the future are built, not on buildings, church organizations, or the ministries we support, but on the Lord Jesus Christ.