Through the Years

 

1950s

The First Baptist Church of Mt. Healthy was established July 27, 1954, as a mission of the Liberty Baptist Church in Norwood, Ohio. The members were active members of the mother church and the new Sunday School began with 18 members. Two pastors served the mission; Nathaniel Straub (1954) and F. D. Coker (1955). This new mission met in the Lodge Hall of the Odd Fellows at 7518 Hamilton Avenue. From the beginning the new mission accepted no financial help from the sponsoring church.  N. E. Godfrey (1956-1957) was pastor when we were constituted as a church March 11, 1956 with 45 charter members. Rev. Godfrey resigned in 1957 in order to give the church the freedom to call a full time pastor. When Harry Lee Wainscott (1956-1965) became pastor the church purchased property and eventually erected a building at 1393 Compton Road. This building project was made possible by sacrificial offerings during December.

 

 

1960s

Rev. Thomas J. (Jack) Tichenor (1966-1976) became our pastor in April of 1966. Bro. Jack and his wife Dolly occupied the parsonage which the church purchased from Bro. Wainscott. This same year the church called Bill Beschman, a student at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, as part-time Minister of Music.    Two of the better known evangelists to visit our church during this time were Rev. R. G. Lee and Homer Martinez. During Bro. Jack’s tenure the church bonds were retired, leaving the church debt free and Cooperative Program giving increased to a high of 26%.

 

 

On Nov. 1, l973 we celebrated the burning of our church mortgage. (Picture denotes Joe Bearden and Bro. Jack burning the mortgage.) Improvements to the property were made and in 1974, to meet the needs of the community and as an outreach opportunity, the Day Care Center was established. During this time savings were accumulating to allow for future building at 1393 Compton Road. Bro. Jack retired in August of 1976, at which time the church sold the parsonage and purchased an additional house and lot adjoining the church property.

 

On January 1, 1978, George H. Ellis (1978-1988) became our pastor.  A Long Range Planning Committee was elected in the Spring of 1979, charting the course for the next decade.

 

  

In June of 1980 the church voted to relocate to provide needed space for expansion. There was great opposition to moving out of the area so, when land became available at the corner of Compton and Daly Roads, we purchased those 34 acres in August 1980. In February of 1983 we celebrated a ground-breaking ceremony to begin construction on the new church building.  (Picture denotes ground breaking/balloon launch ceremony.) The new building blended a contemporary structure with a traditional accent. The construction phase took 15 months. The church moved into its new facility in June of 1984. The building contains 42,000 square feet and cost a very low $23.90 per square foot due to the thousands of volunteer hours contributed by our members. During this decade a weekly shopping ministry for the Ridgewood Apartment senior residents was begun, we offered a free clothes corner for the needy in the area, our annual Living Nativity was established, our choir was invited to attend the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, we hosted the 1986 State Convention, we had 206 baptisms, and our Day Care thrived to full capacity. Rudee Boan (1979-1981) served as Associate Pastor of Youth and Education. and was followed by David Blalock (1982-1984), Steve Andrews (1984-1985), and Bill Mountsier (1985-1991). Bro. George answered the Lord’s called to pastor another church in 1988.

 

  

1990s

In 1990 Steven Hill (1990-1992) was called as pastor. Raymond Davis (1993) and Dr. Dennis Mixer (1994-1998) followed. During the interim between these pastorates we were lovingly shepherded by Ira McMillan and Bill Bernard. During this decade we had 101 baptisms, the annual Passion Play was established, and we called Tommy Hendricks (1996-2002) as our Minister to Children and Youth. The Day Care Center continued to thrive and the Ridgewood Shopping Ministry and Bible study was on-going.