Just three years after the end of the Civil War, a group of former slaves gathered near a grove of locust trees to worship. Locusts are pods that grow on certain trees that were used to make a type of drink. In 1868, these Christians gathered to form the Locust Grove Baptist Church. The first congregation worshiped in an old log structure a few thousand yards north of the present church site. Although times were hard for former slaves, these men and women worked hard and together to build a viable church. The log building was later replaced by a more suitable, but common frame structure. Then a brick structure was built that served them for many years. In 1968, an Educational/Fellowship Hall was erected. In 1980, the present sanctuary was built. Our newest Educational/Fellowship Hall was erected in 2003. Locust Grove has been blessed with land next to the existing parking lot. In addition, a small piece of land directly across the road from the church was given as a gift.
In the early days, they had Sunday school every Sunday and worshiped on the second Sunday of each month. In those days, the pastors usually served several churches at the same time. In the late 1950’s we started having worship service on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. In the late 1960’s we began having worship each Sunday.
Locust Grove has been served by Eleven Pastors since 1868: Harry Cowan, Spencer Thomas, S.G. Gilmer, A.T. Alston, Charles Raeford, A.O. Walker, Howard Graves, Richard Thomas, A.O. Walker returned for a second time, William G. Hill and now our present Pastor James E. Lea.
God has blessed us through our great pastors and excellent leaders to continue to increase our congregation spiritually and financially.
