Our Vision

Our vision is to be faithful to the word of God, faithful to each other as members of the Lord’s church, faithful to our calling to make disciples of all the nations, and faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our History

Michael Crichton suitably stated, “If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” He was right. Every waxy green leaf can look backward and see that it pulses with life only because of the tree it’s attached to. Every leaf can also observe that the branches from which it buds are only one part of a complex system of growth. Every leaf, indeed, has a long history. The leaves owe their existence to the branches. The branches are indebted to the limbs. The limbs were born from the trunk. The trunk grew hearty from broadly buried roots. And the roots sprung and spread from a simple seed.

Needless to say, we are leaves dancing in the wind who are indebted and attached to a steadfast tree almost two-centuries old. Each of us are fastened as leaves to the steady and sturdy tree of Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church—a tree which sprouted one-hundred-eighty years ago this month. The vigor of her branches has been tested by the winds of time. The strength of her trunk has been tried by the storms of the times. The depth of her roots has been proven by the soil of tribulation. She has stood tall through the impossible. But it is no doubt because of the steadfast love and faithfulness of her Eternal Husbandman who has kept her from falling.

But just as every oak and maple buds from a sunken seed, Locust Grove ascended through fertile soil when she was planted eighteen decades ago on the Friday before the third Lord’s Day in October of 1841. Twenty-one faithful believers, who believed the church is a people and not a building, founded Locust Grove in a community meetinghouse and referred to themselves accordingly as “Locusgrove Meetinghouse.” And yes, the “T” is missing from the word, as this is how it is spelled in the original minutes.

Speaking of missing, until they voted to erect a church house in 1859, Locust Grove worshipped for eighteen years in this small community church house. With or without a building, however, the saints of Locusgrove Meetinghouse were busy about the Lord’s work. While they were occupied with building their own membership in the first few decades, they were a helping hand to several churches in the community. In 1846, they assisted in planting First Baptist Church of Murray. In 1852, they supported the planting of a church near the state line. In 1860, they were called upon to settle a difficulty in the congregation of Crockett’s Creek in Stewart County. Seeds from the tree of Locust Grove were carried by the wind and planted all over the community.

Simultaneously, Locust Grove’s tree appeared to sprout to the heavens as their membership grew rapidly in her first forty-four years. Another church building was constructed in the years 1885, and her membership skyrocketed to eventually 150 members in 1917. And because a bigger church needs a bigger building, Locust Grove remodeled and renovated in the summer of that year, bringing the building to a value of $2,000.

Locust Grove would reach many milestones in the year to follow, although bruised and battered by war, illness, tumultuous weather, and financial hardship. The Lord empowered her members to overcome insurmountable obstacles and climb over colossal mountains of difficulty. One of those mountains was the fire of April 16, 1950. The building was completely destroyed by flames, just prior to the Sunday morning service. Believing that nothing is impossible for the Lord, the new church was erected from the ground up only three years later, and dedicated the fifth Sunday of November 1953. Locust Grove proved herself to be a tree that could even withstand fire.

Many physical additions have come since then, including an educational building, a vestibule and front porch, and some blessed air conditioning. Many spiritual additions have come since then, too, as the Lord has added to our number day by day those who are being saved. Many changes have taken place in the last 180 years, but one thing has remained the same: the relentless devotion of Locust Grove’s members and the unrelenting providence of our God and Father. As we leaves take a backward look to the past, it seems that Locust Grove is the same tree described by the psalmist, one planted as a tree “by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3).

Now, settled on the roots of our founders, sustained by the trunk of our members, and sticking out as leaves because of their holy resolve, we resolve, with stalwart devotion to become branches for the next generation of leaves. Trees were created, not to die, but to multiply. Therefore, as we rejoice in the past faithfulness of our God and our members, we commit to the same kind of faithfulness so that future leaves will know they are attached to an unwavering, immovable, unshakable tree—Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church.