Antioch Baptist Church

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As we continue down the long road of history, may we dedicate this portion of our beloved Antioch Baptist Church not only to our present and future church family, but also to our generations of forefathers who prayed, toiled, and saw the need to preserve our heritage by leaving a legacy that has endured for 175 years.
God in his infinite wisdom has surely blessed us to continue our work in this sacred place.
We hope each of you will enjoy these bits of information as much as we did gleaning it from the records that had been preserved down through the ages. it has truly been a labor of love for us.
Hilda Douglass Izard Lawrence Karen Ann Thompson Reynolds June 1999

ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH

There's a little church on a hill;
'Antioch' is its name.
For those that have sojourned there,
Their time was not in vain.

I've traveled near and far
But came back to Antioch,
Where my sins were forgiven
In the midst of his flock.

Bless my mother who taught me,
With this church, right from wrong,
And Jesus with His mercy
Invited me to His throng.

I know I'm still a sinner,
But Jesus paid it all
He'll do the same for you
If you'll listen to His call.

I look back with melancholy
Through the passing of the years
To this place of so much pleasure
Intermingled with the tears.

You can have your Riviera
And New York's Tammany Hall
As for me, I love the Cross
Where Jesus paid it all.

If you are sad and lonely,
And you cannot see the light,
Just come with us to Antioch
And let Jesus make it right.

You'll meet God's lovely people,
They'll be glad you came,
As we march on to Zion
And praise His Holy name.

Ernest Simmons 1990

I AM THE RURAL CHURCH

I serve the country folk with feet upon the sod,
Who living thus, are living near to God.
For who can watch the dead-like seed take root
And grow and flower and bring forth fruit,
Who can view the acorn small, and see the oak tree tower,
And not realize there is a greater higher Power?
My folk may have little of silver and gold
But Creativeness is bred within my folk;
From their want Inventiveness is fed;
From their need the Wherewithal for bread;
Here leaders grow, fold really live
From their own lack they learn to give.
I boast no stained glass window, cushioned pew,
I am no stately edifice for all to view,
But here comes Father, Mother, children all
To learn the simple life of Jesus' call,
To trend the path that Jesus trod,
To sing, to pray, to worship God.

D. Demoree

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The Antioch Baptist Church of Copiah County, Mississippi celebrated it's 175th anniversary in 1999, it being the oldest church in that county. In memory of the celebration, a book was compiled giving history of the church, then and now. It contains a wealth of information for those of us tracing our families in that area, and I have obtained permission to use that information to benefit all those researching these families. Thank you Karen Ann Thompson Reynolds for sharing with us! Stepping back, I would like to thank Lora Beth Wright for encouraging me to do the work, to Jewel Bland for giving me a copy of the book, to Gerry Bufkin Richmond for putting me into contact with Karen, and to all the wonderful folks who have shared their families making it all possible. Karen in return, would like for you all to remember Delia Bishop, as she is given credit for having spent many hours researching and putting into writing, their Bufkin and Bishop families.
These are families we can truly be proud to call our own. I am not transcribing the entire book, but instead information of use to us 'genealogically' speaking, and I am including a few of the wonderful 'tidbits' found throughout the book, such as the following poem written by Ernest Simmons, now deceased, and whom I just learned is a cousin!
Susan BARLOW Holmes

DEDICATION

"Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses -- let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1
As the committee researched records in preparation for the writing of the History of Antioch Baptist Church, it was increasingly aware of this "great cloud of witnesses" who have gone before, of those who are presently witnesses, and the legacy which is left to those who come after.
Since these men and women of yesterday were but redeemed human beings, their efforts sometimes fell short of being centered in God's perfect will. Even so, in the long run, God's work progressed. As one looks back, the accomplishments have been many for His name's sake.
The body of baptized believers who make up the "Church" at Antioch are a testimony to the assurance that God has a place in His plan for rural churches.
So it is to witnesses past, present, and future, that this work is dedicated, knowing full well that this "Church" can do all thing "through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillipians 4:13

©Information herein may be used for personal information, but not published in any format without written permission of all persons involved in this genealogy.
Click here for a list of contributors

Mississippi Kinfolk Index			Bufkin Family Lineage
My Barlow's Index	Antioch Cemetery	Old Pleasant Valley Cemetery	Barlow Genealogy Home

Antioch Baptist Church

Hazlehurst, Copiah Co Mississippi Celebrating 175 Years 1824 - 1999