History Of Ivory Hill Baptist Church

The Ivory Hill Baptist Church was built on a solid foundation of a belief in God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. A group of baptized believers saw a need to organize a place of worship for this community. Rev. Henry H. Alston, along with Deacon John Blount Alston of Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister, North Carolina established, and became founders of our church.

Members of the community and others began to prepare for a place of worship by building a "Bush Harbor". Logs were cut from the woods by the men, set upright and glued together with a mud mixture. Limbs and bushes were placed on the top of the structure to keep out the sun and inclement weather. The seats were made of logs, also. This "Bush Harbor" was established on Richardson road, (along side of our old church). Our forefathers and their families had to walk or ride on a buggy or wagon pulled by mules to worship service on Sundays. Nevertheless, the spirit was always there. Service did not last just for an hour or so, but we understand that they sang and praised the Lord all day long.

At a later date, Joe and Berry Hedgepeth donated land for a new church and to establish a church cemetery. This is where the church is currently located now, on Medoc Mountain Road. The new church was made of wood with wooden pews. The pews were arranged in three rows with two aisles. The pulpit had wooden chairs with red velvet seats. Bathroom facilities were on the outside, the men to the right and the ladies to the left. An outdoor lunch house was built of wood with a dirt floor. A table was in the middle with benches attached. Here the ladies took pride in putting their food out to serve for revivals and Children's Day Programs. Just like most home then, the church was heated with wood stoves. On hot Sundays, the windows were raised and ladies had their special paper fans to keep them cool. Men usually took off their suit coats and loosened their ties to combat the heat. Hot or cold weather did not keep Ivory Hill Baptist Church Christians from coming to praise the Lord. Mr. Will Richardson's pond was used to baptize many of Ivory Hill's members.

Presently our church is a brick structure with inside bathrooms and lunch room, a pastor's study and classrooms. An inside baptismal pool has been installed to accommodate candidates for baptism. We have a membership of approximately 758 members.