For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12 (KJV)

On Sunday, September 18, 1932, at 2:30pm, a meeting was held at Haywood School to form a Missionary Baptist Church in Haywood, Oklahoma. After discussing the need for a church, Dr. Duncan made a motion to recommend that the Council proceed. The motion carried unanimously.

Dr. Duncan then announced that a meeting would take place at the Pittsburg County Baptist Association in the neighboring town of McAlester on October 13 and 14, 1932. He invited the church to attend, encouraging the new congregation to take its rightful place and use its influence for the betterment of humanity.

On September 19, 1932, the church elected Ophelia Donaldson and Clittie Barnett as delegates to take a letter to the Association’s meeting, where it was read and approved. It was then decided that the church would be named ‘Haywood Baptist Church’. The church was formed with 15 charter members which grew to 80 members by September of the following year, though they still were without a building to call their own.

In August 1933, a discussion took place regarding the need for a church building. During this meeting, a local mail carrier named Frank Jennings donated land. June McGowen contributed $1.00 to initiate the building fund. The church has undergone numerous renovations since those early days. What started as a single building, before there was electricity and running water, has been expanded with several additions to form a much larger place of worship.

On July 18, 1945, members voted to add the church’s name to the building and approved the acquisition of electrical lighting as soon as it became available. On August 6, 1952, plans were approved to build a new sanctuary. A new foundation was dug, and the building was moved westward, repositioned north to south instead of west to east, allowing the sanctuary to be added where the building had previously stood. Later, the Bethel Hill Schoolhouse was relocated from Bethel Hill and incorporated into the south side of the church for use as classrooms. Baptisms were conducted in nearby bodies of water, such as those close to Coal Creek at Twin Bridges, until a baptistery could be built in 1955; replaced in 1962. A kitchen, fellowship hall, and eight classrooms were added to the west side in 1980. This configuration is how the building stands today.

As the years passed and renovations continued, unused materials were donated to other churches and organizations in need, ranging from doors and pianos to buses and pews. The church has also supported many projects, both local and foreign. When Haywood School was destroyed by a fire in 1939, the church voted to lend its building to the school so children could receive their education. Activities such as funding the construction of churches in places like Oregon, Alaska, Mexico, and Cambodia, as well as community gatherings and mission trips, have become well-established norms throughout the years. In August 1994, the church started its Bible Safari program on Wednesday nights, which has consistently hosted more than 60 children. Many children and their parents have found salvation through this program and others like it, including Vacation Bible School. The church actively continues to pursue efforts like these today, supporting both its immediate community and its international brethren.

Presently, there are more than 400 resident and non-resident church family members. However, over the years, many members have transitioned from Haywood Baptist Church Roll to the Eternal Honor Roll. As Brother Brinkley once said, “For every soul God takes home, He has always sent another. Even though since our 75th Homecoming, we have lost several precious souls, God has blessed Haywood with many new families.”

It is with great gratitude that those who were present on that day kept not only themselves in mind, but also each soul that has ever walked through the doors of Haywood Baptist Church.

Historical Pastor Roll
Terry Brinkley (Current) August 5, 2012	Harrison Johns August 4, 1951
Clarence Brinkley March 11, 1984	Rowland Gifford September 29, 1950
Randy McCown April 18, 1982	W. E. Fountain (4th Wednesday nights) May 4, 1947
J. W. Burrows (Interim) August 8, 1981	E. L. Jenkins April 1, 1945
Tony Crisp October 22, 1978	Gene Coolbaugh April 6, 1941
Jewel Barrett October 5, 1975	B. F. Morris December 8, 1940
Carl Harkins (Interim) September 3, 1975	Audrey Rock October 13, 1940
Farrell Hamilton March 6, 1974	Gene Coolbaugh September 1, 1937
Daniel Monks (Interim) December 5, 1973	H. Ray Watson December 22, 1935
Frank DiMiceli August 4, 1957	Lee Garner (2nd & 4th Sundays) January 13, 1935
Jim Boyd January 6, 1954	Robert Freeman January 26, 1934
Spurgeon Swinney July 22, 1953	Arlis Brady (1st & 3rd Sundays) September 19, 1932
Hershel Blair December 1, 1951

1932 Charter Members
Clittie Barnett by Baptism	Mrs. L. R. Edwards by Letter
Mrs. Nellie Bell by Baptism	Mrs. S. E. Gray by Expression
Ellie Carter by Letter	Mr. J. P. Henderson by Letter (Deacon)
Geannie Carter by Letter	Mrs. J. P. Henderson by Letter
Mrs. H. C. Carter by Letter	Mrs. Bonnie McClure by Expression (Treasurer)
Mr. J. C. Donaldson by Expression	Doy Ott by Baptism
Mrs. J. C. Donaldson by Expression	Mrs. Mary B. Rock by Expression
Ophelia Donaldson by Baptism (Clerk)

1932 Council Members
M. J. Brady	Joseph L. Gilbreth
A. B. Brown	J. B. Lackey
O. V. Cargile	P. N. McMullen
J. R. Douglas	J. S. Putnam
A. A. Duncan

Haywood Baptist Church has celebrated many anniversaries since that day in 1932 and has enjoyed a long, rich history—far too extensive to capture in any one document or setting. However, on occasion, excerpts from the church’s history have been recited in the form of handouts and booklets. Below, you will find documents from such occasions from which the article above is composed: