POCAHONTAS, Ark. – Current-Gaines Baptist Association (CGBA) celebrated the 50th anniversary of the merger of two Baptist associations – the Gainesville Baptist Association and the Current River Baptist Association – during its annual meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14, with a look back at their long history.
The two associations merged in 1976, but they trace their lineages to the nineteenth century.
According to a brief historical overview New Hope Baptist Church Pastor and Interim Associational Missionary Matthew Collier wrote for his D.Min ministry project, the Gainesville Baptist Association was formed in 1853 as a partnership between four churches of the Black River Association and two churches in Clay County under the name of the Bethlehem United Baptist Association. The Current River Baptist Association organized in October 1881, connecting six churches in Clay and Randolph Counties as well as one church in southeastern Missouri.
“The American Civil War caused a disruption in the annual meetings of the association, and after a brief return to normal procedure, the association was disbanded during the Arkansas Militia War of 1868,” Collier wrote in the historic overview. “Reconstituted in 1870 under the same name and articles of faith, the Gainesville Baptist Association continued to grow and add churches throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before its merger with the Current River Baptist Association. Without its two-year hiatus at the time of the Arkansas Militia War (1868-1870), the Gainesville Association of churches could consider itself among the earliest joint Baptist works in the state.”
The Current-Gaines Baptist Association currently serves 24 Southern Baptist churches in Clay, Randolph, and Greene counties in northeast Arkansas.
Collier said churches in their area are among the oldest in Arkansas, and they celebrate God’s long faithfulness to them. “We reaffirmed our commitment to honor our heritage while surging forward into God’s kingdom work,” he said.
The 50th anniversary of the merger was just one of several things celebrated during the association’s annual meeting. The theme for the night was “Steadfast and Abounding in the Work of the Lord,” which came from 1 Corinthians 15:56-58. Attendees enjoyed a wonderful night of fellowship, preaching, and business at Pocahontas First Baptist Church.
During the meeting, the association committed to a three-year, association-wide prayer partnership with IMB missionaries Walter and Mary Norvell. They also authorized the appointment of a special task force to investigate addiction recovery ministries in their area, with a view toward joining existing ministries or starting new ones in the coming months.
Additionally, they announced a partnership with the Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society for the preservation of their offices and mission headquarters. The association building is the former Corning Bank and Trust building, which dates to 1920. The building houses the Agape Mission Outreach, a ministry of the association that provides food and clothing to people in need each month
“Our prayer is to restore and preserve the building and place it on the national and state historic registers. Such a move preserves our offices for many more years of cooperative ministry and missions,” Collier said.
Collier expressed gratitude to their host church, FBC Pocahontas, and their pastor, Dr. Morgan Woodard, and the association’s hardworking administrative assistant, Krista Steele, and their outgoing moderator, Dr. Gary Gregory, for their hard work in making the meeting run so smoothly. For more information on the Current-Gaines Baptist Association, check out currentgaines.org.