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Newton’s most historic churches
Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians have county’s oldest churches
Pictured is Newborn United Methodist Church. The church was formed in 1820 and its first building was a log building near the present structure on Church Street in Newborn. A second, white frame building was constructed in 1847 on the site of the current building.
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By TOM SPIGOLON
tspigolon@covnews.com
Newton County has dozens of churches which began meeting in the 19th century and still operate today.
Some of the oldest are spread countywide, as the Newton County Historical Society detailed in its book, “History of Newton County Georgia”: • Bethlehem Baptist Church was established in 1849 and is Newton County’s oldest, continuously operating African-American church, according to information from the “History of Newton County Georgia.”
The church’s first building was a log hut built near the railroad
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depot. The Rev. Toney Baker was called to the pastorate of the church in 1851 and the church was officially named Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Original church members, who were slaves, then wanted to move the church closer to the Covington Square and relocated it to the current site of an AT&T building.
Leaders of this growing and developing congregation included Henry Robinson, Joe Slaughter, Cole Johnson, John Bentley and Neat Bagby, according to the church website.
“As was the practice of the era, worship services were designated for second and fourth Sundays of the month, and this continued until 1959,” the website stated.
It eventually relocated to its current location at the west end of Usher Street. The current pastor is Ronnie M. Thomas Jr. • Covington First Baptist Church formed on June 21,1823, with the Rev. Joel Colley as its first pastor. It was originally Bethlehem Church of Christ and the site of its first meeting house was on the east side of Indian Creek.
It later moved to what is now Stallings Street, on the site of the Old Covington Jail. The first fulltime pastor was the Rev. Eugene Pendleton in 1905.
The cornerstone for the current church building at the east end of Usher Street was laid in 1909.
It only had two pastors during a 58-year span in the 20th century. The Rev. Walker Combs served 34 years from 1917 to 1951; and his successor, the Rev. Edgar Callaway, served from 1951 to 1975.
The current senior pastor is Cody McNutt. • Covington First Presbyterian Church formed on Jan. 21, 1827, and was located near the present site of the old Covington jail. It dissolved in 1847 and was reorganized 30 years later.
Its first installed pastor was the Rev. T.B. Trenholm in 1877, and during the pastorate of Sam Burney Hay the first Vacation Bible School was held.
The original church was destroyed by fire in March of 1926, and a new sanctuary was rebuilt and dedicated during October of that same year. That sanctuary now contains church offices. The construction of a two-story building containing additional Sunday School rooms and the Martin Fellowship Hall was completed in May of 1959. In January of 1995, additional properties were purchased on Clark Street toward the west and the Clothes Closet, Food Pantry and Habitat for Humanity ministries were located there. On May 7, 1995, the present sanctuary and new church facilities were dedicated.
The Rev. William B. Wade Jr. served as pastor for 32 years
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from 1986 to 2018. Other notable pastors were Sam B. Hay Sr., who served from 1923 to 1926 and later was president of Stillman College in Alabama; and Peter Marshall, who served as pastor from 1930 to 1933 and later became chaplain of the U.S. Senate.
The Rev. Neeley Rentz Lane is the current pastor. • Covington First United Methodist Church was organized around 1824, with the earliest site for a permanent building on a site facing Church Street and bounded by South and Elm. The church owned the cemetery behind its building until 1875 when it was sold to the city, according to the church’s website.
This original site was outgrown by 1830 when the Board of Trustees purchased a lot on the corner of Washington and Lee Streets and built a wooden church structure there. The community and church continued to grow and the current location on Conyers Street was completed in 1856. The church was utilized as a hospital during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
In 1911, a Sunday School annex was added, providing a semicircular set of classrooms and a place for overflow crowds from the sanctuary. In 1954, a new Sunday School annex including a parlor, kitchen and large fellowship hall was added. A two-story education and office wing was completed in 1990.
It gradually bought adjoining residential properties within the entire block south to the corner of Monticello and Church streets and bought the old Episcopal Sanctuary and annex in 2009 for a chapel for contemporary and children’s worship.
Douglas Gilreath is the current senior pastor. • Newborn United Methodist Church formed in 1820 and its first building was a log building near the present structure on Church Street in Newborn. A second, white frame building was constructed in 1847 on the site of the current building.
Noted evangelist the Rev. Sam P. Jones preached during the dedication service of a third building, which is the current building, to a crowd of 600 to 800 from an arbor adjacent to the new building. The dedication was delayed until a sufficient offering was received to cover the remaining construction costs, according to “History of Newton County Georgia.”
An educational annex was added in 1949 and a fellowship hall building was completed in 1978.
Throughout much of its history, the church was on a circuit with other churches.
Todd Hilton is the current pastor-in-charge.
Covington First Presbyterian Church formed on Jan. 21, 1827, and was located near the present site of the old Covington jail. It dissolved in 1847 and was reorganized 30 years later. Its first installed
pastor was the Rev. T.B. Trenholm in 1877. Taylor Beck | The Covington News
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