Getting Back to the Basics

Tahlequah, Oklahoma is a thriving county seat town of nearly 20,000 people. It is the home of the main campus of Northeastern State University where about 10,000 students are enrolled in one of its three regional campuses. Tahlequah is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation, an American Indian tribe, that boasts more than 500,000 citizens nationwide with a tribal complex that employs about 11,000 people in its 14 county region with an annual budget of $600 million. Tahlequah is also home to its elected Chief of Police, Nate King, who has served in that position since 2013.

But travel Highway 62 east to South Welling Road and follow it up the mountain and 14 miles from that thriving county seat town you will find the remnants of Welling, Oklahoma. Not too many years ago Welling boasted a general store, post office, a few other businesses, a rural school and a General Baptist Church. A few of the old store fronts remain. The Post Office has been relocated to a small building on down the road. The old school building sits up the hill but classes have not been held there since school consolidation in the late 1960s.

Nevertheless the Welling General Baptist Church, organized in 1911 remains and has recently shown signs of new life. In 1914, men, women and children of the church began construction of what continues to be Welling General Baptist Church. An active part of Cherokee Home Association, the Welling Church even hosted the General Association of General Baptists in 1933.

While the coal burning stove is no longer in the sanctuary, the native rock façade is still present on the original building and evidence of growth is apparent in the different expansions over the decades. Seventeen Pastors have served over the 105 years of the church’s existence.

Tahlequah is also home to Nate King who was first elected Chief of Police in 2013. As an active member of the Blue Springs General Baptist Church, he served in a variety of leadership roles there in partnership with Pastor Robert Hunt. Then he felt a call into ministry in 2015 and began preaching to the youth at Blue Springs along with associational gatherings.

Nate had grown up within the Cherokee Home Association and was no stranger to the members of its churches. His late father, John King Jr., had served as a pastor within the association for thirteen years. His mother, Geneva King, was and is still active as a Sunday School Teacher and now the Sunday School Superintendent at Blue Springs General Baptist Church. Late maternal grandparents Frank and Rose Dumond were constants at Blue Springs General Baptist Church and within the association along with Great Uncle and

Aunt, Sheriff Norman Fisher and Jeannie Fisher

Licensed Minister Nate King came to the Welling General Baptist Church as a guest speaker in September, 2017. The pulpit had been empty for a few months since the retirement of Pastor Charles Duvall due to failing health.

In October that year Nate was named the Interim Pastor for the Welling Church. At that time there were two regular Sunday School Classes, a men’s and women’s, and an as-needed class for young children. The average attendance of those classes was approximately 20 with an average worship attendance reported that year of 35.

While there was a strong core of faithful members attending, like so many other rural churches in America, the “next generation” was missing. The lack of middleaged adults, young adults, teens and children raised serious concerns for the church’s long term viability.

Two Sundays after naming Nate Interim Pastor, Brother Charles Duvall left this earth to be with the Lord. Over 50 years of pastoral service passed when Charles went home. If not for the dedicated and faithful members of the congregation the church may have very well crumbled at this loss.

The first-time bi-vocational pastor was not prepared for such a task. Of course, when one really begins to think about such things, how many in the Bible were themselves “prepared” for what our God had in store for them? Welling General Baptist had suffered losses before and each and every time the faithful congregation came together to keep the church alive and this instance was no different.

Pastor Nate began doing what he had seen done his whole life from his father and other pastors like Clayton Sellers, Leon Jamison, Charles Duvall, Robert Hunt and so many others.

But how do you invite people to church when the church is not visible from the paved road? How do you reach people in the community when there is no community center? The approach has been a simple one. Invite people and learn simplistic directions to the church. The goal is to get them here one time, just once, and let the Holy Spirit latch onto them. We all have family and friends who are not saved, not to mention the countless acquaintances and strangers we come in contact with each and every day.

This is a life or death situation and should be treated with equivalent magnitude.

Word of mouth is the primary mode used in reaching those people. Social media has been started, but is not yet being utilized to the full potential. In a community without a community center it is so vitally important for the Church to be the community. Getting back to having God as the center of our community is really the key regardless of the community in question. While we have several who are commuting to get to Welling, the majority of the core group live within five miles of the Church.

Each and every Sunday without fail, regardless of how unsure Nate was about his message, he received divine

confirmation. Specifically, the late Sister Francine Rozell, who was battling cancer, began singing specials again and each one went hand in hand with the prepared message. This helped return an atmosphere of celebration to the worship services

Pastor Nate’s children, Daniel (then age 19) and Cara (then age 16), were attending a church in Tahlequah to be part of a youth group. A few months into the work at Welling they came to him and let him know they felt called to come to Welling to start a youth group. For months, Daniel, Cara and Nate met with only an occasional friend attending. Now the Wednesday youth meetings regularly see about 20 teens participating. Daniel

has recently informed the Church he feels called into the ministry and has been delivering the message to the teens since he started the Youth Group. Daniel and Cara recently put on a Back to School Youth Lock-in and had 30 teenagers attend.

In a community without a community center it is so vitally important for the Church to be the community.

The church has gone from two regular Sunday School Classes to five regular Sunday School classes and has added a Wednesday night service for teenagers. Sunday School attendance has gone from 20 to 35 and worship attendance has gone from 35 to 65 and it is not uncommon to have 75 in attendance for worship. Classes allow for a deeper study of God’s word each Sunday. Classes are offered for men, women, couples, young adult/teens, and two children’s classes. These small groups allow people to find where they fit best. This comfort assists in more regular attendance.

The church as also added new AV equipment and implemented some contemporary music into its praise and worship.

The church has recently celebrated two baptisms and seven new members. It cannot be overemphasized that the key to this resurgence is the presence of the Lord and the faithfulness of the people who make up the congregation at Welling General Baptist Church.

These days the congregation commutes to church by car rather than by foot or horseback like they did in 1911. They fill the parking lot and take advantage of the spacious educational/fellowship building added a few years ago. When the building is full of people, this quaint country church brings life back into the community even though the geographic community of Welling has long since disappeared.