History

On December 19, 1999, while having dinner with husband Mike and friends Gary and Marty Shaw, Marion Sue Bruestle felt the Holy Spirit tug at her heart. She said, "Let’s do it – let’s start a new church!" Soon these four were making notes about beginning a traditional worship fellowship.

Word of their desire spread quickly and on Friday evening, February 11, a group of twenty people met to discuss starting a new church. Marion Sue arranged to use Milward’s Funeral Chapel on Southland Drive for Sunday worship. She also secured commitments for a pastor, an organist, and a song leader. Finally, this core group elected a moderator for an organizational meeting and a steering committee of six to oversee startup tasks for the new church. Plans were made for the organizational meeting at the Springs Inn on February 24.

During several planning sessions and after considering many suggestions, the name, "Anchor Baptist Church" was chosen. The number of interested persons had now grown from the original four to eighty-seven who attended the meeting on February 24, 2000 at the Springs Motel. They were introduced to Anchor Baptist Church; her bi-vocational Pastor, Paul Sisk; Organist and Choir Director, Daniel Tilford; and Music Leader, Bill Woodward, and were invited to the first worship service in Milward’s Chapel.

On Sunday morning, March 5, 2000, one hundred forty-seven people gathered for our first worship service. Sixty-four people came forward to join this new fellowship. Just six weeks later, on Easter Sunday morning, an outdoor Sunrise Service and breakfast was held with one hundred ten in attendance. Anchor Baptist Church soon outgrew the Chapel at Milward’s and moved Sunday worship to the Lexington Community College where a Sunday School was begun for all ages. Wednesday evening prayer meetings were held at Audio Authority Corporation.

A property committee was elected to search for a permanent home. In the spring of 2003, the present site was dedicated and construction began with a ground breaking, Thanksgiving Sunday 2003. December 12, 2004 marked our first worship in the new house of prayer and a dedication was held April 10, 2005 with a time capsule created to be placed behind the cornerstone. By summer of 2005, membership had surpassed the 300 mark.

By His grace, the story continues...

Click any Anchor to return Home