Fairview Missionary Baptist Church
Established 1932

Brush Arbor Meetings

In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s several families started having Brush Arbor meetings (brush was cut and formed into an arbor -- this is where the preacher stood and read from the Bible the word of the Lord to the people and then preached what God laid on their heart) this is what the people came to hear.

The church today still stands almost on the spot where the Brush Arbor’s were held. Below are a few names of these families that have been told to us over the years: Adams, Jones, Dillinger, McCollum, Brewer, Cantrell, Deyton, Holbrooks, Duckworth, Duncans, Queens, Potts, Sosebee, Legg, Thomas. Many people would come from other communities. We have heard that Solomon Young would bring a truck load of people from Youngstown for several church services.

Alec Adams, Bob Jones, Norman McCollum and Albert Dillinger were the first deacons of Fairview.

Early Years

During or sometime between 1932-1984 the following gentlemen were Pastor’s of our church – Ham Coffey, Clarence Mitchell, Jim Lee, Jim Hood, Carl Brewer, Guy Bradley, Claude Thomas, George Daniels, Raymond White, JL Helton, Burford Duckworth, Roy Lee, Harley Hunter, Waymon Lovell, Charles Abernathy, Bobby Dyer, James Cook, Ernest Lovell, Vernon Davenport, Henry Owenby, Leon McConnell, Don Hood, Tommy Jones (1984 – present day).

Reverend Tommy Jones is the great nephew of Bob and Gertie Jones. (Bob was one of the first deacons of the church).

If anyone knows of anyone we left off this list please inform us so we can update it.

Fairview was built with lumber that the Deyton family cut and hauled to mill. It was a one room construction which was heated by a pot belly stove in the winter and windows that were raised in the summer. Oil lamps were used for lighting. The foundation consisted on huge rocks that were hauled in from a near by source, the benches were made from wooden slates that had huge gaps between them nobody complained when they pinched. A huge rock served as a step up into the double doors leading into the church.

Services were held regularly up until the early 60’s then for some reason the church was closed and only used for Revivals and Funerals. During the years the church was not used, CA and Bertha Holbrooks and their children watched over and maintained they church. They swept and cleaned for revivals and even saw that water was there when needed as the church had no running well water.

In November 1969, Judie Deyton’s family had her huge birthday party at her son’s home. During the party, they had gospel singing, testifying and probably some preaching. The subject of church was brought up and discussed about opening Fairview again for church services. This was something she talked about a lot.

Sometime during 1970 the church doors opened again and the church started growing. It was decided to turn the church around because the county had rerouted the road. The new road was now at the back of the church and the old road had been closed making parking difficult. The front door is still where they turned it to. They remolded the Church on the inside by taking out the potbelly stove and putting in a gas heater. They put paneling on the walls, carpet on the floor, moved the pulpit and added two rooms in the back keeping the door where you come in and out from the front and back. Bathrooms and a closet were also added. Cement tables were built beside the Church so homecoming dinners could be held. This is the way the church stayed until early 1980.

The 1980's

Our Pastor Tommy Jones came in December of 1983 to help hold services. He was elected in June 1984 to be the full time Pastor. He was ordained by his home church Zebulon Baptist Church. We held our first Vacation Bible School that year with only one small Sunday School room. In 1985 and 1986 we had moved the cement tables to where the Fellowship hall stands and built a shed over them. We also put up tents for bible school. We decided to add on to the church and also fix the leaky roof. As work started on the roof the walls started to buckle. Harold Underwood and his crew were working on the roof, so he called Pastor Tommy. Tommy called the deacons and as many church members that could be reached. We met and after much discussing, many tears and lots of prayer it was decided the walls would have to come down.

Through lots of donations and fundraising the church was built back with a basement which has four rooms for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. The Sunday School rooms in the back of the church were left, so we stored pews and piano there and on Sunday morning while the sanctuary was being built/repaired we slid the piano out and had church. People sat on the back of truck beds and some benches we were able to take out from under the shed to use. These were the ones that had the wooden slats.

The Deyton boys; Birlie, Leon and Bernie along with Dave and Pryor Cantrell and Bertha and CA Holbrooks son’s help once again built the church back along with many of its new members and Pastor Tommy. Sudie Deyton, Nan Adams, Norman and Bonnie McCollum were all still living as well as Bertha Holbrooks and other founding members were able to see the building go back up.

The 1990's

In the 1990’s we enclosed the shed turning it into a Fellowship Hall. The cement tables were moved behind the church where they are still used today.

The 2000's

In the early 2000’s we needed more space for church pews, so we took down the walls behind the pulpit turning those rooms into the place where the piano and pulpit stand now. Another Sunday school room and a storage room were added. (More pews were built and old ones were re-upholstered, new carpet was also put in.)

In 2005 we built porches onto the Fellowship Hall and put new siding on the building.

In 2007 we had the playground equipment donated by Herman and Hattie Moon to the church.
Herman and Hattie have been a great blessing to the church, especially during VBS.

In the past 90+ years Fairview’s church building may have changed but we still serve and worship the same God who inspired the founding families to start the first brush arbor. We praise Him and thank Him for His many blessings that the church and the surrounding community has had over the years.