AUXVASSE - Grand Prairie Baptist Church has been serving the Auxvasse community's spiritual needs for more than 175 years.
The celebration that began last November will culminate with two days of activities this weekend. Events on Saturday will begin at noon and will include food, games for children, musical entertainment and tours of the Grand Prairie Cemetery. Congregants will be on hand to tell stories about the people buried at the cemetery.
Sunday will begin with a carry-in breakfast at 9 a.m. in the fellowship hall. Immediately following in the sanctuary, pastors will speak and testimonies will be encouraged. At noon, enjoy a church-sponsored lunch followed by homemade ice cream and cake. The public is invited and welcome to attend the activities on both days.
"We'll have people dressed up in period costumes," church secretary Donal Knipp said. "I did that at our 150th. I looked like a little Amish boy. Your pants didn't have no zippers or buttons."
Grand Prairie Baptist Church was organized on Nov. 26, 1843, with 21 charter members, Knipp said. By Dec. 23, 1843, membership had grown to 46 and services took place in a log school house. On Jan. 3, 1844, the church purchased two parcels of land on Route E , of a mile northwest of Auxvasse.
The Grand Prairie Cemetery remains at that location today. Three houses of worship were erected at that site. Two were built of logs and stood in what is now the Grand Prairie Cemetery. The third was a frame structure and stood north and across the road from the cemetery.
In 1882, the church building was moved to Auxvasse and rebuilt at its present location. Church members met in the Methodist Church during the time that the church was being rebuilt. Sadly, this church building burned on June 24, 1896. At a special meeting in the Christian Church, an offering was taken to rebuild. The new church was constructed and a dedication ceremony was on June 23, 1897. It is the sanctuary in which services are held to this day.
By 1960, the church had outgrown this new building. The first brick addition was added and lies behind and south of the original building. A second brick addition was built during the period of 1999-2000. Three volunteer construction teams from Baptist churches in Kansas, Texas and Tennessee worked with men from our church to complete much of the labor on this building.
The present church building is located at the corner of Main Street and Harrison Avenue.
Knipp said he and his wife have attended the church their entire lives.
"I like the people, they're very friendly," Knipp said. "We do what we can for the community. We give to the Missouri Baptist Commission Co-op every month. There's a kids' program Wednesday night; they feed them and have a Bible story."
The church has had 52 pastors during these 175 years. Eddie Schoeneberg is currently Grand Prairie's pastor.
"We've got four or five past pastors who're either going to be there or send a letter, and that's probably most of them that's still alive," Knipp said.
The current congregation has about 200, with 40-50 attending on an average Sunday morning. Before the anniversary, the church sent out many invitations to former members who've moved or drifted away over the years.
"I hope we get a big crowd," Knipp said. "One lady said we might have 5,000 people, and I said 'I hope not - we wouldn't be able to park them all in Auxvasse.'"