A protracted meeting was held from the first Sunday in December until the 23rd of December, being held twice a day. The preacher was E. B. Farrer from Louisville, Kentucky, and there were so many decisions that the congregation had to think about enlarging the building. The clerk, A. O. Frink, said it well: "During the meeting our Congregation was increased until we were puzzled what course to pursue to take care of our congregation. We took this to God in prayer and He directed we enlarge our church." They made an appeal to the congregation and the offering for the meeting amounted to $503.90, of which $196.40 was paid to the evangelist, pastor and singer and $307.50 to building and incidentals.The record shows that the trustees were authorized to purchase Lot 12 of Block 23 which is the lot lying north of the church next to Roesch lot. They were authorized to pay $100.00 which was 1/2 the value placed by the owner, W. H. H. Gleason. The trustees were given full power to borrow the money to pay for this lot because there was not sufficient funds in the treasury of the Church.
R. W. Thiat was unanimously called as pastor on February 4, 1909. He had previously led a revival at First Baptist and served as supply a short time before coming as pastor. The record shows that he came from Plant City, Florida.
It is a sad matter that the Church minutes are missing from February 4, 1909 until September 28, 1938. The author has had to depend upon the Annual Report of the Church to the Indian River Baptist Association for what information is available. This fact has caused the author to have a deeper appreciation for these Annual Reports as they serve to summarize the work of the local church from year to year. Without them, First Baptist would have no records to preserve. All of the figures in the Statistical Table have been gleaned from the Assoclatlonal Reports for the missing years.
The period from 1910-1919 showed a high of 71 members in 1910 to a low of 30 in 1918. Sunday School enrollment during this decade was at a high of 107 in 1910 to a low of 33 in 1918. Thus the 1909-1910 church year was a very good one under the leadership of R. W. Thiat. There was no report to the Indian River Baptist Association for the church year 1918-1919. Things seem to have been an a decline in the 1917-1918 year. Perhaps this the fact that our nation was at war overseas as well as experiencing some difficulty at home. Yet, during this time gifts to missions remained rather consistent.
13
Back |
Next 
|
Return To Florida Fact Finders