The Founding 

Sandy Creek Baptist Church was formally organized in 1755 by Shubael Stearns with a total congregation of 16 people.  The original members consisted of the Stearns extended family, Marshall, Breed, Stinson, and Polk families.  Membership would grow over 17 years ranging from 600 to 900 members giving rise to 42 churches and 125 Ordained Ministers.¹ 

The Birth of an Association

Sandy Creek, under the leadership of Stearns, became the mother church of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association (SCBA).  Organized in 1758 the Association was the first Baptist Association in the North Carolina and the third in the Nation.  At the first meeting only three churches were in attendance.  By 1770 its member churches covered from Virginia in the north to Georgia in the south and as far west as the Mississippi River.  Over the years other associations were created reducing the size of the  SCBA.²

An Exodus

During the early 1770's an unrest over taxation and abuse of power by the Colonial Governor Tryon reached a peak.  Many in the Baptist community did not support action by the "Regulators" a group resisting the Governor.   Rev. Stearns preached for democracy and promoted his members to make a resistance.  On May 16, 1771 the Regulators were defeated at the Battle of Alamance.  Within a short time 1,500 families left the area decimating the membership of Sandy Creek.  The people who left took Stearns teachings and spread the Separatist Baptist movement further west into the frontiers.³   Latter in 1771 Elder Stearns passed leaving the church leaderless.  With the loss of Elder Stearns and the majority of its members the church was almost lost.  For 33 years no records were keep.³

A Division

In 1829 a division arose over the issue of supporting missions and the Sunday School ministry of the newly organized Baptist State Convention.  The members that opposed missions stayed at the original location.  The non mission group would later become known as Sandy Creek Primitive Baptist Church who sill obtain ownership of the church building were the split took place.  The pro-missionary group left the first church at the Sandy Creek site but retained the name Sandy Creek Baptist Church.

A New Beginning

By August of 1829 a brush arbor was constructed for the first summer worship one half mile south of the present church.  Winter worship was held in the local home of Sidney Kivett.  Today all that remains of the home is a cellar and rock chimney.⁴

By 1833, a log structure was constructed beside a pre-existing cemetery (dating back to the 1700's) located at the intersection of  today's Cox Meadow Road and Old Staley Road.  Currently the site is split into two privately owned parcels of land.   On one side of Old Staley Road, large foundation stones mark the location of the log structure while across the road broken headstones in the woods mark the only keys to the past.⁴

A New Location

Services were held in the log structure until 1852, when the church constructed the first building, pictured below, beside Shady Grove School, pictured to the right, on land  belonging to Zale McDaniel.  The Church continued to use the cemetery at the first site for a time as evident by the grave of Zale McDaniel in 1860.

A Name?

In 1856, at a meeting of the Sandy Creek Association at Mount Gilead Baptist Church, delegates from Sandy Creek at Shady Grove School asked to be admitted as Shady Grove Baptist Church.⁵  The name change was requested to distinguish themselves from the Original Sandy Creek Church (Primitive Baptist), from whom fellowship had been revoked by the Association.  The withdrawal of fellowship was do in part to their anti-missionary teachings and primitive practices.  The delegates from Shady Grove School were admitted, but were told to retain the name Sandy Creek Baptist Church, as the members at Shady Grove School had kept with the mission teachings of the association and to preserve the name Sandy Creek Baptist Church.⁵  Sandy Creek at Shady Grove would remain a member of the Sandy Creek Association until a new Association would again see a request for a name change.

A New Home at Shady Grove

In 1902 a building committee was appointed to build a new church on the old Shady Grove School site.  The first service was held October 16, 1904.   The members voted, in 1945, to  remodel the sanctuary and add new Sunday School classrooms.  The Sunday School classrooms were later given to White Cross Baptist Church of Staley, North Carolina to form part of their parsonage.

Another Sandy Creek

In late 1902, with support from Liberty Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church worship services were reconstituted near the grave of Rev Stearns.⁶  In 1905 a few members (2) of Sandy Creek at Shady Grove along with other people in the community dedicated a new church under the name of Sandy Creek Baptist Church.⁷    For the next 29 years three churches within six miles of each other would use the name Sandy Creek.

Sandy Creek becomes Shady Grove
On the third Sunday of December 1934 Sandy Creek Baptist Church at Shady Grove formally changed it's name to Shady Grove Baptist Church.  This was done for two reasons.  One, to distinguish themselves from the  group that had returned to the original site at Sandy Creek in 1905.  Second, to limit confusion in the newly formed Randolph Baptist Association in which both churches are members.⁸

Using What is Given

In November 1954 the church voted to build a parsonage using timber milled from downed trees from Hurricane Hazel.  The plot of land was donated by Miss Myrtice Brinkley  The home was dedicated with a dinner on the grounds of the new home in 1957.  In later years a carport, study and washroom were added to the Parsonage.  Major interior renovations were done in 2009-2010 including a master bath, hardwood floors, and heating & air updates.

Our Current Home

The Current Church, the third building on this site, was proposed and approved October 6, 1969.  The ground breaking took place on March 9, 1969 directly behind the second building as shown in the picture to the left.  The first message was presented in the building on February 1, 1970.  On April 19, 1970 a dedication service was held with Rev. Floyd H. Rhyne as guest speaker.¹⁰  Renovations were made to the Sanctuary between 2000 and 2005.  

250 Years, 1755 to 2005

In 2005 Shady Grove Baptist Church celebrated 250 years of doing the Lord's work.  Our celebration centered around homecoming, food, and  fellowship¹¹  We looked back at our history in God's work to find strength and guidance for future outreach and missions.  We are proud to share our heritage with Sandy Creek Primitive Baptist Church and Sandy Creek Baptist Church.  Three churches that share a founding in the belief of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Still Growing

In 2007 a plan to build a Family Life Center (FLC) was presented to the church.  The ground breaking was held August 8, 2008 in a ceremony using a horse drawn plow.¹²  The First Use of the FLC was the Mother's Day Breakfast 2009.¹³  Exterior street lights were added in 2010. 

Information Sources:

 ¹Edwards, Morgan. "Materials towards a History of the Baptists in the Province of North Carolina." Edited by G. W.
       Paschal. North Carolina Historical Review, VII (July, 1930), 365-99.

²"About The SCBA." About The SCBA. Sandy Creek Baptist Association. 1 Dec. 2007

      <http://www.sandycreekba.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=20835&PID=34447>.

³Baskin, John. "Religious Revolution Started by Yankee Preacher 212 Years Ago Gave Birth to Southern Baptist." Charity 
      and Children [Thomasville, NC] 09 March 1967: P4.

⁴Bulla, Ralph L. "Churches Awarded Bicentennial Plaques." The Courier Tribune [Asheboro, NC] 25 May 1977: 2B.

⁵McMasters, E. A., Minutes of the Sandy Creek Association 167 Annual Session, 14-15.

⁶Liberty Baptist Church.  In Memoriam. Folio. Greensboro, NC, August 20, 1902.

⁷"Church Anniversary Issue Settled." Biblical Recorder. 28 June 2006.Biblical Recorder Archive.

      <http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/archives/2006/06_28_2006/index.shtml>.

⁸York, Elizabeth, "Conference December 1934." Minutes of Shady Grove Church (1934): 57.

⁹York, Elizabeth, "Conference November-December 1954.  Minutes of Shady Grove Church (1954): 166-167.

¹⁰Shady Grove Baptist Church. Service of Dedication. Bulletin. Staley:  April 19, 1970.

¹¹Shady Grove Baptist Church. Home Coming 2005. Bulletin. Staley:  May 15, 2005.

¹²Shady Grove Baptist Church. FLC Groundbreaking. Bulletin. Staley:  August 8, 2008.

¹³Shady Grove Baptist Church. Mothers Day Breakfast. Bulletin. Staley:  May 10, 2009.

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December 27, 2011

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