Grace Baptist Church - Winterset

Photo courtesy of Google Maps

A meeting of twenty Christians was called on October 5, 1949, with Rev. Donald Worden as a chairman for the purpose of forming a local New Testament Church.  A committee of five men to serve as Deacons, with the pastor potential in advisement, was elected to study and present the Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ as set forth in the New Testament for the purpose of forming a charter.  The following Charter Statement was signed by twenty-six persons:  The purpose of this body of believers shall be the spreading of the full Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at home and abroad, and the leading of lost souls into the Kingdom of God.

Original Grace Baptist Church - Winterset

The persons signing this charter statement were as follows:  Rev. & Mrs. F. Donald Worden, Mr. & Mrs. C. M. Shafer, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph B. Flatt, Mr. & Mrs. Weldon Swigart, Mr. & Mrs. William Houser, Earl Travis, Mrs. Nellie Travis, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Dennis, Harold Lamplear, Max Day, Dale Mitchell, Mr. & Mrs. Marian McKinzie, Earl Swigart, Mr. & Mrs. Max Griglione, Kenneth and Marvin Swigart, Charlotte Duff, Harold C. Duff.  Only six of the original charter members are still at Grace Baptist, Mr. & Mrs. C. M. Shafer, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph B. Flatt and Mr. & Mrs. Marian McKinzie.

In November of 1949 plans for a building and the purchase of a lot on 7^th Street and Green Sreet was voted upon.  This first building forged the obstacle of fire during its construction but was finished and dedicated in March of 1950.

In December of 1949 they called their first pastor the Rev. Worden who pastored the new work until 1951.

In May of 1950 they voted to be considered in fellowship with both the “American Council of Christian Churches” and the “International Council of Christian Churches” and to be in the “General Association of Regular Baptist Churches”.  The Church was received into the G.A.R..C. at the May 1950 Annual Meeting held in Buffalo, New York.  Their first constitution was drawn in 1950 and has since undergone two revising’s.

Rev. Edward Charles Shute a native of England, came to the field in October of 1951 and went to be with the Lord in 1954 at the age of seventy-four.

In 1955 the Rev. Edwin S. Marston became their pastor and left in June of 1956.

Rev. Richard G. Mohr came to Grace Baptist on July 2, 1956 and was pastor until May of 1961.  One distinct mark of growth during this time was the construction of a new $50,000 brick and cut stone building with a seating capacity of two hundred fifty persons.  The building was begun in November of 1958 and dedicated in September of 1959.  Financing was handled on a volunteer tithing basis.

The next pastor of Grace Baptist Church was the Rev. Henry C. Short, coming to the field on August 6, 1961, and serving until May of 1963 at which time he went to be with the Lord.

Their present pastor, the Rev. Melvin Mattox, came in November of 1963.

This work has grown under the direction of the Holy Spirit in its sixteen years from a membership of twenty-six to one hundred twenty-six.  The church presently partially supports twenty-three missionary works in the sum of $372 monthly.  They have grown in their Christian Education Department to a fully departmentalized Sunday School with a regular Bus Ministry.  The Sunday Evening Youth training hour boasts four classes in addition to a Bible Study class for its adults.  They are one of the few churches who still hold a mid-week Prayer Service and a Sunday Evening service.  They have grown materially step by step from a very simple building with the bare necessities to one fully equipped even to the extent of air conditioning, which is a first in the city.  Although growth and change are everywhere apparent in the material things at Grace Baptist, they still hold the same Bible Doctrines and still exist for the same purpose as when they were formed, that of spreading the full Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at home and abroad, and the leading of lost souls into the Kingdom of God.¹   

The active planning of a new sanctuary originated when a Building Committee organized on April 10, 1957, consisting of Weldon Swigart, Joseph F. Flatt, Robert Dennis, C.M. Shafer, Jack Carter and Glenn Wood.  In July, the church voted to go ahead with a new sanctuary building of brick, seating 250, and formed a finance committee of Earl Conard, Roger Hircock, Walter Howell, Marion McKenzie, Frederick Meyer, Jerry Trevillyan, and Joe Flatt to obtain proper financing.  The building was officially dedicated in September, 1959, under the leadership of Pastor Richard Mohr.  The mortgage on the new sanctuary was for $25,000 and was paid off in 14 1/2 years.²

Additional pastor information: Rev. Melvin Mattox 1963-1969, Rev. Glenn L. Williams 1969-1971, Rev. Lon Reising 1971-1975, Rev. Ray Richardson 1975-1983, and Rev. Gary Worsham 1983-1993.

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