Tabernacle Baptist Church, Wilson, NC

Are you Sure of Heaven?

Church With a Mission
by Phil Goble

For seven Wilson families, the early 1950s were a time of turmoil in their Christian lives. They left their home churches during a season of church planting in Wilson to start Grace Baptist and then became disillusioned with how the hierarchy of the mainline Southern Baptist denomination was running the ministry.

One Sunday morning, in the fall of 1954, their beliefs and trust in God were put to the test when their founding churches removed voting rights from several key positions.The time had come, they felt, to seek God's will for their spiritual lives.

"The truth is, we wanted to get out of the Southern Baptist Convention," Rose Cockrell, a member of one of the founding families, said. "We weren't supposed to be in the Southern Baptist Convention." Ruby Whitley Parker is more direct. "We got put out," she said.

The problem that stirred the seven families was missionaries and the low amount of each dollar given for missions that actually went to spread the Gospel. They knew the Word was clear on spreading the Good News. They knew God meant for missions to be a vital part of every Christian's life. So on the day of the vote by their parent churches, the seven families left.

That night, they met on the second floor of the Whitley Electric building on Hwy. 301.
"Ed (Whitley) had just finished building his building and the top floor was open," said Mrs. Parker, who was married to Ed Whitley before he passed away. "We didn't know what kind of church to start. We prayed and prayed and asked God to lead."

True to His word, God heard the gathering's supplications and began working in their lives.
For six months, the seven families held Sunday School in the Whitley Electric building. There were 31 people in attendance the first day. They divided into three committees — one to find property for the new church, one to discern what kind of church to plant and the third to find preachers for each Sunday's services. For almost a year, they prayed, grew and searched.

In May 1955, preaching services began. From there, things began happening at a rapid pace.
"One of the first things we did was look for property," said Milford Howell. "Mrs. Fetzer, she turned down $18,000 from Dr. Pepper and sold it to us for $10,000." The "it" was the lot at 910 South Tarboro Street, current home of the church.

The group could not find initial financing for the property, so Ed Whitley and his wife Ruby used their home as collateral and purchased the property for the church. "Mr. and Mrs. Ed Whitley put up everything they had so we could start this church," Mrs. Cockrell said. On the lot was a large, two-story white house that had once belonged to a former judge in Wilson County.
"We had a ball," Howell said of the clean-up project on the property. They knocked out the two front walls to form a one-room sanctuary. The upstairs rooms became Sunday School classes.
They were on their way.

Ed Whitley became the superintendent of the Sunday School. Ruby Whitley — now Parker — was elected treasurer with Rose Cockrell taking charge of the nursery, a job she still does today.
Ed Whitley, Calvin Whitley, Dolan Easter, David Cockrell and David Moody were installed as the new congregation's first deacons.

Next came the name and type of church. "We knew we were a missionary Baptist church," Ruby Whitley Parker said. "We believed in missions." So they started living their beliefs. The group contacted the Baptist Mid Missions in Winston-Salem about sponsoring a missionary.
"Dr. Arnold from Winston-Salem came and preached and said they would be good to start with," Ruby Whitley Parker said. The "they" was Leo and Gloria Sandgrin, missionaries to France. Soon after, the group added George Norton and Billie Griffin.

But what organization would these missionaries thank for their support? The Wilson group still hadn't decided on a name for their planting. "It came down to Tabernacle and Sharon, like Rose of Sharon," said Rose Cockrell, who was on the naming committee with Dick Vanderpool and Erlene Whitley. The congregation voted and on Aug. 16, 1955, the group formally organized as Tabernacle Baptist Church of Wilson, N.C.

The seven families signed the charter, realizing their prayers and hard work had been rewarded.
The 26 original members were signed into the first registry, with those signing on the first day being noted as Charter Members in the church roll books. Calvin Whitley was first and was followed by Erlene Whitley, Harold Whitley and Keith Whitley. The list with the "C.M." designation continued — Dolan Easter, Marie Easter, David Moody, Mildred Moody, David Moody Jr., Edward Whitley, Ruby Whitley, Carol Whitley, Diane Whitley, Milford Howell, Nellie Howell, Lucille Bottoms, Vondal Romine, Eddie Romine, Richard Vanderpool, Elizabeth Vanderpool, Elmer Raper, Esther Raper and Arlene Raper. Mary Joyner and David and Rose Cockrell are listed next and while the "C.M." designation does not appear by their names, they are acknowledged as part of the original group.

On March 1, 1956, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place when God brought the Reverend Donald Melvin to serve as pastor. He served for two years and helped build the foundation for the church before resigning.

Then came an explosion. "It was at a Sword of the Lord meeting here," Ruby Whitley Parker said. "At that meeting, Pastor Melvin had left and we needed a pastor. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said Otis Holmes would be a good man." The fit was heaven sent.

"We moved from Columbia, S.C., where I had pastored the Southern Baptist Convention (member) Calvary Baptist Church for six years," Dr. Holmes said. "We moved from a nine-room pastorium to a four-room rented house. Since Tabernacle was an 'infant' church, there was no stipulated salary. The members just stated 'We'll take care of you.' They and the Lord did just that sufficiently.

"The actual reason for leaving the productive ministry in Columbia was their desire to remain active in the Southern Baptist Convention, no matter how liberal or worldly it became. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. was used of the Lord to bring us to the independent ministry of Tabernacle Baptist Church. All in our family praise the Lord for His leadership and guidance."

On Aug. 25, 1958, Dr. Holmes began his six-year service as pastor of Tabernacle.
A month after his arrival, the church's Constitution and Declaration of Faith was ratified by the members. It was a time of tremendous growth as the small congregation of 50 swelled to more than 400. Sunday School attendance exceeded 300.

The congregation built its first pastorium at 1101 Third Street and the old white house that had been their church home gave way to a new brick education building. That building now houses the pastor's office, the secretary's office and the Sunday School classes.

"We did everything but lay the brick (on that building)," Milford Howell said. "Dolan Easter and myself did the framing, Ed Whitley did the electrical. Mrs. Rodgers' husband was a plumber. We would work and the women would bring us hot chocolate and sandwiches."
"It was a joint effort," Ruby Whitley Parker said with a laugh.

Their work paid off —on May 15, 1960, the church moved into its 40-foot by 100-foot "modern" home. "From a newly constructed building with an attendance of 400-to-500, from an old two-story, dog-infested house with an attendance of hardly 35 people … we all launched out by faith," Dr. Holmes said. The years just got bigger.

In 1961, the church had its first two wedding services — Jerry Herndon and Ramona Massengill followed by Donna Faye Howell and James W. Fountain. In the fall of 1961, trailers were brought in where the current gym is built and Wilson Christian Academy was started. Eight kindergartners were enrolled that first year, with Beth Holmes as the primary teacher. The next year, Juanita Whitley and Mildred Moody started a second kindergarten class and Sylvia Batts Perry began a first grade class. Sunday services started being broadcast, thanks in large part to Ed Whitley, on WLLY and on WGTM.

Finally, Dr. Holmes left Tabernacle early in 1965 and in March, the congregation called the Reverend Charles Britt. During Pastor Britt's 6 1/2 year tenure, the church built the current sanctuary, seating approximately 700. On Jan. 17, 1971, at an estimated cost of $210,000, the new building was dedicated. That same year, the church purchased 54 acres of land out in the country and voted to construct new buildings for Wilson Christian Academy. From there, the church has kept growing. Buildings have been remodeled. The gym was built. Land was acquired around the church. But through it all, the mission of the church and the guidance of the original seven families has not been lost.

Ringing the current auditorium are flags from across the world, flags representing missionaries supported monthly by the congregation of Tabernacle Baptist Church. "Missionary conferences with strong missionary support have been promoted from the beginning," Dr. Holmes said. "Mission organizations and missionaries such as those represented by some of the various flags, have been and continue to be supported."

From seven dedicated families, God has built a church of believers willing to go anywhere to spread the good news. The time of turmoil has become a time of triumph.

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