October 17, 2018
You are reading to “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical
Society.
Prior to the
end of the Civil War, worshippers made little or no attempts to establish
separate congregations. However, once
the war was over that changed. The
newspaper at the time reported that the Baptists were the first to split from
these Union meetings. In 1865, under the
leadership of Elder Caleb Blood, the First Baptist Church of Junction was
organized. Soon they had dedicated a large room for worship in the back part of
the Streeter and Strickler store at the corner of Seventh and Washington
Streets. This was said to be their first regular place
of worship in Junction City.
After a few
years at the Streeter and Strickler Building, James Streeter donated money to
have a permanent church built for those of the Baptist faith. This new church was located between Sixth and
Seventh Streets and was on the west side of Jefferson Street. It was dedicated on January 27, 1867.
An
interesting account of the church’s early history is that for three years,
1867-70, the church did not have a rooftop.
It was blown away in the middle of a storm. Because of this the Reverend Balcom, who was
a Baptist Evangelist, was called upon to help “pray the roof back on.” A year after the help from Reverend Balcom
and the Junction City community the roof was back on the church and the sermons
were back to normal.
After WW II
the Baptist church saw a growth in members and the church itself. In order to get to as many people as
possible, live broadcasts of the morning worship services were aired on the
KJCK – AM radio station and are still aired today.
A major
setback occurred when approximately $40,000 worth of damage was caused by a
fire in December 15, 1955. This did not stop the church from increasing its
membership and has become one of the major institutions in Junction City.
And.. that’s
today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical
Society.
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