Over 60 persons were present for the dedication of the new sanctuary at Rochelle Baptist Church on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Those in attendance heard from several of those who were involved with the task of rebuilding following the fire on the night of July 7, 2022 that destroyed the 69 year old sanctuary.
Interim pastor Kenneth Barr welcomed those present and introduced the building committee composed of Terry Beard, Chairman Clay Brewer, Joey Ranne, Wayne Wright and David Yeats who worked tirelessly over two years to plan and oversee the building of the new sanctuary. Other speakers included Cole Farmer who served as pastor from 1988-1992, Sara Myers, a long time member of the church and Kenneth Barr who served as pastor from 1994-2016. Each one spoke about memories they had from the past being a part of the church.
The dedication message was given by Morris Johnson who served as pastor from 2016-2023. He retired on December 31, 2023 and he and his wife now reside in Christoval.
The dedication ended with the singing of the hymn “The Family of God”. Following the service, light refreshments were served in the fellowship hall and a video was shown created by Seth Kerr that showed the progress made from the time of the fire until the completion of the new sanctuary.
(Morris Johnson served a pastor at Rochelle Baptist Church from 2016-2023.)
