About.
History.
The date Friendship Church was formed is unknown, but we do know that it was a charter church in the Ohio Association of General Baptists. The association was founded on Saturday, November 25, 1853, and Friendship already existed at that time. “Records go back for Friendship General Baptist Church only to 1864. A log church building stood a few feet west of the present building.
“In 1903 a large frame building was constructed where the church now stands.
“The church was remodeled in 1934 taking 20 feet off the north side. Again in 1975, present members began to remodel first a basement under the church with three classrooms and a large kitchen with a dining area, a couple of bathrooms, and then lowered the ceiling to 14 feet.
“In 1977 the church purchased pews and in 1978 carpet and drapes . . . The church is located northwest of Goreville on Friendship Road.
“In 1889 the pastor was William Wiggs. Others who have served the church are Larkin Toler, T.H. Ragsdale, R.F. Throgmorton, N. Rendleman, J.T. Rushing, Alfred Dunn, Earl Henderson, Frank Henderson, Edward Boyd, Paul Moss, Dale Billingsley, Everett Rendleman, Bill Shea, George Teegarden, Jimmy Ashford, and Joe Poirot . . . The influence of this little country church is felt throughout the Goreville community. Compiled and edited by Rev. W.T. Parish” (Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society 95).
We moved into our new sancturay in May of 2003. The new addition also included a new kitchen and fellowship hall.
-Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society. Johnson County, Illinois: History & Families. Paducah: Turner Publishing Company, 1990.
Statements of Faith.
I. GOD
We believe that there is only one true, living, and eternal God and that the Godhead is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
II. THE BIBLE
We believe that the Holy Scriptures are the Old and New Testaments; the inspired and infallible Word of God and therein is found the only reliable guide of Christian faith and conduct.
III. MAN
We believe that God created man in His own image to bring Him honor through obedience, and that when man disobeyed, he became a fallen and sinful creature, unable to save himself. We believe that infants are in the covenant of God’s grace and that all persons become accountable to God when they reach a state of moral responsibility.
IV. SALVATION
We believe that Salvation (regeneration, sanctification, justification and redemption) has been provided for all mankind through the redemptive work (life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession) of Jesus Christ, and that this Salvation can be received only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
V. ASSURANCE AND ENDURANCE
We believe that those who abide in Christ have the assurance of salvation. However, we believe that the Christian retains his freedom of choice; therefore, it is possible for him to turn away from God and be finally lost.
VI. CHRISTIAN DUTIES
We believe that Christians should live faithfully by serving in and through the local church, praying diligently, witnessing earnestly, practicing tolerance, showing loving kindness, giving as God prospers, and conducting themselves in such a way as to bring glory to God.
VII. THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church Universal is the body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers, and that its members have been called out from the world to come under the dominion and authority of Christ, its head. We believe that a local church is a fellowship of Christians, a part of the Body of Christ, voluntarily banded together for worship, nurture and service.
VIII. ORDINANCES
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ to be observed by Christians only. We also believe that the Biblical mode of baptism is immersion and that participation in the Lord’s Supper should be open to all Christians. (Note: Several associations and local churches recognize feet washing as an ordinance. We believe that this should be left to the individual, and that neither the practice nor the non-practice of it should be any bar to fellowship, either in the church, the local association, the Presbytery, or the General Association.)
IX. THE LORD’S DAY
We believe in the sanctity of the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, and that this day ought to be observed by worshipping God, witnessing for Christ, and ministering to the needs of humanity. We believe that secular work on Sunday should be limited to cases of necessity or mercy.
X. LAST THINGS
We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, and in the bodily resurrection of the dead. We believe that God will judge all mankind by Jesus Christ; that He will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell.
Church Covenant.
1. Having given ourselves to God, we now give ourselves to His church and covenant with it and with each other, as also with God--
That we will forsake all unrighteousness, even the appearance of evil. We will abstain from questionable pursuits and pleasures; we will forego all hurtful habits; we will avoid all evil associations.
2. That we will follow earnestly after righteousness and true holiness in the fear and love of God. We will seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, trusting that all needful and helpful things will be added to us; we will seek entire consecration of God; we will live a life of prayer; we will seek the constant abiding of the Divine Life within us; and we will be satisfied only when we have evidence that we please God and are accepted of Him.
3. That we will faithfully improve all the means of grace. We will attend and support the services of the church, the preaching, the social services of the church, the business meetings; we will contribute freely or our means for the advancement of the Gospel; and we will cooperate with our brethren in every enterprise having for its end the glory of God and the salvation of men.
4. That we will be Christ-like in all our deportment. We will be tender and affectionate toward each other; we will be careful of each other’s reputation, thinking no evil, and backbiting not with our tongues; we will return good for evil; we will be just and honest, truthful and honorable in all our dealings; we will do unto others as we would be done by; we will be meek, loving and forgiving as we desire and hope to be forgiven.
5. That we will be faithful, Christian workers. We will do whatever Christian work comes to hand, shunning no cross, shirking no duty; we will even seek opportunities to do good; glorify God and save souls; we will study to win our associates, our neighbors, our families, all whom we may influence, to become Christians; we will count it more than our meat and drink, more than all things else, to do the will of our Father in heaven, to lead souls from sin and death, and lead them to God and heaven.
6. That when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with another church where we can continue to live by the spirit of this covenant and the principles of the Bible.
People.
Pastor - Rev. Steve Dunn
Secretary - Melinda Mitchell
Music - Melinda Mitchell
Sunday School - DeAnn Wollard / Kenny Mitchell