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Some 50 plus persons met together to discuss the possibility of organizing a church. In attendance was a layman, Bro. Doug Parham, who had served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher for many years. A year prior, he had accepted the call from God to preach the Gospel. Bro. Parham was soon to reach Federal employee retirement age, and after seeking God’s will through much prayer, he believed the full-time ministry to be his calling. Thus, a vote was taken on 9/16/01 by the congregated individuals to begin a new church in the West Newton County area with Bro. Doug Parham serving as the Pastor.
Within two weeks a small church building was found available for rent. The building was cleaned and made ready for services. The first official Sunday worship service was held on September 23, 2001. A set of bylaws and a church constitution were soon drafted and approved by the congregation in mid-October. Brother Doug Parham was ordained as Pastor in a special service on October 14, 2001.
Later, a parcel of land located at 720 Jack Neely Road in west Newton County was selected as the site for the new church building, and negotiations were conducted with the owner of the 9.75-acre parcel. A contract was signed in late October. Conditional use was obtained from Newton County Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners in February 2002. Sale of the land was closed on March 12, 2002.
A groundbreaking service was held on the night of May 19, 2002, with approximately 154 persons in attendance. Actual construction on the site began in early June 2002. Construction continued unabated for the next six months. The first worship service was held in our new church building on December 22, 2002.
Since its beginning, Newton Baptist Church has grown remarkably. Current active membership is 501. The Church supports an active and growing youth group and offers programs for preschool children through senior adults. As of this date, we help support 73 missionaries.
Offerings continue to be consistent and well above average. Past fundraising activities were successful and allowed the Church to pay $80,000 cash for the land at the closing on March 12, 2002. Additional commitments of $125,000 were received for the building. Those funds, coupled with General Fund allocations, have allowed the Church to pay the first $400,000 for the combined land purchase and construction prior to utilizing commercial funds. December 2003 a modular unit was leased for our Junior and Children’s Church, and Wednesday Night Youth Clubs. In January 2004, God blessed us to be able to pay cash for a 33 passenger Church Bus. In June 2006, a presentation was presented and voted on to start the process of building a multi-purpose building and the renovation of the church sanctuary. In August 2006, the final check was written to pay off the church mortgage. In Feb. 2007, Sunbelt Builders started construction on the multi-purpose building and the renovation of the sanctuary. In October 2007, the building was finished. The Lord Jesus Christ has blessed the ministries here at Newton Baptist Church. We are trusting Him to continue guiding us in our efforts to serve him. These past events are just the beginning of what we believe to be a fruitful and prosperous ministry for Newton Baptist Church.
In January 2011 Pastor Doug Parham resigned as Pastor of Newton Baptist Church. A Pulpit Committee was formed and started the process of finding a new Pastor. The Church voted to bring Tony Howeth as our new Pastor in June of 2011. In November 2011 the Church voted to bring Chad Gordon as our Student Pastor. In March 2015, Chad Gordon went to Pastor the Light House Baptist Church in Jackson, GA.
In April 2017, Beau Carpenter was hired as the Assistant to the Pastor. In that same year, we broke ground on the LifeCenter and began renovations to the existing Auditorium.
In January 2018 the Church brought on Ethan Howeth as our Student Pastor. The Life Center and expansion of the sanctuary were completed in Summer of 2018. The facilities were dedicated to the service of the Lord in the same year.
As 2019 opened, the future is bright, and we continue to support additional ministries and work to raise laborers for the harvest.