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We are Baptists because we believe that Baptists hold to what the church, as established by Jesus and his Apostles before hundreds of years of man-made tradition and corruption.
Baptists hold to certain core beliefs that are different than other denominations. These teachings can be remembered by the Acronyms of BAPTISTS.
Biblical Authority
Autonomy of the Local Church
Priesthood of All Believers
Two Ordinances
Individual Soul Liberty
Separation of Church and State
Two Officers
Salvation by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone in Christ Alone.
What that means
- Biblical Authority - We believe that the Bible is the final authority for what we believe and how we act. There is no authority higher than the Bible. Pastors, deacons, church tradition, church councils, etc. all must submit to the clear teachings of the Bible. We support what we believe by the chapter and verse of the Bible.
- Autonomy of the Local Church - Each and every Baptist church is independent. There is no higher organization telling that church what to believe or what to do. While Baptists form associations, fellowships, and alliances, these are just groupings of churches that work together in a somewhat organized manner for things like missions. Sometimes, they form conventions, which are more official, organized groupings with a more formalized structure. Conventions often run other ministries, like seminaries or mission boards. Even in a convention,, each church does what it likes, owns its own buildings, and can choose to withdraw from any convention, fellowship, or association at will.
- The Priesthood of All Believers - Many churches have a laity (normal people) and a clergy (the priests, preachers, etc.) This is not found in the Bible (Remember what we said about Biblical Authority?) We believe that every saved man, woman, boy or girl can go directly to God. We do not need an intermediate. We believe that we are all priests. That's not to say that we don't have leadership, but a Pastor is just a believer who God has called to bring His Word and care for and lead His Church.
- Two Ordinances - The Bible teaches that Jesus set up two rituals or ordinances to be observed in the church. They are Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Some church calls these "sacraments" and teaches that they play a part in our salvation. We don't believe that. We call it Believer's Baptism because the only people we see in the Bible who get Baptized are those who trusted Jesus as their savior as an outward representation of what happens inside of us when we are saved. It also identifies us with Jesus. Since we don't see anywhere where in the Bible where it teaches that Baptism is performed by any other method other than dunking, that's the only form of Baptism we recognize. The very word, Baptize, literally means dunked under water. Does it make sense to say "I was dunked by sprinkling."? The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is where we eat the bread and drink the wine (well, we use grape juice. Usually Welch's) as a memorial for the great sacrifice Jesus made to save us. The bread and wine do not magically turn into the literal body and blood of Jesus. It's a symbol, reminding us of what it cost to make us free.
- Individual Soul Liberty- Every person is free to choose to be saved or choose to reject God. We are also free to read and interpret the Bible on our own. I can't force anyone to be a Christian, it has to be a free choice by that person. Likewise, I can't make a Christain behave or believe a certain way. Each person will stand before God, and each person is responsible for his or her own devotion to God (or lack thereof.)
- Separation of Church and State - Since salvation is a matter of personal decision, we don't believe that it is the role of the government to force a certain religion or religious practice on us. We believe the government ought to stay out of the church, but we don't believe that believers ought to stay out of government. Baptists do not force their beliefs on anyone since that would violate individual soul liberty.
- Two offices- The Bible mentions only two offices in the church. That's the pastor (also called the elder, or bishop) and deacons. The pastor is the shepherd of the congregation. He leads them, teaches them, and protects them. While we believe God calls men to preach, we also believe that each congregation chooses their pastor. Deacons are the servants of the church, who attend to the physical needs while the pastor attends to the spiritual. The congregation chooses out men from itself to serve in this capacity.
- Salvation by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone in Christ Alone.- We believe that the Bible clearly teaches that we are saved when we place our faith in Jesus. It is not about doing good works, although that should be a result of real saving faith. We are saved by grace, which means unmerited favor. God saves us because of who He is, not because of who we are or what we have done. Our faith is to be in Jesus alone. Not in Mary, the church, the pastor, or ourselves.
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Lens Creek Missionary Baptist Church (LCMBC) is located in Hernshaw WV on Route 94. We are about three miles from Marmet and about 7 miles from Racine.
We are an independent, fundamental, conservative Baptist church who still sing the old hymns and proudly use the King James Bible.
History
LCMBC was started as a mission of Browntown Baptist Church in what is now Marmet. Marmet was incorporated as a town in 1921. Before that, it used to be called Browntown or Elizaville.
On September 9, 1898, several brothers and sisters of the Browntown Baptist Church requested letters to organize the Browntown Mission into an independent church in Hernshaw, West Virginia. This church was to be known as the Lens Creek Baptist Church.
The original church building was erected between 1900 and completed in 1903 on a lot given by Mrs. Marion Smith, located at the mouth of Four Mile Road in Hernshaw.
On July 8, 1900, the church met and called T. G. Bonham as the first pastor. Pastor Bonham served the church until September 1, 1901.
On March 16, 1902, the church met and called J. S. Poe as pastor. Pastor Poe served until September 1, 1906.
On May 12, 1957, Sanford A. (Buck) Harvey was called again and elected pastor and served the church for 18 years until his resignation on December 16, 1973. The church began to grow under Preacher Harvey's leadership, and it was decided a new church would be built on a lot given by J. B. Griffith, which is the site of the present church on Route 94. On the first Sunday in June (June 6, 1958), a ground-breaking service was held. The opening service in the new church was held on June 7, 1959 with T. D. Toler as guest speaker.
After nearly a year of construction, the building was finally complete. The church held its dedication service for the new building on June 6, 1959, with Tom Toler preaching.
During Bunk Price's pastorate, the activity building was built and many improvements were made to the church. Bunk served as pastor for over 25 years - the longest term of any pastor.
During Tim Martin's pastorate, the church was considering him as a full-time pastor.
Under Pastor Greg Johnson, the bus ministry and youth group was established and had as many as 50+ young people on Wednesday nights. The church still has an active bus minsitry and many children still come. Greg also establsihed the church's website, www.lenscreekbaptistchurch.com.
The beautiful wood celings were installed during Roy Moles' pastorate.
Under our present pastor, Andrew Neely, the church started to stream its services live.
Note: The accuracy of the following pastors from 1906 to 1924 is uncertain because church records were destroyed in a fire at the home of J. B. Griffith, who was the church clerk at that time.
Our Pastors |
|
| Pastor's Name | Service Dates |
| T. G. Bonham | July 8, 1900-September 1, 1901 |
| J.S. Poe | March 16, 1902-September 1, 1906 |
| T. G. Bonham | June 6, 1906-August 17, 1911 |
| Garfield Hudson | September 13, 1913-September 14, 1918 |
| John E. Hartman | February 15, 1918-September 14, 1919 |
| James Miller | November 3, 1919-July 1, 1921 |
| Henry Snodgrass | January 15, 1922-September 24, 1922 |
| James Kieffer | October 21, 1922-November 11, 1922 |
| Henry Snodgrass | January 27, 1923-April 21, 1923 |
| C. E. Walker | May 21, 1923-1924 |
| John Fulkner | 1925-1926 |
| Dell Bowman | 1927-1929 |
| Howard A. Jackson | July 1929-July 1933 |
| Bruce Cooper | served one year |
| Mark Farren | served five months |
| Otis Caldwell | 1935-1936 |
| Delbert Moore | 1936-1937 |
| Floyd Stone | 1938-1940 |
| Silas Deel | 1941-1944 |
| Edwin Parsons | July 30, 1944-July 30, 1945 |
| E. G. Williams | July 1946-April 25, 1948 |
| Otie Gay Smith | May 23, 1948-November 1951 |
| Laird Fain | several months in 1953 |
| Sanford (Buck) Harvey | December 8, 1953-May 15, 1955 |
| Reuel Miller | August 7, 1955-September 4, 1956 |
| Sanford (Buck) Harvey | May 12, 1957-December 16, 1973 |
| Vernon (Bunk) Price | January 6, 1974-December 31, 1999 |
| Tim Martin | June 4, 2000-November 2005 |
| Lloyd Humphreys | December 2005-August 2006 |
| Greg Johnson | August 2006-August 2012 |
| Roy Moles | September 2012-September 2015 |
| Andrew Neely | January 10, 2016-Present |
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Testimony
Andrew has been a Christian most of his life. At the age of six, his mother led him to the Lord. His mom, Janet Cummings, would read Bible stories to him every night. She had made a profession of faith when she was a child, but finally, she accepted Jesus as her Lord when Andrew was six months old.
He grew up in Cross Lanes, WV, and was baptized at Cross Lanes Baptist Church. Although his mom read him Bible stories every night and taught him from the Bible, they rarely went to church.
When he was 14, his mom was remarried. In a very short time, his whole world changed. They moved, he changed schools and gained a step-father and step-brother. Finding the family situation difficult, he started spending the weekends with his aunt and uncle and he started attending Esta Memorial Missionary Baptist Church with them. It was here that his walk with the Lord became serious. On a Sunday morning, with the sunlight streaming in the windows, he surrendered himself totally to the Lord.
When he was 17, he went with the youth group to a youth conference held at First Baptist Church of Hammond Indiana. Pastor Jack Hyles preached from Romans 12:1-2, and asked for kids who are willing to sacrifice to their lives to the Lord to stand. At that moment, Andrew knew that he had to serve God with all he was, and he stood. It was then that God started dealing with his heart about preaching. Despite trying to ignore it and wish it away, the calling to preach continue to grow stronger with each passing day.
He joined Victory Baptist Church in Cross Lanes in 1999. Soon after, tired of running from God, he surrendered to the call to preach. At Victory, Andrew played bass guitar, taught Sunday School, Children's Church, Vacation Bible School, and adult Sunday School on Wednesday nights, and preached his first-ever sermon.
For most of his life, Andrew was consumed with the fear of what others thought of him. This fear prevented him from serving God as he should have. He attended the Kanawha Valley Camp meeting, where the Holy Spirit convicted him of his fear.
God moved their family to Capitol City Baptist in 2010. At CCBC, he joined the bus ministry, played bass, taught Sunday School, and preached at Children's Church.
In October 2015, Andrew got a preaching appointment at Lens Creek Missionary Baptist. The deacons asked him if he would consider standing for the pastor. He agreed to fill the pulpit while he sought the Lord's will. in January 2016, Andrew was elected pastor with 100% of the vote.
In August 2022, Andrew was elected as president of the Fundamental Independent Missionary Baptist Fellowship, a small group of like-minded churches that fellowship together regularly.
Education and Training
Andrew is a 1990 Poca High School graduate. Shortly after graduation, Andrew joined the Army Reserves, where he served as a Combat Medic and Respiratory Therapist. He earned a National Registry credential as both an Emergency Medical Technician and Certified Respiratory Therapy Technician. He was honorably discharged in March 1995.
Andrew received his Associate in Applied Science in Computer Science in 2008 from West Virginia State Community and Technical College, and his Regent's Bachelor of Arts in 2011 from West Virginia State University.
Around 2012, Andrew felt God leading him to prepare for ministry. Since seminary was not an option, he began studying courses in systematic theology, apologetics, philosophy, Christian worldview, and Christian Doctrine in earnest. These helped to fill in the gaps in his decades of Bible study. This training proved invaluable for the ministry.
Capitol City Baptist Church ordained him on October 23, 2016.
Personal Life
Andrew is the youngest of five kids and has a brother and three sisters, who are all considerably older than he. His brother, the next youngest, is ten years his senior. His dad passed away when he was only four.
In December of 1989, while visiting his friend, David Kersey's church, Rock Branch Independent, Andrew met his future wife Rebecca They started dating in February of 1990, and were married in 1995. Their first child, Laura, was born in 1999. Their son, Benjamin, was born in 2007. They reside in Cross Lanes.
As a bi-vocational pastor, Andrew works for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Management Information Services as the Director of Database Administration and Analytics. He has worked for WV DHHR since 2001 in a variety of capacities.
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The Sunday School Podcast
Don't have time to read the Sunday School lesson? Don't worry. Every week, Pastor Andrew records the Sunday School lessons. He does so to make it easier for our low-vision folks to study the material.
How to Listen
You can listen online by clicking Sunday School Podcast
Download and listen
Podcasts can be downloaded automatically whenever a new edition is released.
On Computers
You can download and install the GPodder app. The app will let you download and listen to any number of podcasts.
You can download that application at https://gpodder.github.io/
On Andriod Phones or Tablets
- Go to the Play store
- Download CastBox
- Open the app
- You will be required to sign on. You can use Facebook or Google.
- It will ask you for categories of podcasts. You have to choose three.
- It will present you with recommendations. Click on the icon to the right next to the ones you don't want. In my case, it was all of them.
- Click Done
- Click on the search icon (which looks like a magnifying glass)
- In the search box (which says "channel, Episode, or feed URL) Enter the address for the podcast
On IPhone/iPad
- Go to the App Store
- Download the app "Podbeans"
- Open the app, and click on the search icon (which looks like a magnifying glass)
- Click on the "+ Add Feed URL >" link
- Enter the address for the podcast
- Click on Done.
Podcast Address: http://www.lenscreekbaptist.com/component/podcastmanager/?format=raw&feedname=1
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Sunday School Lessons - Pastor Andrew reads the Sunday School Lesson
new recordings are here
Sunday School lessiosn are from the Summer 2017 Stanrd Lesson Quarterly, copyright 2017 by Standard Publish, Colorodo Springs, CO., part of the David C. Cook Family. These recordings represent fair-use under US copyright law, and are made for vision-impared members of the church.
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