History
The Bangham Heights Baptist
Church was started in 1963 as a mission of the Washington Avenue
Baptist Church. Bro. Oscar Davis, the associational missionary,
Bro. Sam Brooks, the pastor of Washington Avenue, and Mrs. Tena
Smith, a member of First Baptist Church and a resident of the
Bangham community, canvassed the area for suitable property. They
also wanted to see how many homes were in the area as well as search
for prospective members. After many hours of work and prayer, the
decision was made that the Bangham community needed a church.
The Bangham Mission of
Washington Avenue Baptist Church held its first services on the
fourth Sunday of July 1963 following a week of revival services
conducted in a tent situated behind the Bangham School. Rev. John
Brown was the evangelist for that meeting.
The parent church called Rev.
Guy Farris as the first pastor, and he began his ministry here in
October 1963. The mission was then meeting in a basement building
on Fairview Road.
The mission was constituted
into a church on Sunday, May 1, 1966, under the name of Bangham
Heights Baptist Church. There were 73 charter members. Occupation
of our current classroom building, consisting at the time of a
sanctuary and 7 classrooms, began July 26, 1964.
Following Rev. Farris'
resignation on September 25, 1966 to accept new work, the church
called Rev. Kenneth Tramel as pastor. He began his service on
December 6, 1966. He served as pastor until June 30, 1968.
Rev. Jack Miller was called as
pastor and arrived on the field November 17, 1968. He served as
pastor until September 10, 1972.
Rev. Bill Griffith began his
pastorate on a Wednesday night in mid-March 1973. He served as
pastor until his death in 1993. During his illness, Rev. Sam Brooks
served as interim pastor. Rev. Brooks served until 1994.
Rev. Wade McDonald was called
to Bangham Heights in July of 1994 and served as pastor until July
2003. After Bro. Wade's resignation, Rev. Gene Schmidt served as
interim pastor until September 2003.
Our present pastor, Rev. Keith
Tosh, began his pastorate in September of 2003. Under Bro. Keith's
leadership, the church has experienced much growth and looks forward
to many more years of his dedicated service.
We know the greatest days are
still to come for Bangham Heights!