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Ferry Farm Baptist celebrates 50 years
Ferry Farm Baptist celebrates 50 years
Date published: 10/31/2009
Tomorrow night Ferry Farm Baptist Church will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The congregation will mark the occasion with a large dinner. The church began as Ferry Farm Baptist Mission on Aug. 23, 1959, in a small, gray house on Randolph Road in southern Stafford County. By Nov. 1, the small mission had grown from a few families into a congregation of more than 80 worshippers. The Sunday school enrolled 138 students and the training union had 63. So the Baptist mission became a church. The Rev. Robert Laughlin led the congregation until 1962. In 1963, the Rev. Paige Young took over. He led the congregation for 44 years as the church grew--in space, people and faith. In 1960, the church sold bonds to build an education building. That addition was dedicated Sept. 10, 1967. Young had a radio program, "Just a Minute Please," and a television show called "The Open Door." The church continued to grow, adding a family life center in 1995. Today, 1,169 people belong to Ferry Farm Baptist Church. The growth led the church to expand its staff. In 1976, the Rev. Gene Willis started leading the music program. The congregation supported a youth singing group, The Great Commission Company, which also took its shows to other area churches. The church started a teen center, a program to help prospective seminarians financially, a clothes closet for the needy, Bible school and a preschool. The church also adopted a refugee family from Vietnam, helping them settle into a new life in America. The church's women's group continues to help in lower-income neighborhoods and with Micah Ecumenical Ministries. Church members go on mission trips, collect food for pantries and offer holiday help. The church is well-known for its annual outdoor Christmas pageant. This began in 1974, and hundreds of cars continue to drive up to see the 10-minute presentation. Young retired in 2007, and the Rev. James Vaught took over as pastor. The church has celebrated its 50th anniversary all year, with a block party, a church cookbook and other events. Tomorrow night's dinner will be the culmination of the celebratory year, and a new vision plan will be introduced. --Pat Freeman is founding member of Ferry Farm Baptist Church and chair of the anniversary committee.
Date published: 10/31/2009
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