OUR HISTORY
The Founding and the Guiding Principles
of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Sharon, MA
by Tim Williams, member Church History Task Force
he guiding principles upon which EBC was founded were: The Word of
God is the all-sufficient guide in all matters of faith and
practice; the education of our children in the scriptures is one of
the primary purposes of the church; and the Biblical gospel is to be
shared both by foreign missionaries and by ourselves in our
community.
Part I. Historical Background
In the early 1950’s, the First Baptist was the only Baptist church
in Sharon. It had a long and admirable history, having been founded
in 1814 by several prominent families seeking an evangelical
presence in Sharon, as the pastor of the town meeting house at that
time was held to be too Unitarian in doctrine. During the 1900’s,
the church maintained close ties with Gordon College and Seminary
and the American Baptist Convention. When their elderly pastor
resigned in 1950, a man named Arthur Lindell was elected chairman of
the pulpit committee.
An Insurance Underwriter from Chicago
Arthur, his wife Gladys, and their two young boys had moved to
Sharon from Chicago a few years earlier when Arthur had chosen a
transfer to Boston from his employer. At first they attended Park
Street Congregational Church in Boston-an all day trip due to the
Sunday train schedule. Then Arthur and Gladys decided to try the
First Baptist
Church in Sharon where they soon became involved in many ministries.
Art became the superintendent of the Sunday school and worked with
the young people. He was also elected a deacon and was chairman for
many years. Gladys and Art taught the older boys and girls in Sunday
school. Art and Gladys prayed earnestly for years that a strong
evangelical pastor would be called to their church.
As chairman of the pulpit committee, Arthur had a key role in the
calling of the new pastor. After failing to interest any of the
pastors suggested by the Baptist Association in Boston and the
Evangelistic Association of New England, the committee ran out of
names, except for that of a seminary student at Gordon, who they
felt could not meet their expectations.
A Seminary Student from Gordon
However, with no other prospects, and not wanting to waste the
committee’s time, Arthur told them he would go alone to hear Nate
Goff, who was speaking at a Congregational Church in a suburb east
of Boston. Arthur and Gladys went that Sunday and were impressed
with young Mr. Goff. "He was a terrific speaker and very
evangelical".
In the following weeks, the rest of the committee heard Nate and all
agreed to ask him to candidate. Arthur encouraged them to pray much
that Nate would come.
It was the early spring of 1951 when Arthur called Nate to inform
him of the unanimous approval by the congregation. Nate responded
that he wanted to seek the Lord’s will in the matter and would call
in a few days, which he did, expressing his and his wife Ruth’s
conviction that it was the Lord’s leading to accept the call.
However, there were some conditions.
"My going to First Baptist was God’s doing", wrote Nate Goff. "They
were put in touch with me my senior year at Gordon and I visited
with the pulpit committee. My doctrinal views were clearly stated.
Before my name was proposed to the congregation, I made three
stipulations. No more summer united services; no more fairs to raise
funds; and a willingness to start prayer meetings and evening
services. This was agreed to and I accepted the call under God’s
confirmation."
Founder Jim Barnett recalls pastor Goff as "an exceptional Bible
teacher". Nate preached the Bible, took over the High School class
and the youth meeting. "In a very short time the class grew to a
sizable group and best of all many received Christ as Lord and
Savior…the blessings of God was evident on the ministry". Nate
started mid-week
prayer meeting and Sunday evening services, and began a Bible class
for young couples. Under Nate and Ruth’s guidance the missionaries
that the church supported were selected on the basis of whether they
could hold to a strong personal acceptance of Christ as savior.
God honored the preaching and teaching of his Word. God also added
many new young families to the church at this time. During the 50’s
America was in the midst of the post WWII boom - ex-servicemen were
returning to civilian life, getting married, starting families, and
progressing in their careers. The Barnetts, Morrisons, Purdys,
Williams,
Vaters and Landrums, all such families, moved into Sharon during
this period and found their way under God’s sure guidance to First
Baptist, where they were nurtured and strengthened by Nathan Goff’s
preaching and teaching.
A Sunday school teacher from Texas and a sixth grader from the
outskirts of town
The Bloods were a local couple that drove their kids to church until
they moved far away from the town center and it became inconvenient
for Mr. Blood to drop the kids at church and pick them up
afterwards. A year or two later, a sixth grade classmate of their
son Cliff’s, Ron Hunnewell, a son of one of the trustees at the
First Baptist, told Cliff
about a neat new Sunday School teacher from Texas by the name of Jim
Barnett. The following Sunday, Cliff and his younger brother Randy
hitchhiked to church. Jim took an immediate interest in the new,
smart-mouthed sixth grader in his class, and he soon arranged to
meet with Cliff’s parents. Tam and Winnie Blood were baptized by
Nate Goff a few weeks after that meeting.
Even though from widely different backgrounds, these recent arrivals
and young believers shared much in common, including a desire to
grow in their faith. A Bible Club, started by Nate Goff, provided an
opportunity to personally study the Bible and Baptist doctrine -
many of the new families were from other denominations and
traditions. The
Bible Club was also a comfortable setting to get to know each other
intimately. Here were forged life-long friendships and many godly
convictions.
The Bible Club provided a forum for the discussion of these
convictions. Many of these young couples had children. One
conviction, which they discovered they all held in common, was the
necessity of teaching the Bible and scriptural principles to their
children. Without a strong Biblical training, their children would
be ill prepared to deal
with life. The concern for the welfare of their children and the
conviction that their children’s welfare was dependent on a solid
Biblical training was one of the primary motivations for the
founding of EBC.
Another issue was which missionaries to support. There was much
discussion concerning the allocation of missions support to unnamed
ABC missionaries during the May 16, 1955 annual meeting. Founder
Bart Morrison made a motion that pastor Goff write the ABC to ask if
their missionaries "are required to make a statement of faith and if
so, do they abide by it". Such was not the case, as Pastor Goff
later wrote " when it became obvious that the convention supported
workers unable to give a salvation witness and lacking faith in the
deity of Christ and authority of Scripture, the deacons approved
designating money to evangelical missionaries and projects."
The central principle was the inerrancy and all-sufficiency of the
Holy Scriptures for all matters. In fact, the founding of EBC was
primarily a result of a vote on this issue. We will say more about
that later.
Part II. The Founding of EBC
To understand the founding of EBC it is essential to appreciate the
ministry of Nate Goff. Humanly speaking, no other person had so
strong an influence of the beliefs and practices of the founders of
EBC. In Pastor Goff’s own words: "My entire ministry was anchored to
complete confidence in the Bible as the inspired, infallible Word of
God;
the only absolute directive for faith and practice. I was ordained
in October 1951 with a full church and a memorable charge from my
professors to exalt our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; to preach the
whole council of God; to bring people to faith in Christ and to live
a godly and holy life."
One of the founding members, Joyce Purdy, said, "Without Nate Goff,
there would be no EBC." Founder Howard Williams considers Pastor
Goff to be the founding pastor, even though he was to leave Sharon
in 1955, almost a year before EBC actually began.
Nate Goff accepted a call from Highland Baptist in Fitchburg, MA in
1954. Pastor Goff later served several churches in New England, and
is perhaps best known as the first pastor of Grace Chapel in
Lexington, MA, which grew rapidly into one of the largest
evangelical congregations in New England, as it still is today.
When Nate left, a Dr. Johnson, also from Gordon, became the interim
pastor at First Baptist. In God’s providence, he too was a strong
believer who held to the same convictions as pastor Goff. At one
point he challenged the congregation, "Do you want to be a country
club or a church?"
A Carpenter from Nova Scotia
For seven months the pulpit committee, including Rufus Purdy, Jim
Barnett, and Tam Blood, who would later become EBC founders,
searched for a pastor acceptable to all without being able to come
to an agreement. Finally, five deacons, lead by Mr. Purdy, called a
special business meeting to address two crucial issues: 1. The kind
of
message that should be preached in our pulpit. 2. The extent to
which the minister and the church will abide by the policies and
practices of the American Baptist Convention.
That meeting was held on Thursday, April 12, 1956 immediately
following the weekly prayer meeting. Interest was high, sixty-three
members came out, when only fifty-one had gone to the previous
annual meeting. The meeting voted to take up the second issue first.
Mr. Purdy stood to give a personal testimony and then made a motion
- a
motion that had been carefully worded prior to the meeting with the
help of the interim pastor Dr. Johnson, stating "that the church
instruct the pulpit committee to call a man who is bound in
conscience to hold the Holy scriptures as his infallible guide as
unquestioned authority in all matters and all considerations." Bart
Morrison seconded the
motion. The meeting voted it down - 18 for, 35 against.
After the meeting, a group gathered around Mr. Purdy. They came to
an agreement, in view of the church’s decision on the place of the
Scripture, that the best course of action was to form another
church. This would allow them to concentrate their energies on
following their convictions; to freely emphasize the Word of God as
the all sufficient
resource for living, and as all important for the life preparation
of their children.
Three days later, on Sunday, April 15, 1956 Tam and Winnie Blood,
Jim and Jean Barnett, Rufus and Joyce Purdy, Robert and Marjorie
Landrum, Bart and Virginia Morrison, Howard and Frankie Williams,
Vivian Cauthen and youth pastor, Dick Wood, were holding the first
worship service of EBC in the Williams home on High Street, with Mr.
Wood preaching. This was the founding of EBC.
The new church began in earnest. Only two days later, on April 17,
1956, the first organizational meeting of the new Evangelical
Baptist Church of Sharon, MA was held. At the onset of business, Mr.
Purdy said, "We should remember that when this church is making
decisions, we do not want to make them of our own will, but of our
Lord." They
discussed "the urgency of calling a pastor, particularly in view of
the Sunday school children." The members agreed to carry on Boys
Brigade as usual and Prayer meeting, and Sunday school. " Mr. Purdy
will continue his duties as Sunday School Superintendent as he did
in the First Baptist Church. The Sunday school teachers will
continue also,
teaching their usual grades and preparing their usual lessons." Thus
the determination of the founders to honor the Word of God and to
teach it to their children can be seen in the matters they took up
in their first meeting.
The meetings would continue on a frequent basis for some time to
come. There was much to be done. But it was well begun. God’s
blessing was evident. For one thing, the Holy Spirit created such a
unanimity that, especially unexpected for such a diverse group,
there was a complete absence of disagreement. They were of one mind,
convinced that they were following God’s leading, and God confirmed
it by providing for all their needs.
As founder Jim Barnett put it "None of us realized the magnitude of
what we had started, but we went ahead." A favorite chorus of the
group in those early days was, "The Lord knows the way through the
wilderness, all I have to do is follow."
A Swedish Pastor from Norwood
Pastor Phillip Backstrom of Norwood Evangelical Baptist Church was a
great help to EBC during their fledging period. Although he had his
own growing congregation to attend to (they had recently built a new
church building), Pastor Backstrom made himself available to the new
church in Sharon for visiting and emergencies. The favorable
impression he made was partly responsible for the decision to join
the Baptist General Conference, the association that the Norwood
church belonged to.
Part III. The Vision and Zeal of the Founders
The primary purposes of this history, undertaken as part of a church
growth program called "Changing the World" sponsored by the Baptist
General Conference, are to rediscover the historical context in
which EBC was born and to rediscover the vision and zeal of our
founders. The vision of our founders grew spontaneously out of their
love for
the Lord and their confidence in Him. To my knowledge they never
attempted to write down their vision. Perhaps their vision can be
expressed in these guiding principles - The Word of God is the
all-sufficient guide in all matters of faith and practice; that the
education of children in the scriptures is one of the primary
purposes of the church;
and that the Biblical gospel is to be shared both by foreign
missionaries and by ourselves in our community.
The vision and zeal of our founders was also expressed by what they
did, or rather what God did through them. The commitment level was
tremendous, both in terms of time and money, and can only be
explained by the degree of faith of these dear saints. As founder
Mrs. Morrison wrote, " The men of the group pledged our respective
homes with the bank". And everyone was involved - teaching Sunday
school, hosting youth group, leading Boy’s Brigade or GMG, or any of
a myriad of ministries. Of course, many were involved in more than
one.
Embodying the guiding principle of training in God’s Word for their
children were Sunday school, Youth fellowship, Vacation Bible
School, Boy’s Brigade, and Girl’s Missionary Guild (GMG).
Outreach was always a guiding principle. Daily Vacation Bible School
was an especially successful outreach. The use of the new Hebrew
school at Temple Israel was donated for the first VBS in 1956 and
over 100 were enrolled and the average attendance was 85. Many of
these children’s ministries combined Biblical training for church
youth with outreach.
A notable Evangelistic crusade with guest speaker Mr. Virkler and
vocalist Mr. Weber, was held at the church, Sunday, Dec. 11 to
Sunday, Dec. 18th, 1967. Expenses were $562.72. Decisions made:
Children 12 and under - (11), Teenagers -(8), and Adults - (10).
Eleven counselors were involved.
The image the church had in the community was always an important
consideration, as it was desired that a good witness be made. Some
in the town regarded EBC as a renegade church. It was especially
hard on EBC youth who often were not made welcome. Gina Morrison
wrote, "[we] could not do many of the things that kids from the
Congregational church could do-like dance and go to movies. And EBC
did not have church fairs, part of life in a New England town."
The decision to move the church services from the Williams home to
the Town Hall on Sept. 16, 1956, was made as much because that
location would be a better witness as because it offered more room.
Also in choosing a pastor, the church felt that an older,
established pastor with a family would present a better witness to
the community.
Letters of appreciation to the appropriate town authorities were
always made for the assistance of the town such as the use of the
Jr. High school gymnasium for Boy’s Brigade and the use of the Town
Hall for Sunday Services.
The large meeting room in the upstairs of the Town Hall building had
not been used much and was very dirty. The church all brought their
mops and buckets and cleaned it up. One Sunday, it was discovered
that another group had used the offering plates as ashtrays. At
times the service would be interrupted by the fire horn, which
blasted across
the town from just overhead on the roof. Unbeknownst to the church,
just prior to the coming of the Olssons, the Town repainted the
hall, so Pastor and Mae and the children had a clean place to
welcome them.
A Full-Time Pastor from an Established Church
Within six months of starting, the new church was desiring to become
affiliated with a convention. Representatives were contacted from
the Conservative Baptist Convention and the Baptist General
Conference. One speaker for the Baptist General Conference was Rev.
Alan Olsson, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Dorchester, Ma.
Such was his
impact that not only did the church vote unanimously to join the
Baptist General Conference, but they also felt led to call him as
pastor. Pastor Olsson left behind "an organized church with a good
membership and a beautiful church building" to start all over in
EBC, where he began his ministry on the church’s first anniversary,
April 15, 1957.
A Couple from Wollaston
Pastor Olsson obtained lists of newcomers into the area. His
visitation brought George and Lorraine Barnett to the church. George
and Lorraine had recently moved from South Boston to Canton. In
turn, because of their gifts, Pastor encouraged George and Lorraine
to visit another newcomer couple, Dick and Jeanette Arlington, who
also joined the church. George worked part-time for Lawrence Peck, a
local mover and Farley Coombs’ Dad. George often encouraged Farley
to come to EBC. Eventually she did.
A fourteen year old pianist
The Morrison’s daughter Gina recalls that she and Mrs. Purdy were
the only two who could play the piano. Just learning to play, she
learned quickly when her talents were needed at church. Pastor
Olsson was very kind and encouraging in this regard, so at about 14
years old Gina became the church pianist. (She still plays
occasionally at
her church, the third start-up that she and her husband Daryl have
been involved with.)
The beautiful church building and parsonage stand as monuments to
God’s marvelous provision for the church and to the dedication of
the founders and the early church family. Indeed, the community
wondered that such a small congregation could erect such buildings.
It was not accomplished without God, trust in Him, sacrifice, and
hard work.
Land was purchased and construction begun on the parsonage by Mr.
Purdy. Pastor Olsson and his family were able to move in before
Easter 1959, just three years after the first service. Mr. Purdy was
soon underway on designing the church. On November 11, 1959, friends
from the town and other conferences churches joined in celebrating
the ground breaking for the church building.
A building fund drive was held in November. Thirteen pledges were
turned in that day for a total of $10,419 - $419 over the goal. In
addition to his pledge, Mr. Purdy donated his own time and labor.
The other men and women rolled up their sleeves and helped as they
were able.
I remember one Saturday in particular when Mr. Purdy and several
volunteers were installing the linoleum floor in the church
basement. I’m sure that many of them had never done that type of
work before, but that floor is still being used today and has held
up very well, especially considering the lack of experience of the
installers, which, if
you look closely, you can still see evidence of.
As in everything that they did, the founders all worked together. As
much as the buildings are witness to the blessing and provision of
God, the spirit of harmony was equally eloquent. Founder Howard
Williams stated in his short history of the Evangelical Baptist
Church, written for the dedication of the church building in 1960,
that "
...there has not been one minute of arguing or bickering or dispute
over any aspect of our building programs of either the parsonage or
the church...we praise God for it".
Part IV. The Founders
We owe much to the founders. We have inherited what they sacrificed
and worked so hard for. The example of their lives is a tremendous
encouragement to us today to invest our lives as they did in
participating in what God is doing. We would do well to dedicate
ourselves to the principles that guided them. The founders came from
a
surprising variety of backgrounds. They served in a wide variety of
ways, doing whatever was necessary. All contributed in many
different areas and we cannot mention many, and indeed only God
knows in most instances.
I’m sure they would all object to being singled out for recognition
of any sort - both out of the conviction that God should receive all
the honor and that they were soon joined by so many others who
contributed alike. However, in order to acquaint the present reader
who may not have had the privilege to know them, here are these
brief, and necessarily incomplete, accounts of who they were.
Rufus Purdy was a schoolteacher turned carpenter from Nova Scotia.
Rufus and his wife Joyce were members of the United Church of Canada
before moving their family to Sharon in 1950, and joining the First
Baptist. There, because of his piety, enthusiasm, and leadership,
Rufus was called upon to serve both as deacon and as Sunday School
Superintendent, and later would be the central figure in the
starting of EBC, where he served in those same capacities, and many
others besides. He began the Fish and Chips youth groups at EBC. A
building contractor of great ability, integrity, and reputation,
Rufus designed and built both the EBC parsonage and church. Some
forty years later, as this is written, Realtors selling a house that
Rufus built, will sometimes mention that in their advertisements.
Joyce often exercised her wonderful gift of hospitality.
Jim and Jean Barnett moved to Canton in 1950. He worked as an
engineer for Allis-Chalmers. Jim grew up in Texas - a Southern
Baptist. He had played football in the Sugar Bowl before entering
the service, and afterward met his wife, a Congregationalist, in
Vermont. Jim also served as a deacon at the First Baptist and was a
great help in
writing EBC’s constitution and by-laws, particularly because he was
one of the few founders who had much experience in church affairs.
Bob Landrum, another ex-serviceman, was from Indiana and returned to
marry Marjorie, the nurse he had met from Sharon. Bob was a lawyer,
and helped especially with the incorporation of EBC. The Landrums
moved back to Indiana soon after.
Bart and Gina Morrison, both converted Catholics, moved their family
to Sharon from Staten Island so Bart could pursue his career as a
wholesale shoe salesman. The two family house where they lived was
owned by Israel Levin, the man who sold the land on which the church
was built. Jim Barnett admired Bart for being very thorough on
doctrinal issues, "holding their feet to the fire" until it was
right. Bart and Gina, like most founders, served the church in just
about every way possible.
Tam and Winnie Blood grew up in the Sharon area. They came to a
saving knowledge of Christ through the influence of their oldest
son, Cliff, who was attending First Baptist and was saved under the
ministry of Nate Goff. A Town DPW employee and Legionnaire, Tam
helped secure the use of the Town Hall as a meeting place, worked
with the Boy’s Brigade, and managed to borrow a Town front-end
loader to crane the church building’s I-beams in place. Winnie
taught Sunday school for many years and shared her faith often with
the townspeople who stopped at the variety store in the center of
town where she worked and posted a "saying for the day", often a
bible verse, on her cash register.
Jim and Jennie Leighton were also longtime local residents who were
active in the First Baptist, and remained to complete their duties
there before joining EBC. Jean served as a Sunday school teacher.
Jim was a deacon, trustee and worked with the Boy’s Brigade.
Nick Vaters, from Newfoundland, and his wife, Harriet, had been
Pentecostals. They hosted what was probably the first EBC picnic at
their home on South Walpole Street, before moving away from Sharon
shortly after the founding of the church.
Vivian Cauthen was a former member of the Greek Orthodox Church. (If
anyone knows more about her please let
me know).
Howard and Frankie Williams moved their family to Sharon in 1955,
shortly after Howard began working in Boston as an investment
analyst. Howard was a Presbyterian from the hills of east Tennessee
and Frankie an Episcopalian from North Carolina. They offered their
home for a meeting place for the new church, which met for several
months
in their living and dining rooms. Howard is perhaps best remembered
for his gift for fund raising and Frankie for her lovely voice. Both
taught Sunday school and served in various capacities.
Dick Wood was a student at Gordon College and Youth Pastor at First
Baptist until leaving that position to serve as the first pastor of
EBC. Dick was severely criticized at Gordon for leaving an American
Baptist Church, but was allowed to graduate, and subsequently
entered full-time Christian ministry. He lived with Jim and Jean
Barnett, in their apartment in Canton.