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Memories of Covy Rock Free Will Baptist Church

by Clarence Deyton (69 years old) - 2013

 

   I was carried into Covy Rock Free Will Baptist Church as a baby in my mother’s arms, as were my other ten siblings who came before and after me. My first recollection of the inside of the church was rows of wooden pews with an aisle down the center.  The pulpit was a raised platform with a speaker’s stand.  There was no electricity.  The daylight came through the plain glass windows which were located down each side of the building.  At night, there were kerosene lamps on small wooden shelves between the windows.  These shelves were placed higher than a man’s head so that no one would hit them.   The first person who entered the building usually lit the lamps.  The heat came from a wood burning pot-bellied stove which was placed in the front center of the meeting house.  I can remember that Crawford Ayers usually took care of lighting the lamps and building the fire.

 

   There was no insulation in the church and no additional classrooms.   There were stairs going up to the second story on the back wall next to the bell rope.  I never remember being allowed to climb the stairs and see the upstairs room.  Sometime during the 1950’s two classrooms were added.  One was on each side of the pulpit.  The classrooms had pews just like the auditorium room.  Curtains were placed to separate the classrooms from the auditorium during Sunday school classes.  These two rooms were also used for overflow seating during revivals.  

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   People that attended church usually walked to church.  Some did have cars, but most families walked.  There was very limited parking areas because a stream ran beside the church through the middle of the road, and people drove through the stream going to their homes up Sugar Hollow.  Dad had a car, but I can remember running all the way to church and back to the house.  I am sure it was rather hard to get our thirteen family members into one car.

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   There was no running water in the church.  Two outhouses were placed behind the church.  One with “men” painted on it and the other with “women” painted on it.

 

   I remember revivals that were held in the daytime as well as at night and folks came from everywhere.  The people were filled with the spirit, shouting and singing rang through the hollow. I have seen people standing on the outside of the church listening to the sermon through the open doors and windows because the sanctuary was full. Sometimes another revival would erupt outside in the church yard when a lost person gave their heart to God.

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   My dad taught his eight boys and three girls that the house of God was a place of reverence and respect.  If we misbehaved in church, he would wait until we got home, and he would always give us the benefit of the doubt by asking us if we were the one cutting up in church.   You, for sure, didn’t lie. He would bring us to remembrance that we definitely did not want to do that again.

 

   My first remembrance of a pastor was Preacher Wright. My brother Clyde came home and told my mother he wanted a haircut just like Preacher Wright’s (Preacher Wright was bald). Covy Rock Church has been blessed with God-sent preachers down through the years. These men have been spirit-filled, called of God, and sent to Covy Rock Church.

 

   I remember when preacher Gilbert Adkins was our pastor. Someone had to go get him because he didn’t have a car. He would sometimes go home with different people for dinner, and then someone would take him home. Back in those days most families would invite the preacher home for the Sunday dinner after church services.  Christmas Plays were put on by the children of the families who attended the church.  On the night of the play there would be a treat bag for each person with at least an orange, apple and some candy.  I never remember, as a child, seeing a Christmas tree in the church. I don’t remember, in the earlier years, of having music to accompany the congregational songs. We did get a piano later.

 

   Orphan children used to come to the church in the summers and do performances for the church. Families would board the children for two or three days because of the long ride back to Greenville, Tennessee.

 

   Each summer there would be Bible School for the children.  The teachers would stick to the basics. Children would learn Bible verses and hear stories from the Bible.   There were very little crafts or games; certainly no food. This was a great learning experience for a young person because I still remember some of the things we did in Bible School.

 

   In the 1960’s, a new church was built where the old one stood.   Our congregation attended Harris Memorial Church on Upper Pig Pen which was vacant at that time. Harris Memorial and Green Mountain Presbyterian Church had combined and were using the church at Green Mountain beside the post office.

 

   Through the years there have been many appearance changes to our church, but Covy Rock FWB Church has always been the rock of the community.  The King James Bible is still the doctrine that is preached, and I truly feel the Holy Spirit when I walk into this holy place. AMEN!

 

   God has blessed our church in number and with his presence in our services.   The members of the church are a loving and compassionate congregation.