Church History:
The First Missionary Baptist Church of Northfork was organized in 1908 by:
Sis. Shafford
1st pastor- Rev. Coger
Services were held in several locations including the town printing shop and the Freeman Theater. The first church was a small, one-room building in the section of town called Clarktown. It sat on a hill next to the Negro High School. It was a wooden structure with a
flat tin roof. The walls were little, narrow congruent planks. The light was extended on a cord that held a simple light bulb with a pull chain to turn the lights on & off. In the back of the church sat a small wooden table covered with oil cloth. A galvanized bucket of water sat on the table and a metal dipper hung on the wall that everyone drank from. A straw broom stood in the corner to sweep
the oil-treated wooden plank floor. The furniture was a few high-back wooden chairs with cane seats, one or two wooden benches sat across from the pulpit, which was a raised plywood Podium. Former pastors:
Rev. Coger
Rev. Joe Jones
Rev. Pat Harris
Rev. Cabbell
Rev. Cobbs
Rev. Pryor
Rev. Henry L. (HL) Robinson, who served without pay (1939-1964)
Rev. William Turner 1964-
Rev. Ulysses (UG) Hodge (1975-1986), Rev. Garfield Ferguson, assistant
Rev James Palmer (1987-1994)
Rev. James Palmer (1995-2001)
Under the leadership of Rev. Robinson, land for our present church was purchased for S750.00. The materials were donated by members of the church. Those who labored:
Rev. Robinson-pastor
Bro. James Saunders
Bro. John Saunders
Bro. Frank Gray
Bro.: Sim Harris
Bro. John Jennings
Bro. Mose Jennings
Bro. Cleo Williams
Bro. Clarence Wallington
Bro. William White, Sr. Bro. John Clanton
Bro Robert (Bob) Black
The church members moved into the new church building on the second Sunday of February 1950. Throughout the years, members and friends have generously donated and made repairs to our church. Our church has had its share of struggles. The mines were major employers, but did not work regularly. During one of these times, many men were laid off. Consequently, families as well as churches suffered financially. The mortgage on our church became due and the Bank of Northfork foreclosed on our church. The Flat Top Baptist Association redeemed the outstanding debt and became the owner of our church. Under the pastorage of Rev. U.G. Hodge, who donated large sums of money and encouraged members to give what they could, the debt was paid and the church was no longer the possession of the Flat Top Association. Musicians:
First choir organized and directed by Bro. Jessie Martin
The only instrument was a small metal pitch pipe. Sound was produced by holding the instrument to the mouth and softly blowing into the small air openings around it. There weren't any hymn books. Songs were sung from memory or written on a piece of paper. Later a piano was purchased with Sis. Gladys Edmunds as pianist. Those who also served as pianist-
Sis. Jessie Hairston
Sis. Shelby Hardy
Sis. Hazel Wright
Bro. Billy Martin
Sis. Debra Bush
Sis. Shari Spencer
Bro. Ruben Wright-Present
Other musicians who have served the choir and church:
Bro. Bernard Murphy, Bass Guitar
Drummers-
Bro. Sean Spencer
Bro. James Riley
Bro. Taylor Morrow-Present
Bro. Jermaine Smith-present church assistant
In the years of 2001 & 2002, floodwaters damaged our church, but by the grace of God, and the hard labor of members, our church was restored. Most recently, we had an oil leak that kept us from worshipping in our church and now COVID-19 has kept us physically apart. However, God has provided technology so that we can continue our worship service and Bible study as a group. Additional changes have been made to the name of our church. The name was changed from The First Missionary Baptist Church of Northfork to The First Baptist Church of Northfork and on June 15, 2010, FBC withdrew membership from the Flat Top Missionary Baptist Association and the WV Baptist State Convention. Current Pastor:
Rev. Eugene Watson (2002-Present)
Current organizations
Deacon's Board
Benevolent Board
Pastor's Aide
Sr. Choir
Usher Board
Sunday School
The Missionary Society is now defunct. The Young Adult Choir disbanded and joined the Sr. Choir. Active deacons-
Deacon Aaron Smedley
Deacon Robert White- Chairman of the deacon board
We proudly acknowledge our most senior member Sis. Josephine Joyce.
