[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 FELLOWSHIP GENERAL BAPTIST CHURCH CELEBRATES ITS FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. JASON T. SMITH

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 30, 2013

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the Fellowship General Baptist 
Church is commemorating the milestone occasion of its Fortieth 
Anniversary in 2013, having served the community of Poplar Bluff for 
four decades since its official organization on July 15, 1973. The 
church traces its beginnings to April 5, 1973, when a group of faithful 
Baptists met for the first time at the Town and Country Restaurant in 
Poplar Bluff. On May 2, 1973, Fellowship General Baptist Church was 
organized into a mission with a charter membership of eighty-one 
individuals under the pastoral leadership of Kenneth Kennedy, Leland 
Duncan, Ernie Rogers, John Clanton, and Riley Mathias. The congregation 
broke ground for a permanent house of worship on July 21, 1974, and 
celebrated their first meeting in the complete church building on 
January 5, 1975 and over the years, the congregation at Fellowship 
General Baptist has been blessed with the leadership of three pastors: 
Dr. Onis Chapman (1976-79), Dr. Kenneth Kennedy (1978-87), and the 
Reverend Byron Beck (1987-present).
  Members of the Fellowship General Baptist Church have consistently 
been the top financial supporter of the General Baptist Denomination, 
while successfully participating in outreach programs including 
Fellowship of Acceptance, Divorce Care, Salt and Light Sundays, 
Salvation Army, Living Water International and Grief Share. The 
congregation of Fellowship General Baptist Church, now 781 members 
strong, prepares to minister to the community for a fifth decade.

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