The West Somerset Baptist Church has been a lighthouse in this community . God has truly blessed us over the years.
Our Beginning…
On August 27, 1904 the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church lettered out nineteen of her members to constitute the West Somerset Baptist Church. This was just a few years after the Spanish American War and ten years prior to WWI. Theodore Roosevelt was President and the majority of Americans lived in rural areas. Of course the lifestyle of the people then was much different than it is today. The members of the West Somerset Baptist Church walked, rode on horseback, or came by team and wagon to church. The roads were dirt, even West Highway 80 where the West Somerset Baptist Church has been located for over one hundred five years. They did not have electricity or indoor plumbing. There were a lot of things they did not have but they did have the most important things to takes to build a strong New Testament Church. They had the Love of God, His Precious Word, and the commitment to carry out the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is our desire to continue to hold forth the blood stained banner of our Lord at the West Somerset Baptist Church until Jesus comes again.
A brief history:
The West Somerset Baptist Church was organized in 1904 out of the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church;
The Pleasant Hill Baptist Church was organized in 1878 out of the Bethlehem Baptist Church;
The Bethlehem Baptist Church was organized in 1839 out of the Fishing Creek Baptist Church;
The Fishing Creek Baptist Church was organized in 1803 out of the Sinking Creek Baptist Church, known as the First Baptist Church of Somerset;
The Sinking Creek Baptist Church,(First Baptist Church of Somerset) was organized in 1799 out of Flat Lick Baptist Church;
The Flat Lick Baptist Church was organized January 26, 1799 out of the Cedar Creek Baptist Church, now called the First Baptist Church of Crab Orchard;
The Cedar Creek Baptist Church(First Baptist Church of Crab Orchard) was organized in 1791 our of the Gilberts Creek Baptist Church previously known as the Upper Spottsylvania Baptist, The Traveling Chruch;
The Upper Spottsylvania Baptist Church (The Traveling Church) was organized November 20, 1767, out of the Abotts Creek Baptist Church. The Upper Spottsville Baptist Church of Virginia was brought to Gilberts Creek near Lancaster, Ky. under the leadership of Br. Lewis Craig in 1781;
The Abotts Creek Baptist Church was constituted by Daniel Marshall, Shubeal Stearn and Henry Ledbetter in 1758. The Abotts Creek Baptist Church came from the Sandy Creek Baptist Church near Winchester, Virginia;
The Sandy Creek Baptist Church was organized November 22, 1755, which Daniel Marshall was a member, came out of the Hill Cliff Church of Wales, England
The Hill Cliff Church was organized in 987A.D. out of the Lima Piedmont Church;
The Lima Piedmont was organized in 812 A.D. out of the Timto Church;
The Tinto Church was organized in 738 A.D. out of the Darethea Church;
The Darethea Church was organized in 671 A.D. out of the Pontifossi Church;
The Pontifossi Church was organized in 398 A.D. out of the Turan Church;
The Turan Church was organized in 237 A.D. out of the Partus Church;
The Partus Church was organized in 150 A.D. by Polycarp, Pastor of the Church of Smyrna (Revelation 2:8), baptized by the Apostle John on December 25, in 95 A.D.;
John the Beloved disciple was baptized by John the Baptist and was a charter member of the Church Jesus organized.
Bibliography:
Spencer’s History of Kentucky Baptist ; Benedicts Church History; The First Baptist Church of Somerset, Kentucky-History: of the Bethlehem Baptist Church; The History of the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church; Short History of the Baptist-H.C. Veddler; The minutes of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, Book 3. Item 1; Alex Munston’s Israel of the Alps, pg 39; Jones Church History, pg. 324; Neander’s Church History Vol. 2 pg. 320; Mosheim’s History, Vol. 1 pg. 394; Lambert’s Church History pg. 47; Nowlins Church History, Vol. 2 pg. 318; Armitage’s Church History, pg. 182 ; Cyprus Commentary of Antiquity, pg. 924; Neander’s Church History, pg. 285; The Bible KJV; Simples Church History.