Hephzibah Southern Methodist (Richmond County, Ga.)

A Tale Of Two Churches that are actually one and the same. Hephzibah Baptist Church and Hephzibah Southern Methodist Church in Richmond County are both beautiful and historic churches. The special part of the story is that they are the same building. The original church was Hephzibah Baptist, organized in September of 1863 in the middle of the Civil War. The area was then known as Brothersville and the church was known as Hephzibah Baptist church at Brothersville. The post Civil War years were difficult, as they were for everyone in the south, but the church persevered and prospered. According to local history, "The years following this war were sad and gloomy. An awful pall settled down upon the State. The minutes of our Associations and the State Convention, for years, bore evidence of the demoralization caused by the sad results of the war, in the churches and among Christians. The longest depression of business in United States History (1873—1879) followed soon after the war. Yet, under these difficulties this church prospered, and left a legacy that challenges the church to strive to attain its potential simper et ubique [always and everywhere]. Yes! The tragedy of war was felt by Hephzibah Baptist Church in the year of its founding, yet the church persevered through that war and through the years of Reconstruction. She never failed to open her doors." In 1888, it was decided that a new church should be built. Until that time the church had met in the chapel of the Hephzibah Baptist School for 26 years. The church was built at a cost of $2,700, while the membership stood at 95 in 1894. The present church with the striking architecture has now been in service for over 130 years, although not at the same location. In 1968, the Baptist church had outgrown the building and the decision was made to sell it to the Southern Methodist Church. Incredibly, the entire building was moved intact approximately one and a half miles to the present location. The trip took two days to complete and the samctuary now lives on as Hephzibah Southern Methodist Church.