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Before it became a church, a group of people began meeting under the Pastoral care of the Rev. Henry Carter. Rev. Carter was pastor of multiple churches at the same time, walking to each one on the weekend. It was during this time that he saw the need for an established church in the South River Community. On August 24th, 1924 at the Alpine School House, the Rev. Henry Carter called the group to order and organized Riverside Baptist Church. W. M. Lewis, Jr. was appointed Church Clerk. There were nine charter members. On September 21st, 1924 Riverside Church met in conference with Montgomery Long acting as moderator. Frank L. Smith and Matt Lewis were appointed messengers to the local Baptist Association. At this meeting a call was extended to the Rev. C. B. Horne to be the first pastor. The call was accepted. Riverside Baptist Church was received into the Central Baptist Association in 1924. On May 23rd, 1926 the Central Baptist Association became the Bladen Baptist Association. The church auditorium was built in 1936 using donated materials from the former Mount Zion Church building. Mount Zion Church disbanded in October 1930. It had been located approximately two miles from the current location of Riverside Baptist Church, on what is now known as the Meridith place . The building was taken apart and much of the materials were used in the construction of the present auditorium. In 1956, twelve Sunday School rooms were added, and the sanctuary renovated. A fellowship hall was constructed in 1976, and was later replaced by a new fellowship hall in 2001. The original fellowship hall was renovated to create classrooms and meeting space. |
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