 By His Grace, For His Glory!
"We definitely feel the Lord leading us to establish a church in this
community now." was declared by 75 people gathered in the Ingleside
Community Clubhouse. Read about how God has used Ingleside through the
years.
When sixteen people gathered in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Newton
on Thursday evening October 4, 1951, to consider the possibility of
starting a new church in the Ingleside area of north Macon, no one was
quite sure what the result would be. In fact, one person present was
reported to have said: "Frankly, my friends, I don't know if there is a
real need for a church in this community or not but I'm willing to be
shown."
In the days that followed, however, the need became clear, the vision
began to crystallize, and interest in this new work spread throughout
the community. Indeed, on Monday, October 29, seventy-five people
gathered in the Ingleside Community Clubhouse and unanimously declared:
"We definitely feel the Lord leading us to establish a church in this
community now."
With this strong conviction under girding their efforts, rapid
progress was made toward officially constituting the church. Thus, on
Charter Day, December 23, 1951, Ingleside Baptist Church was formally
constituted with 203 charter members.
Almost immediately, this new fellowship of believers recognized their
need for a more permanent place to meet. So, on February 13, 1952, the
church voted to secure 9.27 acres of land on Wimbish Road. Then, on June
1 of the same year, groundbreaking services were held for the new
sanctuary. It cost $178,000 and was formally dedicated on June 7, 1953.
By the end of the Church year in 1958, Ingleside had grown to a
robust 703 members and as one Church historian put it, "the need for
physical expansion was painfully apparent." Therefore, on December 14,
1958 "the decision was made to begin immediately a $325,000 expansion
program including construction of a three-story educational building and
all furnishings and equipment, plus a large circular drive and a paved
parking area." The ground breaking ceremony was held on January 25 of
the following year, and the building was formally dedicated on January
17, 1960.
Ours is a great heritage. Because of the vision, faith, and sacrifice
of those who have gone before us, many have come to know Jesus Christ as
Lord and we are blessed today. Now the torch has been passed to us. It
is time for us to expand our vision, deepen our faith, and make genuine
sacrifices so that the lost and unchurched of our community may know
Christ and so that those who come behind us will know the same blessings
that we have enjoyed.
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