Our Church History

Columbia Road Baptist Church held its first meeting on June 20, 1965.  There were 11 people in attendance, and the pastor was Ben E. Hope.  During these early days, CRBC was supported by several churches: First Baptist Church of Sheffield Lake, Baring Cross Baptist Church of North Little Rock, AR, and First Baptist Church of Calvert, KY.

In 1967, Pastor Hope became a foreign missionary to Brazil.  So, on May 2, 1968, CRBC called John Withers as pastor.  By this time, attendance had grown to 28, and the members voted to build a new building.  Up to this point, the church had been meeting in an old house on the front of the present property.  Plans were drawn up and approved, and the church moved into its new building on Easter Sunday of 1970. 

Under the leadership of Pastor Withers, CRBC began to grow in attendance.  In July of 1972, the church purchased its first bus and began the bus ministry.  By 1973, the attendance (including the bus ministry) had grown to over 350.  CRBC has always had an emphasis on outreach.  In fact, in April of 1974, The Southern Baptist Journal named CRBC the “Fastest-Growing New Church”.

However, on November 14, 1977, a fire destroyed much of the church building.  A heater that had been used to heat the baptistery water was left plugged into the wall.  It overheated, thus causing the fire.  This was just 3 weeks after the entire building had been freshly remodeled and dedicated.  This forced the church to meet elsewhere for the next year while the building was being rebuilt.

In May of 1984, Pastor Withers resigned.  At this point, CRBC called their assistant pastor, Alan C. Jenkins, as their new pastor.  Under Pastor Jenkins’ leadership, much has been accomplished for the Lord.  To name a few: the church is now debt-free, a worldwide missions program was started, and Harvest Baptist Missions, a missions agency, was established. 

God has blessed CRBC throughout all the years of its existence, and the church is looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future.