By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Lillington, NC - Gathering under the warmth of fellowship, ancestral remembrance, and unyielding faith, members, visiting clergy, and lifelong friends converged on Lillington First Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate its 89th Church Anniversary and Homecoming.
The service brought together generations of believers to honor nearly nine decades of Christian service and community leadership in Harnett County. Welcoming the congregation into worship, Reverend Dr. Floyd Wicker Jr. set a tone of gratitude, urging attendees to recognize the enduring goodness of God and the sacred lineage carried inside the church walls: “All of this is important because it tells the story of how we got to where we are right now. You are sitting on sacred ground.”
Tracing the church’s origins, Reverend Wicker recounted how the first spark of Lillington First Missionary Baptist was kindled in 1937 by two dedicated citizens: Deacon W.G. Fuller and Miss Carrie Lampley Atkins. On April 7, 1937, a missionary Sunday school was organized with the Rev. G.T. Moore of Raleigh meeting in a house offered by Mr. John D. Spears. Over the following year, the Sunday school membership rapidly expanded from 12 to 29 members, forming the bedrock of the church fellowship alongside charter families such as the Fullers, Lampleys, Atkinses, Richardsons, McLeans, Parkers, Pattersons, Streets, and Councils.
Among those honored in the sanctuary was 95-year-old Miss Annie Margaret Johnson, celebrated as the church’s oldest and longest-standing member, whose life predates the very construction of the current sanctuary. Following uplifting praise and worship by TAP Ministries, the congregation welcomed back former interim pastor Reverend Barry Gray (currently serving at Rocky River Missionary Baptist Church) to deliver the anniversary sermon.
Rev. Gray challenged the room to look past superficial church appearances, urging believers to maintain genuine faith during personal heartbreak, health crises, economic pressures, and societal breakdown, “John was down in that prison for doing what was right. And in the dark places, we sometimes ask, ‘Lord, where are you? Are you the one?’ Faith isn't about when everything is easy. Faith is holding on when the breakthrough hasn't shown up yet, trusting that God always knows the end from the beginning.”
Addressing modern spiritual complacency, Rev. Gray called on the church to reclaim its witness through humble character, authentic love, and community service rather than self-centered living, “The world doesn't come to church anymore because we have set such bad examples. You can't say you love God and be mean, hateful, and selfish. When our grandparents had nothing, they washed windows, scrubbed floors, and shared a cup of sugar. We must give meaning and purpose back to Christian living. If you want to win somebody, it will be by your character and by your love.”
Following an altar call of rededication and healing, visiting pastor Rev. McDuffie of Davis Chapel Holiness Church offered closing reflections and blessed the homecoming table, reminding the congregation to keep company with those who build their spiritual walk, “Surround yourself with the right people and the spiritual love of God. Do what God says do, and not just what you want to do.”
The anniversary concluded with handshakes, embraces, and a festive fellowship dinner in the church hall. As Lillington First Missionary Baptist Church steps into its 90th year, its foundation remains as steady as the sugar maples that shade its grounds—rooted in prayer, dedicated to community, and standing firmly on the rock of ages.
