THE HISTORY OF LOVING

"Where the name on the outside is what's found on the inside."

​​​Loving Missionary Baptist Church

The Loving Missionary Baptist Church was organized on March 23, 1958, at 1618 Boulevard Place, by Rev. George Clark.  There were 24 chartered members and four deacons.­

Reverned Arthur Clark, who was the pastor of Greater St. James, acted as moderator in organizing the auxiliaries, electing officers and pastor.  Reverned (George) Clark was elected the pastor of the church and was inspired to name it Loving Baptist.  The first sermon was preached on “LOVE.”  New members were added to the church and in April 1961, we purchased a church at 226 North Blackford Street.­

In 1962, Rev. (George) Clark resigned as pastor and Rev. I.S. Owens was called to be in charge of the pulpit until January 1963, when he was elected to be the pastor.

On May 9, 1965, we had our mortgage burning with Rev. William Sweatt, Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church officiating.  This was a grand and glorious day for all...another mile we had traveled together.

We were contacted by representatives of Indiana University, and in July 1968, our building was purchased by them which meant moving time for us.  August 11, 1968, we moved to California and New York Streets and were there for a short period of time.

October 27, 1968, we moved to the Good Samaritan Church annex at 2209 West Park where Rev. J.T. Highbaugh was the pastor.   December 29, 1968, we broke ground at 802 W. Roache ST., for the construction of our present church and on June 1, 1969, we moved into the church with still a lot of work to be done so we were unable to have an open house.  July 6, 1969, was a joyful day for all the members and pastor because on this day, we had our grand march.  This day will long be remembered.

May 1977, Rev. Owens resigned as pastor of Loving Missionary Baptist Church and moved to Mount Union, Pennsylvania, to pastor a church there.  After his resignation, the Rev. John E. Girton Sr., was placed in charge of the pulpit.  July 20, 1977, Rev. John Girton Sr., was elected to become the third pastor of the church.  Under Rev. Girton’s leadership, the church grew spiritually, financially, and in members.  March 25, 1979, we had our mortgage burning.  September 25, 1995, Rev. (John) Girton Sr., poised to take another giant step forward rebuilding a new church edifice, adding classrooms, bathrooms, offices, enlarging the kitchen, dining room, and baptism area.

November 10, 1996, at 8:30 a.m., with Greater Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church as our special guest, our coming home theme was: "The Journey Was Long, but the Victory was Sweet."  We were blessed to be back home.  After 26 successful years as the pastor, Rev. Girton was asked to step down as pastor in January of 2006 because of illness.  He was offered the Emeritus title, but he refused.

Reverned Spencer K. Osborne was available to assume leadership.  He was voted in by the members as the pastor of Loving Missionary Baptist Church.  He was installed on February 3, 2006, by Bishop James Humbert of the Temple of Believers.  Reverned Osborne served as the fourth pastor for seven months; but due to lack of agreement with his leadership, he was asked to resign.

Under the leadership of Deacon Donald Fuqua and the Capital City Fellowship Association, Rev. Wayne L. Moore, of the Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, was available to assist us in selecting an interim pastor...the Rev. Jerome Clark.  Reverned (Jerome) Clark was sent to Loving Missionary Baptist Church for six months as the interim pastor.  After three months of working closely with Rev. Clark, it was decided to vote him in as the Pastor-elect of Loving Missionary Baptist Church.  The church membership started increasing under Rev. Clark’s leadership.  It was decided to ask Rev. Clark to become our pastor. He accepted our request.  The installation services for Rev. Clark was on February 18, 2007, as the fifth pastor of the Loving Missionary Baptist Church.

Under Rev. Clark’s leadership, Loving Missionary Baptist Church grew in spirit and in number.  It was because of Pastor Clark’s leadership and vision that the church was able to pay off the mortgage for the rebuilding project that was led by Rev. Girton.  On September 28, 2014, Loving Missionary Baptist Church had yet another mortgage burning celebration.

On April 19, 2014, at the age 44, our Lord God called Pastor Jerome Anthony Clark home after a two and a half  years bout with a rare form of cancer.  Pastor Clark was well loved by his immediate family as well as his church family.  Pastor Clark was known for saying, “It is, what it is” and “It’s not about us, it’s about Christ.”  (He will be sorely missed.)

During this absence, the Chairman of the Deacons, David Porter, lead the church, while Loving Missionary Baptist Church’s very own Associate Minister Rev. Shawn Floyd, and True Tried Missionary Baptist Church’s Rev. Kelvin Wade continued to preach the gospel message of Jesus Christ to Loving Missionary Baptist Church...helping LMBC through its' difficult time.  On July 2, 2014, at a church business meeting, a pastoral search committee was put together.  The pastoral search committee consisted of seven members:  Deacon Moses Driver, Deacon James Porter, Deacon Perry Teague, Deacon David Porter, Trustee Charles Clark, Trustee Michelle Montgomery and Brother Brian Nelson.

It was because of the awesome sustaining power of God, that the body of Loving Missionary Baptist Church remained intact during the absence of a shepard. New souls were being added to the body of Christ as well as new members, as well as marriage ceremonies continued to happen.  The love for Christ and the love for one another continued to grow throughout the church; yet the church was still hurting and in need of a pastor.

After a long process of meetings, reviews, and interviews of potential pastoral candidates, a church business meeting was called. By way of vote from the Loving Missionary Baptist Church congregation, on Saturday; January 3rd in the year 2015, the Loving Missionary Baptist Church extended a call to Rev. Christopher E. Mundy to be its sixth pastor.

We are constantly in prayer to stay humble to be of service and hold to the principles of faith and doctrine that we may be servants. Loving is the church that sits high on a hill with its bright and shining light.  We pray that she will be able to direct lost souls to our Lord and Savior who is Jesus Christ.

Respectfully submitted
Mother Jewell Jones
Loving Missionary Baptist Church, Mothers Board