A cornerstone notes that this congregation was established in 1968. The church building is much earlier than that.
Hephzibah Southern Methodist Church, Richmond County
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The original structure was located just off Highway 88 in ” downtown ” Hephzibah , next to Hephzibah High School that produced its last Senior Class in 1969. The school building then served as a middle school until the 1980’s before removal.
Dedication of the “new” Southern Methodist Church, at its current location, included the placement of a “time capsule.
The structure was modified after relocation.
This was originally the Hephzibah Baptist Church, and was donated and moved in 1968 to the Southern Methodist Church, a black congregation. There is information and a picture of this church in “The Hephzibah Baptist Association Centennial” book, by Rev. W. L. Kilpatrick, available in a reprinted paperback form on Amazon. (Originally published in 1894). This structure was moved by Braswell Brothers House Movers of Swainsboro, Ga. Mr. Braswell’s son, Mike H. Braswell, recently posted a picture on Facebook of the structure actually being moved.
The Southern Methodist Church Structure shown was originally the Hephzibah Baptist Sanctuary. It was moved to its current location when the current Baptist Sanctuary was built. The relocation was around 1968 but the structure shown is much older.
The church was originally built by the congregation of Hephzibah Baptist Church (HBC), but moved to to site it currently resides at in 1968. When HBC moved from the property donated to build the Elementary School and built it’s new sanctuary, the building was acquired by the Hephzibah Southern Methodist congregation. I believe…
I recall the founding of this church, as I attended nearby Blythe United Methodist Church and the minister was shared with the then established Methodist Church in Hephzibah. The congregation in Hephzibah split and this church was founded on Hephzibah-McBean Road, just past where Hephzibah High School was currently being built (back then). I am unsure about the age of the sanctuary. I -seem- to recall that it was a new structure, built to purpose. But, I could easily be wrong about that.
Dale, you are correct. I was a member of the Hephzibah UMC at the time of the split. The founders of the Southern Methodist Church in Hephzibah were former members of the United Methodist Church in Hephzibah. They left over the issue of desegregation of the UMC, purchased the old Baptist Church and had it moved to its present location.