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Mile Marker: 13.8 |
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Resource: Laurel Grove Church |
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Location: Lively
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County: Fayette |
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Designation:
Cultural
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This
church, located directly on the banks of Paint Creek, was built in the
mid-1890s. Located directly along Paint Creek in the community of Lively, this
Missionary Baptist church was built as a religious and social gathering place
for farming families. Many of these families sent their children to centers of
higher learning. Some of these children returned to the community to become
teachers, serving as long-time educators of the area’s youth. In keeping with
their secular beliefs Missionary Baptists supported missionary activities,
educational and outreach efforts which brought their faith to those outside
their denomination.
According
to theologian Leonard Sweet, there were stark contrasts in the beliefs of
Missionary Baptists and those of the much larger group of Calvinist Primitive
Baptists which dominated the Appalachian south. Primitive Baptists did not
believe in the cost of supporting missions, feared that a hierarchical structure
would accompany missionary efforts, and were basically disapproving of the
formal education received toward training missionaries. Sweet contends that
these beliefs reflect cultural differences and diversity of the Baptists of the
region.