WOODFORD -- As one of the oldest churches in the small northwestern Orangeburg County town of Woodford, Bethlehem Baptist Church continues to follow in the same tradition of community service established during its founding in 1923.

As this predominantly black congregation of nearly 350 members makes preparations to celebrate its 85th anniversary, the church committee charged with creating the celebration itinerary recently took time to reflect on what Bethlehem Baptist Church means to its members.

"We started the planning for this anniversary back in January," according to Rudean Gibson, anniversary committee chairwoman. "Although this is just a portion of the activities we'll have starting at noon on April 26, we will have praise singing, games for the children and fellowships at the church. We're also inviting 11 other churches in the area to join us on that day to help us celebrate."

Although the 85th anniversary is considered a significant milestone, Gibson said the church has had a recent tradition of celebrating the church's anniversary every five years with a big event, using it "as a time to let the community know what God has done for us."

Gibson estimated the congregation has grown by 20 percent since the church's pastor, the Rev. Felix Anderson -- the 11th pastor to serve at Bethlehem Baptist -- took over in 1999.

"The thing that impresses me most about this church is the fact these people are very progressive-minded," Anderson said. "Churchgoers in rural areas are often used to doing things as they have always been done before. But Bethlehem Baptist members are not spectator Christians because they believe, as I do, in the development of the total person -- not just spiritually, but also physically, emotionally, mentally and through education and economic health."

The anniversary planning committee unanimously agreed that the hallmark of Bethlehem Baptist Church is how church members reach out to new members and visitors alike in a sincere effort to make everyone feel welcome. This can be seen throughout Bethlehem's history, beginning with the desire of its founders to unite for worship. Bethlehem served as an early focal point for the Woodford community, since it began in an era where different forms of modern transportation were not readily available for many people.

"We have a great deal of outreach into the community, both to recruit new members and to meet the needs of our congregation," Gibson said. "Since we have a great deal of young people in our church, we have a strong youth ministry, which also includes children's and teens' choir. Other ministries include a brotherhood ministry run by Rev. Anderson, which targets young men.

"Every age group in our congregation is served by an organization in our church."

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Bethlehem Baptist Church is the way in which past congregation members who moved away have returned over the years to their faith roots in Woodford. A number of church members, having lived in other areas in years past, are now returning to Bethlehem. Last year, each family in the congregation was given a particular Sunday to bring other family members back to the church for worship.

One native of Woodford, Dorothy Stroman, had lived in New York City for 41 years before she returned to the area and resumed her membership at Bethlehem.

"I was born and raised here and baptized here," Stroman said. "I ran away, but I came back to my church and my home, where I'm enjoying every moment."

The Bethlehem Baptist sanctuary itself has come a long way since the church's founding, when it started out as a plain wood building. Over the decades, the church building was transformed from cinder blocks to bricks, complete with a wood heater inside the sanctuary. There were many stories of church members being baptized in a local pond during their youth before the current baptismal pool behind the pulpit was constructed.

Future plans, congregation members said, include building a new church when the time is right and the funds are available.

T&D Correspondent Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at pmhsarata@aol.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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