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Pollard Baptist Church has one of the richest histories of any church in Boyd County due to not only its age but also its incredible impact upon so many lives. God has truly placed His hand upon our church and this has proven to be the case in each generation since the church?s founding.
Pollard became organized as a Baptist church on January 3, 1892, meaning that Pollard is now more than one hundred and ten years old! At that time the church was known as the First Baptist Church of Pleasant Springs. It began with fifty-four charter members, most of whom came from Unity Baptist Church.
Those early days undoubtedly had their share of problems but at that time Ashland was growing in population and this expansion provided a wonderful growth opportunity for the church.
Some of the early church records are very interesting. For example, the church withdrew the hand of fellowship from several sisters for dancing. The first custodian was hired at the incredible salary of $1.50 a month. The church ?raised the salary of the pastor to $300 a year?but only $199.20 was pledged.? (Every penny must have counted in those days.)
The church was given its current name in August of 1900. It is important to realize that some churches go through transitions (even changing denominations and beliefs) at some point in their history but this was not so with Pollard. Pollard was established by those who believed that the Baptist faith was the one system of belief most closely aligned with the Bible. Throughout the years God has seen fit to maintain that conviction within our membership. We pray this conviction will continue until Jesus comes, too!
An increasing number of churches were needed to minister to the growing population of the greater Ashland area. Many churches were started and, yes, many churches failed and closed their doors. Pollard, however, not only prospered but also became one of the leading churches in the area. What was the difference? We believe the difference was that God chose to put His hand upon Pollard and to use it as a means to reach this community for Him!
God?s grace enabled the church to experience rapid growth during the first half of the 20th century. The first building of 1892 was soon replaced by a larger building in 1911. This building, though, did not last long because God kept blessing the church! Pollard formally relocated to the current structure in 1925 at a total cost of $63,000. Imagine what it would cost today!
Attendance continued to soar. The membership in 1929 reached 512! And that was just the beginning! During the next thirty years membership reached more than one thousand people (1,387 in 1943) and Pollard became one of the truly great churches of the entire Tri-State.
Sit sometime in our auditorium and imagine the entire auditorium plus the balcony being full week after week. This would have been in the days before air conditioning, too! Yes, before a sound system and padded seats and carpet! And yet the people came from everywhere to have their spiritual needs met.
It is not an exaggeration to say that everyone knew about Pollard and its radio pastor, W. K. Wood (1921 ? 1944). People talk even today about Pastor Wood! For example, Pastor Tom reports that he had the unique experience of speaking with a lady in South Point, Ohio, about accepting the call to pastor Pollard. This dear old saint said, ?That?s how I got saved! I heard W. K. Wood on the radio and he led me to the Lord through his radio message!?
We rejoice that this experience has been repeated over and over again. So many people have passed through Pollard that it would be impossible to count all of them?impossible to measure the impact of Pollard except to say that its impact has been truly worldwide in scope!
Problems, however, always follow success. A big disagreement led to a large number of people leaving Pollard in 1955 and beginning the current Thirteenth Street Baptist Church.
This general period of time marked the peak in attendance for Pollard. It was about this same time that most of the neighborhood churches peaked in attendance due to a number of changes in the community as well as society. This time also marked the peak in population for the city of Ashland.
Now we come to the 21st century!. The number of churches in the area has increased sharply since the big attendance days at Pollard while the overall population has actually decreased. This has led to a general trend toward smaller churches.
However, Pollard has continued to receive more than its share of God?s blessings because Pollard remains committed to the mission of taking the good news of Jesus Christ to those in its own ?Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.?
Pollard?s mission has even led to the establishment of several churches including Rose Hill Baptist Church and Wildwood Baptist Church. Pollard also had a significant hand in beginning Hyland Heights Baptist Church and Central Baptist Church. Through the years several additional missions were attempted because Pollard was not afraid to step out by faith for the glory of God!
What does the future hold for Pollard? While it is true that only God knows, yet it is also true that our vision for the future will likely provide the answer to that very question. Some of that vision is described elsewhere on this website. Newer aspects of our vision are still in the early stages of development. But rest assured that we recognize the importance of a vision and are committed to following God?s dream for our church!
We will be delighted to have you join us for this incredible journey of faith!
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