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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 in faith!
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