In the spring of 1873, seven people assembled for worship to organize St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church. The location was on a site known as Possum Hollow, one-fourth mile north of what’s presently known as the church’s chapel, and was held under a brush arbor. The small congregation moved to our present site and built a small log cabin that measured 14’ X 16’ in diameter. Rev. Reese Finnall was elected as our first pastor shortly after.

Noted Leadership

Our list of pastoral leadership has included some of the most bold and progressive-thinking individuals since our conception. Pastor J.C. Boyd converted the original 14’ X 16’ log cabin into a modern 18’ x 36’ frame building. Membership continued to grow under his leadership and a new 30’ x 54’ frame structure was built to accommodate. The first cornerstone was laid in recognition of the day on the third Sunday in August 1898, with J.T. Abernathy, Richard Irby, J.H. Robinson, and G.W. Irby listed as church deacons. Boyd served as pastor for fifty-one years with two noted expansions in membership and building structure under his legacy. He passed away in 1946, but his dedication and service will always be a contributing component to the
church’s progression.

Boyd’s successor was Dr. C.D. Pettaway. Elected in 1947, he was an influential religious leader who served as president of the National Baptist Convention of America from 1957 to 1967. Under Dr. Pettaway’s leadership, our church physically grew again because of a need for a baptistry
on the premises. As preparation was underway, it was discovered that the foundation of the existing church would not support the feature, so in 1950, we decided to build a new building altogether.

A building campaign was launched, and enough funds were raised for the groundbreaking of our new sanctuary on March 6, 1965. The location of the finished product is presently known as the Chapel and has an architectural design that is one of only five of its kind in the world. Dr.
Pettaway passed away on August 20, 1968, after serving as pastor for 22 years. His legacy has made an imprint across central Arkansas and abroad.

Rev. William J. Ross envisioned enlarging the church’s choir loft and adding an educational wing. These visions were brought to fruition under the leadership of Rev. Arnette Dotson, and today, the church’s education annex is named in Rev. Ross’s honor.

Today's Leadership

Rev. Eric L. Alexander currently serves as our pastor, accepting his role on March 26, 1997, at just 22 years old. Membership grew rapidly under his leadership and soon, physical expansion was needed once again. We purchased 18 acres of land and by March 2000, we were breaking ground on a new 20,000 square-foot worship center. Our first service in what’s now known as Crosspoint was held on Sunday, September 30, 2001.

We continued to experience rapid growth in ministry, staff, and membership, so we prepared for an additional expansion. Thirty-four acres of land was purchased in 2006. On Sunday, April 1, 2007, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for a 40,000 square-foot worship facility. We held our first service in our current edifice on Saturday, November 22, 2008.

Today, we continue to be a light in the same community where we were founded more than 150 years ago. Our congregation is multi-generational, with ages from infancy through the late 80s. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless our ministry as we continue to go and make disciples. Matthew 28:19

Former Pastors