To mark the
church’s 25th anniversary a revival was planned for July 1977 with Bro.
Billy Compton of
In October 1977 Bro.
Shelton resigned as pastor to continue his studies at the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
In May 1978 Bro. Greg
Yancey was called as pastor. Bro. Yancey resigned in August of 1978.
In October 1978 Bro.
Doug Martin of
Sunday School had
increased 23%. Bro. Rick Shoemaker conducted the revival in April 1981 with Phil
Quinn as minister of music. The church had two buses to bring people to Bible
study and worship. In August 1981 the church participated in the Associational
Sunday School Revival with Bro. Leon Kilbreath. In October 1981 a Renaissance
Fund was started for the purposes of padding the pews, installing air
conditioning and carpet in the church.
In February 1982 Bro.
Martin resigned as pastor to assume the pastorate at
In April 1982 Bro.
Richard DeBell of
By April 1984 the note
on the parsonage was paid. The church had a note burning on Easter Sunday.
On Sunday June 16th,
1985 Dr. Dale Beighle from the mission field in
In July 1985
Under Bro. DeBell’s leadership the church grew physically and spiritually. The church added 41 people through baptism and 54 by letter transfer. Membership grew to 335 and Sunday School enrollment was 165. During this time due to increased local expenditures, the mission giving beyond the church had decreased. Some church leaders had moved and others had become inactive. Several new members had become church leaders. Bro. DeBell stated “The potential of Piner Baptist has barely been scratched. It is not enough to be content with what we have done. We must look to the future and plan to do more. To do this there will need to be a strong dedication on every member’s part.”
In April of 1993 Bro.
DeBell resigned.
In October of 1993 Bro.
Richard Collins was called to be pastor.
In November of 1999
