George Washington was in the last year of his second term as president of the United States. The republic was very young and the Revolutionary War was less than 20 years in the past.

Baptists were few and far between on the Eastern Seaboard. The first Baptist church in America was founded by Roger Williams in 1638 at Providence, R.I. From that beginning, Baptists spread southward with the first Baptist church in the South established about 1696 in Charleston, S.C.

The Charleston church was a congregation relocated from Kittery, Maine, under the leadership of William Screven.

Approximately a century later in 1797, a small band of Baptists, led by Elder William Hawthorne and Elder William Bryan, established the church known today as Lennon's Cross Roads Baptist Church in Bladen County. According to the earliest known records, the congregation was formed under the name of the Church at the Big Swamp and its building served as the Sand Hill Meeting House until it burned in 1822.

According to some sources, it is believed the first Sunday School in North Carolina was started about 1800 in this building. After the fire in 1822, the congregation decided to move their location to a site at the junction of the old Lumberton-Whiteville and Fair Bluff-Elizabethtown roads. The change in location was prompted by the growth in the area and by a shift in the population center shifting to about two miles west.

The new site prompted a new name ã The Baptist Church of Christ at the Cross Roads.

The Cross Roads church has never had a large membership because, as the area developed, new churches were formed for the convenience of the members who often traveled great distances by horse and buggy on primitive, inadequate roads to attend Saturday business conferences and return on Sunday for Bible study and worship services.

The records are not clear about how many new churches were formed from Cross Roads, but there are more than 10, including First Church, Whiteville.

When Cross Roads was only 20 years old, it started Antioch Church in Robeson County and in 1834, the Hickory Grove Church in Bladen County.

In the earlier years, slaves were members of the church and listed in the records by their first names, followed by the name of their owners.

After the Civil War, the records were changed to include the given name of the former slave, followed by the term "freed man." This soon became only "Freedman."

Piney Grove Church in Columbus County was organized in 1875 by former slavesã eight members of the Cross Roads Church ã who wanted their own black church. Land for the new church was given by Marion Lennon and his wife, Sara.

During the next 30 years, additional churches were organized with members and/or the sponsorship of the Lennon's Cross Roads Baptist Church (LCRBC).

The third building for the LCRBC was constructed in 1853 at a cost of $244.15. It was a wooden, rectangular building with only one room. The building served the congregation for more than 70 years without any modification.

In 1926, six classrooms were added to the rear of the 1853 building, and in 1944, the interior of the facility was renovated.

In 1958, the congregation moved to its present location at the Bladen-Columbus County line on N.C. Highway 242 where an educational building with a temporary sanctuary was constructed.

The present colonial-style sanctuary ã featuring red brick, white columns and a steeple ã was added in 1965 and in 1979 the multi-purpose fellowship annex was completed.

Using the theme "Celebrating the Past, Reaching for the Future," throughout 1997, the congregation focused on "Two Hundred Years in God's Service."

Several activities and events were used to celebrate the Bicentennial with the 200th anniversary service held Oct. 26 featuring A. Max Lennon, president of Mars Hill College, as the principle speaker. Lennon is a product of the area. His father, Hartford, still lives near the church. The senior Lennon's birthday was celebrated in conjunction with the church's 200th anniversary, and nearly 70 members of the Lennon family attended the services on Oct. 26.

Bennie E. Pledger, pastor of the church, presided at the celebration services. Hartford Lennon presented his son, Max. Charles Storey, retired director of the church music department for the Baptist State Convention (BSC), served as guest minister of music for the service and sang a solo.

Rick Astle, director of missions for the Columbus Association, and Tom Womble, associate executive director for the BSC, brought greetings on behalf of the respective Baptist entities.

Music was used throughout the service, including congregational hymns such as "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name." The choir sang the anthem, "At the Cross Roads."

Before Lennon spoke, the congregation sang "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," and after his message, the hymn of invitation was "Just As I Am."

During the anniversary meal served in the activity building, there were reflections about the past and the church's contribution to so many lives. The historical room was open to visitors.

Biblical Recorder Editor R.G. Puckett closed the Bicentennial Celebration on Nov. 2 with a message on the future of the church. The committee wanted to conclude the celebration with a focus on the future after paying tribute to the congregation's heritage of two centuries.

Hiram Callihan served as chair of the history committee, and Alma Kelly served as chair of the anniversary committee.

The congregation produced a pictorial director for the 200th year, and a marker was installed near the parking lot which describes the history of the church.