HISTORY OF SILVER RUN:
Silver Run Baptist Church started with a few Faithful Saints and had our first Worship Service on September 5, 1973, with 19 Saints present in a local home. The first Worship Service, on the present site, took place on September 23rd, 1973 on the Grounds. God provided the land for the Church through a gift from Ralph Matthews and Joe Flowers. God placed Silver Run on the busy U.S. Highway 431 South. Over the years the Seale Community grew in the direction of the church with two new schools being built less than a mile from the church and later with the Russell County Athletic complex being built adjacent to Silver Run.
After God provided the land, He provided a building! The Church purchased 3 sections from a construction company. Our first indoor Worship Service on site was held here without electricity, without chairs, and for the necessaries, we used an old outhouse.
Baptisms were held at Watermelons Creek, below Seale. We also used the Baptism pools at various local churches as people made decisions for the Lord. When it came to building at Silver Run, by God’s Grace, many people gave of their time, treasure, and talents to make them possible.
Roosevelt Oakes
Another key in the history of Silver Run Baptist is the ministry of Brother Roosevelt Oakes. Under God’s Hand, Pastor Roosevelt Oakes led Silver Run for over 21 years. He and his family were very active in the community and with their singing group, The Oakes Family. With God’s Provisions and under Pastor Oakes leadership the church continued to reach out to the community in many ways. The church grew deeper in many ways.
1983
In 1983, God allowed Silver Run to expand again. The Church added a building that houses the current Sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, Offices, and some Classrooms. The Higher Ground area, up the ramp is the original building. It now houses our Nursery, and many classrooms. Our newly remodeled Nursery is located in the area that once held Kitchen and Fellowship Hall.
1999
In 1999 the present Sanctuary and Sound Room was remodeled to accommodate us for the growth here at Silver Run. Much work has gone into updating the equipment and buildings over the years.
After faithfully serving Jesus at Silver Run for over 21 years, Pastor Oakes decided to step down as pastor. He is still active in ministry as an associate pastor at another church. He has preached at our Homecoming Services and visits Silver Run when he has the time.
Pastor Cooper served as our interim pastor. He was a lively man full of God’s Word and full of life. Pastor Cooper is now in Heaven.
Kip McKee
In March of 2001, God sent Pastor Kip McKee and his family to Silver Run to be our next pastor. Pastor Kip and his family served at Silver Run for over 12 years. When Pastor Kip arrived he was the only paid staff member. Pastor McKee served as our very busy pastor. He faithfully cared for the church body and worked with the members to meet the Spiritual needs of a growing church.
During Pastor McKee’s tenure, with God leading the way, Silver Run added, for the first time, three paid staff members and another building to accommodate the growing church. The staff members added since March 2001, include our Youth Pastor, our Worship Leader, and our Children’s Coordinator. Silver Run hopes to add more staff, as God provides, so we can better accomplish Jesus’ Great Commission including reaching those without Jesus, bringing others into a deeper relationship with God thru Disciple Making, and Caring for our members and their families. Our overriding goal is to bring as many souls as possible into a closer relationship with Jesus as their LORD & SAVIOR.
2007
On April 25, 2007 Silver Run was blessed with our very first web site. We realized that to reach more people, we needed to expand our local and worldwide outreach efforts for God’s glory. Our goals are to reach the lost and show them the way to Jesus Christ. A former member, Tammy Huffstutler worked very hard to get this website up and running well.
2010
Another major change took place late in 2010 when U.S. 431 was relocated and expanded to a four lane highway. The new U.S. 431 took the majority of the traffic flow away from Silver Run and the church became much less visible to the average person driving down our way. However, God had a PLAN for that!
God once again provided the land for Silver Run to have a church on the busy U.S. Highway 431. By God’s Provisions, the church was able to pay cash to purchase 12.9 acres of land on the newly expanded U.S. 431 South. The church plans to move to the new property as God Leads and as He Provides.
When the church relocates to HWY 431, Silver Run will once again be in a highly visible area of the community and keep us in line with God’s Vision for the church.
2012
In 2012, Pastor McKee completed his Doctorate Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He focused his doctorate paper on Disciple Making. Disciple Making is the KEY to growing the church as Jesus taught us in Matthew 28:18-20.
The church plans to continue to reach as many souls as possible for Jesus in the coming years, telling folks how they can be right with God, (Salvation), and teaching them, (Disciple Making), how to be effective, productive, satisfied Christians.
After faithfully serving Jesus, His People, and the Community as a whole, for over 12 years, God led Pastor Kip to step down as our pastor. He and his family are still active in ministry. Pastor Kip continues to preach, teach, and lead in serving others in ministry. He is also a professor, teaching other committed believers more about God and His Precious Word.
2014
Richie Ashburn
In June of 2014, Brother Richie Ashburn accepted God’s Call to be the next pastor at Silver Run Baptist Church. Brother Richie, his wife, and children are former members of Silver Run. His background as a teacher, principal, youth pastor, associate pastor, and pastor have equipped him well to lead us into the future. Pastor Richie is passionate about serving God and helping people.
By God’s Grace and His Provisions, History, (which means HIS STORY), has been made at Silver Run since 1973. God’s has poured His Blessings out on many at Silver Run and in turn many of these Faithful Saints have been a blessing to others for God’s Glory.
Many Saints have gone on to be with the Lord and that is the Ultimate Homecoming we all look forward to. The Church thrives today because of God’s Blessings, His Mercy, and His Provisions. God still listens to our prayer. Saints have always prayed for things to happen at Silver Run Baptist Church, and we have had results shown to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thousands of prayers have been lifted in this church body, and thousands of prayers have been answered! Praise God! You don’t have to go very far to see the handy work of God. We are proud of what God has done. And the Best is Yet to come, God is moving here in a MIGHTY WAY! To God Be The Glory, Great Things He Hath Done and Great Things He is Doing!
We Praise God for Blessing His Church!
