Mother Easter Baptist Church has had several homes over its 125-year history. The congregation has worshiped on the corner of West Central Avenue and West Boulevard since 1985.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — One centennial and 25 years later, Mother Easter Baptist Church still stands, and the congregation of its community celebrated it with faces new and old.

Starting and finishing on Sunday, July 21, Mother Easter invited two guest speakers: Its former pastor of 47 years, the Rev. E.H. Hopkins, and the Rev. Marcus Stroud, alongside the choir and congregation of First African Baptist Church of Sylvester, Ga.

The two spoke at the 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. services, respectively.

Both pastors professed messages of faith, love and community to the overflowing congregation residing at 1400 W. Central Ave. It was awesome, at least that’s what Deaconess Patricia Scott thought as she looked around at how far the church had come.

She’d walked into Mother Easter in 1985 in search of someone to minister to herself, her child and her then-husband, but found a home instead. In 1987, she became a member, faithful to this day.

“It’s a blessing to see it grow,” she said. “I’ve seen all my kids grow up here. My second child [even] started walking here in the church.”

Suffice it to say, a chunk of her life was spent inside the church and she’s not the only one. Mother Easter holds four 90-plus-year-old members within its congregation, but that’s due to its long history.

The church started off in 1894 in Mother Easter’s (its namesake) house before moving into its first site, a 1,875 foot lot located in northeast Moultrie near the Tifton-Thomasville, Georgia Railroad Company.

It was founded by the Rev. James O. Kelley — the first pastor — along with Alex Deberry, C.W. Hall, Sim Baker, Will Peterson and R.W. Ramsey. The building would stand for only nine years before being razed by fire in 1903.

Later that year, the church was rebuilt on Third Street and service resumed. Two years later, another fire would destroy it. However, though the church’s physical body was gone, its spirit lived on.

According to Deacon Robert Moore, it was because God was with them.

“They were determined, and it had to be with God in it because they built another church,” Moore said. “God makes a way for when you are practicing what the church is supposed to stand for.”

By 1906, the church found a home again via property on Second Avenue and Fourth Street Northwest, where the historic church now stands. Its current location was occupied in 1985 and acquired two add-ons since: One in 1998, the Emory Harrison Hopkins Fellowship Hall, and another in 2006, a multipurpose building.

Mother Easter has had a total of 11 pastors. Hopkins, the tenth, was its first permanent pastor; he began in 1962. The current pastor, the Rev. Freddie L. Castle, answered the call in July of 2009, one month after Hopkins’ retirement.

Though pastor permanence was low throughout the church’s history, Board of Trustees member Cynthia Dawson can say she’s only had two pastors in her life, Hopkins and Castle, and she’s been a member for 57 years.

Dawson grew up within the church and brought her children up within its halls. She could say that the church is ingrained within her life.

“In small towns you have a church in every corner, just about,” she said. “[But] I can’t imagine life without this church because it’s a vital part of my life.”

But even with its 125-year history, Mother Easter had to hit a period of death and rebirth, referencing the story behind Easter itself, when Hopkins left and Castle came in.

Of course, with all churches, people come and go, but with Castle’s inception came lower numbers in the congregation that it had before then, according to Deacon James Winn.

Castle’s daughter, Lydia Castle, said it’s been a wild ride since she came in ’09. From leadership changes to taking a hiatus from the church, she’s seen the church under dire straits.

“This church has been through a lot and it’s had a lot of things to come back from,” Castle said. “To be where we are now is pretty impressive to me. I’m very thankful to God it has stood strong.”

So strong the church is finding more than just growth in numbers but in community. Winn can attest to this as he considers himself an oddball among the congregation. In his words, he’s “80 years young” and when he hears “Jesus,” a quick “hallelujah” resounds from his mouth.

“I’m a wild man and [the church] accepted me,” Winn said. “I probably couldn’t operate in a bunch of congregations because I’m wild. From my point of view, growth is acceptance of people like me.”

For Mother Easter, growth has been acceptance in general — acceptance of change, acceptance of differences and acceptance of its community. The 125th anniversary was a culmination of this.

“When you’re doing the will of God, God provides an increase. And if you’re doing a good job of that, it shows,” Moore said. “You can measure [it] here.”

Mother Easter Baptist Church’s next event is a Back to School clothes drive on Aug. 1. To contact the church, visit mothereasterchurch.org, call 229-985-5556 or email them at mebc@mothereasterchurch.org.