Cave Spring Baptist Church Celebrates 150 Years of Ministry

In an age where a business or organization may be open one day and out of business the next, the issue of resilience is key.

On September 7, Cave Spring Baptist celebrated the remarkable milestone of 150 years of ministry and service to the community.

The Roanoke Star reached out to Hunter Bolton, the church’s communications director, with the exchanges presented in Q&A format below.

RS: Any organization being able to last 150 years shows incredible durability and resilience, especially for a church since many congregations are aging and many churches are closing their doors. What do you attribute CSBC’s longevity to?

CSBC: God has shown His grace to us by allowing our church to remain together, even through difficult seasons and disagreements. Like a large extended family, we may not always agree on how everything should be done, but we continue to stand united—where other organizations might divide, we remain committed to one another. Our unity comes from a goal far greater than ourselves, giving us resilience when facing challenges. The global Church, thousands of years old, has also been shaped by unifying confessions and creeds—I think of the Nicene Creed, which just marked its 1700th anniversary a few days ago. The Scriptures, these historic creeds that long predate our congregation, and our mission to see others come to know God are what bind us together and move us to seek the good of our neighbors.

RS: What do you see as some of the biggest needs in your community, and what are some specific steps/programs/acts is your church taking to meet those needs?

CSBC: We recognize the deep divisions that exist in our community and in the world at large. Our hope is to cultivate a church culture that reflects both multiple generations and multiple ethnicities. We are praying to become a people who truly represent all ages and backgrounds, united as one family in Christ. At the same time, we seek to share the good news of Jesus with those around us—whether through our Sunday gatherings or the events we host on our campus. Recently we just started opening our Family Life Center to the public for anyone who wishes to use our Gym, Weight Room, or indoor track (M-F 1pm-7pm) as well as starting to offer community classes the last Thursday of the month (some of these include, Tax & Social Security Help, Technology Classes, Self-Defense Classes, and fun classes like Shag Dancing or a Board Games Night!)

RS: Please tell us more about the actual celebration, what your service included, the lunch, special music, etc.

CSBC: Our 150th celebration started with an opening of a time capsule the church put in the cornerstone back in 1988. We opened the time capsule to find several church documents; a Bible with an inscription from the church’s pastor, Gordon Grimes, in 1988; a directory; a recording of an album the church had made; as well as some other paper items. After the time capsule opening, we had a combined worship service in which we reflected on the history of the church—what God had done—and looked ahead to what God could do in the next 150 years. Then following this service we spent the afternoon together with a large church picnic where we spent time in fellowship and recorded a video to put into the time capsule for the church to view in 2075 at their bicentennial celebration. Some other activities to note are: we had an exhibit (like a museum of sorts) that went through the past 150 years through pictures and artifacts—we had one picture from 1903 as well as a journal from the Women’s Mission Union (WMU) that was dated as early at 1873 (2 years earlier than the church). We also had a pictorial history book that we gave away as a gift to anyone who wanted one.

RS: If someone has never entered the doors of CSBC, or any church for that matter, has CSBC done anything to improve the community and even that person’s life?

CSBC: We hope to make a lasting impact on our community by serving in a variety of ways. Through Serve Roanoke—where we partner with around fifteen local organizations such as elementary schools, Healing Strides, the Roanoke Rescue Mission, other churches, Friendship House, and Masterpiece Alliance—we come alongside others to help in any way we can. We also serve through our Fall Festival, which blesses families in our neighborhood; our benevolent fund, which assists those who come to us with financial needs; and by hosting Blue Ridge Christian Counseling in our building. In addition, ministries like Upward Sports, Kids Camps, Youth Activities, and Community Classes give us ongoing opportunities to strengthen and serve those around us.

RS: On this important anniversary, what message do you have for Cave Spring and the Roanoke Valley at large?

CSBC: We hope that we can love our community well and serve those around us no matter what background they are coming from. We hope to be loving in all we do and that through that we could demonstrate a Christ-likeness that would bring light to a world that has so many dark things happening every day. We hope we get another 150 years to serve our community in any way we can!

RS: Please tell us more about Mrs. Virginia Webber, how and why she was honored during the service?

CSBC: Virginia Webber is our longest-standing church member. She has been a part of our church since 1941, when she was put on the Cradle Roll in our second location of worship. During the service we wanted to honor those who had been with the church the longest and who had remained faithful to such a long time. For Virginia, that came to 84 years, 1,004 months, 4,367 weeks, or 30,566 days of being a member here at Cave Spring Baptist Church.

(For context: 1941 is the year Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the US entered WWII.)