Morris Hill Baptist Church was organized in 1909 in the Morris Hill Schoolhouse, which was located on the
current cemetery property next to the church. It was the 57th church
admitted to the Ocoee Association of the Southern Baptist convention. The
Morris Hill School was moved to East Brainerd Road where Westview Elementary
School is located. This section of Hamilton county was then known as
"Lizard Hope." Services were conducted in the building until
1914 when a permanent building was erected at the present location. Mr.
Joseph Morris donated two acres of land for the church and cemetery, as
well as the lumber for the building. The Stivers Lumber Company dressed the
lumber free of charge and Mr. A.E. Ryall did the carpentry work for $2 per day,
giving $2 per day back to the church. All other work was donated. The building was dedicated on
August 31, 1916.
In 1936, the building was
raised and a basement added which provided seven class rooms. In 1940, an
addition was completed at the rear of the building, providing five
classrooms and 100 additional seats in the sanctuary. An electrically
heated baptistry was built and installed at this time by Mr. Reed Rogers who
donated his labor. In 1944 the 2-1/2-acre lot south of the church was
purchased. In May of 1947 an Army barracks was moved from Ft. Oglethorpe,
Georgia, and relocated next to the church. It was used for the Men's
Bible Class and fellowship hall, and later was moved behind the church to
make room for a pastor's home.
On March 26, 1948, a tornado nearly destroyed the sanctuary. In April, a brush arbor was built for our
services. All services during the spring, summer, and fall were held in
the brush arbor including Revival and Vacation Bible School. On September
10, 1948, ground was broken for a new sanctuary that was 44 feet by 60 feet with a
vestibule measuring 12 feet by 22 feet. The basement was also enlarged.
Due to cold weather, December services were held in an unfinished sanctuary.
In 1951, a house behind our property was purchased and used for classrooms. In 1968, eight acres next door
to the church were purchased. The Army barracks were torn down and
replaced by an education building. This building was later named in honor
of Rev. R.T. Roberts, who served four years as Pastor. The building
contains several classrooms, a hall, a kitchen and a library. Due to the
growth of the church, construction of a new sanctuary with a seating capacity of
850 was begun in August of 1975. The first service was held on Mother's
Day, May 9, 1976.
Also included in the building is the Pastor's office, the Minister of Education's
office, the choir assembly room, the bride's
room, the tape ministry room, and several storage areas. The old sanctuary
was converted into a fellowship hall and kitchen and is called Catlett Hall in
honor of Rev. James Catlett who served as Pastor for 22 years.
In 1993, a second floor was added to Roberts Hall, which provided classrooms for children and youth.
The new Millennium brought additional changes to our facilities. The first phase of a major construction and
remodeling project was completed that added a fellowship hall, offices, and
classrooms.
Catlett Hall, the former sanctuary, was torn down in preparation for additional education space to
be built in the near future with approximately 15 acres of land and three
additional buildings on the property, Morris Hill Baptist is ready to face a new
century of growth of the Kingdom of God.
November of 2003, Phase I of a new building initiative was completed that moved the offices to a new
location on the second floor and a new choir suite and class rooms were added to
the first floor. Phase II began in November 2003 and is scheduled to be
completed in the winter of 2004-2005. This will add education
space, youth facilities and a family life center.
Fall of 2004, a new parking lot was built behind the church facility and pastor residence to
accommodate the need for parking space.
The final phase of the building initiative will remodel the foyer and entrance area to the center of
the building. This will greatly increase the size of the foyer and connect
the buildings together.
We give our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all the glory!
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