Churches.Breckinridge.HISTORY-OtherFrom: KyArchives [Archives@genrecords.org] Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 9:02 PM To: Ky-Footsteps Subject: Churches.Breckinridge.HISTORY-Other Churches Breckinridge County KyArchives History Other Book Title: A Glimpse Of The Past Religion has played a big part in the settling of this county. The early religious meetings were usually held in a home in the community. After the church was organized, a church building was built. It was constructed of logs. The seats were sometimes only split logs and very crude. Some of the churches were used by two or three denominations. A lot of the neighborhoods also used the local school for their place of worship. Religion has influenced the life of every human being since the creation of man, either by his taking an active part in it or living under its influence. In either case, the world is better off as the result, even if we have failed in living by its teachings. People seeking religious freedom, where they would serve God in a manner pleasing to them, settled our nation. The pioneers, entering Kentucky, settled in this new territory to live and exercise these same privileges. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic were the principal religions brought into the state. A minister known as a circuit rider served the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian's. The circuit rider traveled to the churches and held services at a different church each weekend until he returned to his starting point. He then began the circuit all over again. The ministers from all these denominations were devoted Christians and fought sin with all their ability. They were not educated as well as present day preachers, but they were s9incere in what they preached. What they lacked in big words and polished delivery of many of today's commercial preachers, who seem to be more interested in the income from a well pleased audience than in saving the souls of the sinners who need them most, they compensated for with sincerity. They preached long and hard, using simple words, understandable, if not grammatical that made their intentions and aims register with every member of their congregation, and they expected a little compensation in return. The received only free will offerings from the audience for their services, and at best these offerings were small and inadequate to support the preachers and their families. They accepted food, clothing and other gifts from members unable to give cash. It was difficult for these messengers of God to survive on their income. To emphasize their concern over food, clothing and lodging for themselves and families under such dire circumstance is the following story, once heard about a minister who was, no doubt, aware, and a victim of such a predicament. The story: The minister was holding a revival in a local community, in which lived an old man who never went to church. The old man was careless and wicked and snubbed every invitation to go to church and mend his ways before passing out of this world. After death and father time had taken away most of his old cronies, he decided to go to church and see what it had to offer. He sat on the front seat and listened to the sermon with attentive ears, seeming to approve of what he heard. When the service was over and the preacher was at the door, greeting the audience as they left the church, the old man approached and took the preacher by the hand and said, "You preached a damn good sermon today." "Thank you," the preacher replied, "I like compliment, but you shouldn't curse, especially in the house of the Lord." "I don't know about that," the old man said, "but you preached such a damn good sermon, that when the collection was taken, I dropped in a $100 bill." "The hell you did!" replied the minister. The congregation took the preacher's words as an expression of over joy rather than a sacrilegious act. Like the teacher, smithy and doctor, who devoted their life, time and talen to the personal needs of the people in the community in which they lived, the minister administered to their spiritual needs. Individuals and families needing spiritual guidance sought his advice and counsel, and he responded to all request to the best of his ability, and much was accomplished by his doing so. The church was strict in its demand for rightful living. In the early 1900's, more modern buildings, with board siding were replacing the old log churches. The benches were more comfortable and some were store bought. There was no kerosene lights for the nighttime meetings. Brush Arbor meetings were popular meeting places during the warm months in the 1920s and 1930s. The Brush Arbor was a very crude shelter. It was erected by setting poles in four corners. Smaller poles were laid flat across the frame and sassafras bushes were piled on top to create a roof. This roof turned the sun but did little good when it rained. Nightly visits to Brush Arbor meetings became part of the daily living. The meetings were usually very lengthy lasting about two hours. After about half an hour or so, some of the younger children would sneak out and go to the woods for a game of hide and seek or some such game. My grandfather, Rev. James "Jimmy" Grant Goodman, was one of the preachers who held Brush Arbot meetings. Granddaddy would get the crops out in the srping and then start on his "Crusade for Christ". He held meetings in Hardin, Grayson and Breckinridge Counties, Kentucky for many years. He sang, played a banjo and French harp to help provide the music. A good will offering was usually taken up from the audience, but the offerings were slim. Many times there was not enough money to buy a train ticket back home. After the preaching, two or three souls might come forward at the invitational hymn, this was reward enough for the devoted preachers. In later years, tents were used for these meetings and a few are still in use today. Submitted by: Dana Brown http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00005.html#0001067 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/