On September 12, 1937, as America lingered in the grip of the Great Depression, a small group of faithful Baptist believers gathered in the home of the Floyd E. Casey family in rural Blanchard, Oklahoma. The group’s prayerful desire was to organize a new local church to serve as a vibrant lighthouse to shine the hope of Christ to the surrounding community. That night Mr. and Mrs. Casey, first church clerk George Daily and first moderator Charley E. Smith joined with twenty-two other souls to form the charter membership of a new congregation, which they excitedly named the Blanchard Missionary Baptist Church. By evening’s end, a new spiritual family had been born that would touch lives in Blanchard well into next century and beyond.
The first home for the little congregation was a 28 x 30 foot building situated on the land of Mr. Will McDonald, near what is today the intersection of Oklahoma State Highways 62 and 9, just northeast of Blanchard. Worshippers sat on rough wooden-slat pews with their feet on a floor of Oklahoma red dirt. An old pot-bellied stove warmed the little sanctuary through the winter months. It was in these rustic settings that Mrs. Tula Dailey, inspired by the beautiful rolling hills surrounding the site, suggested that the church be renamed Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. To all in attendance, the name seemed a perfect fit.
Mr. Raymond Whitford and Mr. J.A. Worthington were Pleasant Hill’s first candidates for baptism in November of 1937, and the church building itself was officially dedicated in December of that same year. New pastor Charley E. Smith brought the inaugural message, which was followed by “dinner-on-the-grounds” with a sumptuous spread of Oklahoma home cooking and time for sharing and laughter. It seems that, from the very beginning, the members of Pleasant Hill understood that God’s church was much more about relationships than about facilities.
Even so, in 1942 the Pleasant Hill family deemed a move into town a wise step toward further growth. The church borrowed the staggering sum of one hundred and twenty five dollars to help cover the cost of moving the building to 205 S. Main Street.
The Main Street facilities went through a great deal of renovation throughout the next decades, much of it under the leadership of Dr. Elzie Periman. Dr. Periman, a beloved and respected community leader who served twice as pastor of PHBC 1942-1952, 1956 until his death in 1974) led the church family to begin construction on the auditorium which still stands on that site. An educational wing was added in 1963, and a family life center with full size gym, large kitchen and classrooms was the final addition in 1981. Each addition was designed to make Pleasant Hill a more welcoming and accessible place for people of all ages, and the passing years saw the congregation’s hard work rewarded. The Main Street site became a Blanchard landmark, greatly loved and revered as home to multiple generations of the PHBC family for sixty-three years.
The late 1990’s, however, brought a great deal of change to Blanchard. The “rural” label began to fade as housing addition after housing addition began to appear in response to McClain County becoming one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Ever faithful and creative, God provided PHBC an opportunity to meet the town’s new growth head on and also revive a bit of church history at the same time. In 2003, 8.5 acres along state highway 62, the thriving community’s main artery, was made available for purchase. Fittingly enough, the new land is less than quarter mile from the original 1937 site, once more located on a picturesque hilltop. Led by God through the vision of current pastor and Blanchard native David R. Pickard, Pleasant Hill was on the move once more.
Work was completed on phase I of Pleasant Hill’s new development on Highway 62 in fall of 2005. In September the church family moved into the much larger auditorium (capable of seating 350+ worshippers). Classroom space and a fully equipped kitchen/fellowship hall for smaller gatherings and meals were also key features of the new facility. Phase II is currently in the planning stages and will include already much needed additional education space. Long term plans for the site include the construction of an even larger auditorium and conversion of the existing worship space into a gym and classroom facilities.
The Pleasant Hill family is ever thankful to our Heavenly Father for the many blessings that He has provided through the years, and for those that He continues to pour out daily. As we offer our lives back to Him in return, it is our fervent desire to reach every heart we can with the love of Jesus Christ, the risen and living Savior. As we have been blessed by God, so we seek to share our blessings with others.
Pastors of Pleasant Hill Baptist
- Charley E. Smith 1937-1939
- Leo E. Pate 1939-1940
- Noah N. Ivans 1940-1941
- Elzie Periman 1942-1952
- B.F. McCullough 1952-1954
- James Flippo 1954-1956
- Elzie Periman 1956-1974
- Dennis Ramsey 1974-1975
- Wayne Cullen 1975-1990
- Alvin Southerland 1990-1994
- James Mills 1995-1996
- David R. Pickard 1997-present
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