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This website is sponsored by Standing On Stone Ministries Inc. "Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ through evangelism"
Our Carrollton CH Church History
1931-2008
"77 Years of Service to Our Lord"
Carrollton Congregational Holiness Church
Our CH Church as it is today
Click the note to enjoy music from KADESH while you read this article
"Give me that old time religion"
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Rev. Woodruff with his wife Evangline in 1946
The Rev. B. L. Woodruff organized the Carrollton Congregational Holiness Church during 1931 with about 5 members. The story goes that “Brother Woodruff” felt the call of God to move to Carrollton and begin a Holiness movement. He brought with him his wife Evageline Helms Woodruff, and his three daughters, Myrtice (Mrs. Edward Eskew), Vivian (Mrs. Norman McGhee), and Naomi (Mrs. Charles Robison). A fourth daughter, Martha Ann; known as Sue to some; (Mrs. Keith Hearn) was born after his arrival.
Rev. Bobby Lee Woodruff with wife Evangeline
Daughters: Vivian, Myrtice, Sue (Martha Ann), Naomi,
Brother Woodruff worked in a local hosiery mill and began to conduct church services in the old Episcopal Church building that was located at the corner of South White Street and West Avenue. The little church was later moved to the campus of the State University of West Georgia, was renamed the "Kennedy Chapel," and a parking deck was erected on the corner lot where the church once stood.
Kennedy Chapel as it now sits on the campus of State University of West Georgia
Brother Woodruff was introduced to Mrs. Sarah Duke, who was Mr. Dewey Banford's mother-in-law and was supposedly the only other person in Carrollton other than Brother Woodruff who had received the Baptism in the Holy Ghost, and began holding services in an old store building owned by Mrs. Dukes. The old store building, which was located on West Avenue near it's intersection with Bass Street, became known by its members as the “Little Tin Top House.” They soon acquired a tent and put it up at West Avenue and Newnan Road across from Mr. Dewey Banford's store, and began preaching Holiness to anyone brave enough to attend a tent revival. Many souls were saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost during these services.
Brother Woodruff moved the tent to the west side of Carrollton and continued to have the fiery services to garner up support for his new church and even mounted loud speakers to the top of his car and would drive through the streets of Carrollton playing gospel records and announcing the revivals. He also operated the “Publishing House” which was located in downtown Carrollton, and distributed the printed literature to all of the Congregational Holiness Churches.
Rev. Woodruff in front of the tent at Burson Avenue and South Street (Circa 1934)
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Baptizing in a creek in 1932
Rev. BL Woodruff standing 2nd gentleman from the left along with Dewey Banford, Sarah Dukes, Mary Ashmore, Jeff Paschal, Jimmy Paschal, Hubert Hammonds, J B Burns, Clara Mae Phillips, Mary Phillips, Effie Lee Phillips, Miriam Wynn, Letha Terrell, Robert Hill, Eddie D Banford, Dorothy Gable, Teretha Bridwell, Cora Holcomb, Euna Holcomb, Glover Holcomb, Bell Crumbly, Melva Smith
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Pastor Woodruff and some of the our Founding Fathers in 1935
Front Row Left to Right: Hubert Hammond, Dewey Banford, B.L. Woodruff, Grafton Lankford
Back Row Left to Right: Claude Hardegree, Charlie Haney, Grady Cook
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A Bible School class circa 1950 (Our current Pastor Ronald Cook is standing 2nd row on left)
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The congregation in 1954
(Rev. B L Woodruff & Claude Hardegree, who is Oliver Hardegree's dad, are standing on 2nd row from back in the middle)
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Oliver Hardegree & Rev. Bobby Lee Woodruff circa 1959
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One of our first Missionaries Rev. Harold Turner with Brother Phillip who was visiting from India
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The church on South Street, that we now occupy, was built and paid for during the Great Depression Years by Brother Woodruff and his follower’s. Some of the previous pastors of the church are the Reverends Fred Cox, E. L. Gilliland, Sam Roberts, Bill Dodd, Harold Collins, Milton Anderson, Oscar Ward, Robert Pressley, C. N. Sproles, Lewis James, J. D. Sosebee, Billy Willingham, Mark Willingham, Allen Melton, J. H. Monroe and at present Rev. Ronald Cook. According to the Center for Public History, University of West Georgia, the Reverend Bobby Lee Woodruff had the "The Gospel Hour" radio show on WLBB in 1948 in order to access a much larger congregation than he could otherwise hope to minister to. During these early years of Pentecost, in the small rural areas like Carrollton was at that time, some churches only held services once a month, but the radio brought the sounds of the gospel into their home's once a week, every Sunday morning at 8:00am. After Brother Woodruff left his pastorate in Carrollton and moved to Cleveland Georgia to pastor the Cleveland Congregational Holiness Church he began to play recordings of Oral Roberts on the Gospel Hour, and at some point turned the radio show over to Reverend Milton Anderson and Reverend Willie Mae Anderson who carried on the tradition that Brother Woodruff started in about 1946 by preaching the gospel over the airways to a people who would never darken the doors of a church. Reverend Milton Anderson was pastor of the Lowell Congregational Holiness Church at the time. Reverend Milton Anderson became disabled, and in 1970 Reverend Willie Mae Anderson took over the Gospel Hour. Reverend Willie Mae Anderson used the time to preach and have some special singing by the Hardegree family who consisted of Barbara Hardegree (mother) Vance (son age 10), Craig (son age 8), and Sherri (daughter age 5). The radio show continued for five more years before being discontinued to illness in the Anderson family.
Brother Hubert Hammond's (1st on left) Sunday School Class . Others are Martha Ashmore, Myrtice Woodruff, Vivian Woodruff, Charles Roberson and Willie Mae Anderson standing 3rd from right on back row.
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Sister Evangeline Woodruff's (Standing in the back) Sunday School Class. Becky Paschal, Brenda Hubbard, Barbara Wilder, Mary Lou Reeves, Lavonie Hester, Miriam Collins
Photo circa 1952
Curtis League 1st on left, Oliver Hardegree 2nd from left, Bobby Hubbard 3rd from left and
Robert "Charlie" Ward standing in rear. (Face barely visible)
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A copy of the actual page from the Gospel Messenger telling about the Sunday School attendance record on Homecoming Sunday 1954
Homecoming Sunday 1954 (Photo was taken by Birdsong Studio)
The all time Sunday School attendance record was set on homecoming Sunday in 1954 with the Rev. Bill Dodd Pastor, and Brother Oliver Hardegree, the young man on the far left in the above photo, as the Sunday School Superintendent on which day the church’s small Sunday School rooms were packed with 174 worshipers. Today, some 73 years later, we are still on fire for God, filling the pews, and having some notable services with the Holy Ghost “showing up, and showing out.” People are still being saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, set free, delivered, and healed. We are blessed to have about seven licensed and/or ordained ministers in our congregation, a host of musical talent, plus many praying saints, and well studied bible teachers. Our services are very spirited and anointed to the point that some have said, “Those folks over in Carrollton have camp meeting almost every service!” If you’re in the Carrollton area please come by and visit with us at 542 South St.
If you recognize anyone in the above photographs, or know the date the photo was taken, please e-mail the WebMinister and he will put the names and their position in the photo on this web page.
Click here for the WebMinister
Click on the emblem below for the History of our CH Church Publishing House
