Rocky Springs Baptist Church at 12000 Cemetery Road has a history dating back to 1823.

The church, which currently has 148 members, is recognized as the seventh oldest church in the Warren Association of Baptists, and in recognition of its 200th year, a Bicentennial Celebration will be held Sept. 10.

Willa Harston, the oldest active member of the church who also serves on the Bicentennial Celebration Committee, said the church has been an important part of her life for a long time.

“It’s a loving church that loves to worship the Lord,” she said. “Not many things survive 200 years, and I hope that this church is around until the Lord comes back.”

Harston has been an active member since 1958. Some of her roles include Sunday school teacher, Bible school teacher and serving on the puppet ministry.

“I’ve pretty much done it all,” she said.

She said only a partial history of the church remains because sadly, the early records were lost when the first church building was destroyed by a fire.

The current church history was compiled by former church clerk Reba Mae Osborne and Reba Joyce Osborne Burden and was gathered from remaining church records, court records and records from the Kentucky Museum.

Detailed information from the years 1823 to 1860 was lost in the fire, and Harston said that much of the new information from that time period was obtained by word of mouth from some of the members.

It is not known exactly where the first church building was located, but it is said to have been behind the current building in the proximity of the fellowship hall.

After the first church building burned, the new building was constructed in 1858.

Since then, the building has undergone many changes, including new Sunday school rooms and a foyer in 1958 and new pews and a communion table donated by Harry Brunson in memory of his wife in 1961.

The church had its first homecoming service in 1971 and in 1973, members of the church voted for bathrooms to be put in, as well as stained glass windows. In 1974, the church received a new piano and the dedication service for the new fellowship hall was held in 1993.

Led by the current pastor Richard Centers, the church has a Sunday school service at 10 a.m. and church service at 11 a.m. each Sunday.

Harston said that after COVID-19 shut the doors of the church for a few months, membership dropped, but she hopes that by offering a variety of additional activities, such as movie nights and back-to-school events, membership will begin to increase again.

“We always stay active with the youth members since they are our future,” she said.

There have also been Old-Fashion Days, watermelon socials, Fifth Sunday events and a trip to My Old Kentucky Home.

“These events help keep people interested,” Harston said. “And we try to make sure there is food at every event, which people love.”

The Bicentennial Celebration will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 10, with a potluck lunch following the service.