Mt. Nebo Baptist Church - Pilot Grove, MO - Photos Then and Now on Waymarking.com

County of church: Cooper County
location of church: MO Hwy E & Mt. Nebo Church Lane, about ½ mile E. of MO-135, and 1 mile S. of Pilot Grove
Built: 1857
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Photo Old: 1937
Photo New: 2019

History:
"Mt. Nebo was organized on June 3, 1820, a year before Missouri. became a state, when approximately 63 people met in a log school house a mile north of Bunceton, Cooper County, Missouri, to draw up articles of faith and organize formally as a congregation. The name Mt. Nebo was adopted Because it w,35 the name of the mountain upon which Moses stood in his old age to look across at the "Promised Land" realizing that h.is descendants would .inherit a land of milk and honey even though it was denied to h.im. The congregation felt like wanderers searching and they considered the Boons lick their promised land and hence, they whose the name as the highest point to which they could aspire, both morally and Literally. Although the list of charter members .is lost, early records tell of the many women who immediately joined the congregation.

"The first minister of Mt. Nebo was Reverend Luke Williams, the first ordained Baptist minister in the Boonslick. Williams preached without any fee, collecting only what the congregation could give him in goods as there was little money in the region. On the side, he and his wife farmed to survive and to allow him to continue in the ministry. In 1876, Margaret Stephens recalled a church meeting she had attended before statehood at which Luke Williams was the minister. Although she does not specifically say that it was Mt. Nebo, she does state that it was in the Bunceton region and it certainly reflects the character of frontier society as reflected in their church. Luke Williams was dressed in a complete set of buckskin and many of the worshippers were likewise attired. Stephens was new to the area having just moved there from North Carolina and the appearance of the congregation so upset her that she cried the entire service. Also, at that service, grease from bear meat stored in the loft of the house where they were worshipping[sic] dripped down and spoiled her shawl which she had brought west with her and which could not be replaced in the wilderness at that time. The primitive conditions of worshipping [sic] in a home made church building a high priority item with the early settlers plus the idea of a church showed the progress of the area. The congregation built a log structure for their church as soon as possible. Since no money was available each member contributed either work or material; everything was donated.

"In the fall of 1820, Mt. Nebo joined the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Association when that organization met in Cooper County. The first clerk of Mt. Nebo, Jordan O' Bryan, wrote a circular letter setting forth scriptural arguments for the support of gospel ministry which became popular. Later, O'Bryan served in the Missouri Legislature. By 1823, so many people had flooded into the Boonslick doubling and tripling the population that the Mt. Pleasant Association divided into three areas and Mt. Nebo was logically assigned to the Concord Association which encompassed all the churches south of the Missouri River.

"During this ante-bellum period, the church grew and members Lived in parts of present day Cooper, Saline, Pettis, and Moniteau Counties. Not wishing to neglect anyone, New Mt. Nebo established arms of the church in 4 different areas. Again, this congregation helped in the settlement of other Missouri areas by assisting with money and ministers." ~ NRHP Nomination Form