Toney's Chapel - (423) 492-1179

Sunday School--- Sunday -9:30 am
Worship Service-- Sunday 11:00 am
Prayer Service and Bible Study Wednesday--6:30 pm

HISTORY OF TONEY’S CHAPEL BAPTIST CHURCH

Toney’s Chapel’s beginning dates back to 1947.
Rev. Lester Yeary and family moved into the
Lowland community to discover there was no
Baptist Church in the area for blacks to worship.
Rev. Yeary inquired among the people of the
community about their interest in establishing a
Baptist Church and found there were several
people who had been members of the then disbanded
Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.

Being inspired by God and guided by the Holy Spirit,
Rev Lester Yeary asked members of the Methodist
Church, Beulah Chapel, for permission to use their
building to organize a Baptist Church. Permission
was granted and the group was welcomed to hold
services on the second Sunday of each month.
The Methodist congregation and the organized
congregation worshipped on alternate Sundays but
visited each other. Doing this helped each group both
spiritually and physically.

November, 1948 our church was established and the
building project started. Men of the community and
surrounding communities worked together to see this
project completed.

A meeting was held to decide on a name for the church.
One of the first deacons, Brother Willie Nelson, made a
motion to name the church for the oldest black citizen,
Mr. James Toney. Rev. Lester Yeary was elected pastor.

We moved into the new building and dedicated it in 1950.
The pulpit, pews, offering table and wall lamps from
Mt. Moriah graced the new building for several years.
The minister’s chair was donated by Rock of Ages Baptist
Church, and Sister Reba Procter donated the other pulpit
chairs.

In the middle fifties a new pulpit was given to the church
by Brother and Sister Joe McKinney. An offering table was
purchased for the church by Sister Lillian Blevins, and
pews were given from the St. Paul church in the community.

In the middle sixties the church was paneled inside and
the roof shingled. Two side rooms were added on the front,
a new pulpit , and new folding chairs for the choir were
purchased, and Brother Earl Yeary and family donated a
new minister’s chair. The other chairs and communion
table were purchased. We built our basement with most
of the work being done by Rev. Yeary and Brother
Clearance Herrell. Very little change took place for
several years.

On October 26, 1980, Rev. Yeary was called home from
his father. Two months later Rev. Harrell Blevins was
elected pastor.

In 1993, the church body decided to put restrooms inside
the church and add the baptismal. Three years later the
decision was made to renovate the church interior by
adding a pastor’s study, building steps from inside the
church to the basement, adding an additional room in the
basement, and installing handrails in front of the church.


Pastors who have served at Toney’s Chapel are:
Rev. Lester Yeary, 1948 – 1980 (deceased)
Rev. Harrell Blevins, 1980 – 2000 (deceased)
Rev. Thomas Phillips, 2000 – 2002
Rev. Scovall Blevins, 2003 – 2006
Rev, John Goah (interim) Nov. 2007 – 2008
Rev. Johnny Jones, 2010 – present

Former Deacons of the Church were:
Brother Harrell Blevins (deceased)
Brother Thomas Blevins (deceased)
Brother Harvey Burnside (deceased)
Brother Paul Davis
Brother Clearance Herrell (deceased)
Brother Alfred Lee (deceased)
Brother Robert Leeper (deceased)
Brother George Lee (deceased)
Brother Joe McKinney (deceased)
Brother Willie Nelson (deceased)
Brother Carson Simpson (deceased)
Brother Earl Yeary (deceased)
Brother Otis Yeary (deceased)

Tags: Baptist Church