A country road in Ritchie County leads to a spot that's very dear.
Childhood memories still linger and come back year after year.
Memories of a Baptist Church that still stands so proud and tall,
Calling all who will listen, giving each a final call.
Like a sentinel it watches, North Fork Baptist is its name;
Echoes of a thousand voices fileld with joy and with pain.
Names like Jackson, Null and Layfield; names like Pribble, Hill and Maze,
Middleton and Kerns and Bennett all met there in bygone days.
Meeting there to sing God's praises and to ask Him for His care,
Read aloud the Holy Scriptures and with each His love to share.
Names like Phillips, Smith and Mason have found solace in that place;
Names like Turner, Lewis and Border met there singing of God's grace.
Yes, those walls have heard the laughter of the children of the King,
They have heard the pain and sobbing that a family death can bring.
Just to enter thru those doorways brings an overwhelming peace,
From a world of pain and heartache, find a fountain of release.
And the doors of that dear building still swing open wide each week,
Tho the numbers now are smaller, God still reigns for those who seek.
Many new names have been added since the days when I was there,
Keeping true the family spirit and His love for all to share.
As in years we all grow older and our thoughts turn back in time,
Memories of the love and caring are forever in our mind.
May that church forever stand as a beacon in the night,
Helping each new generation as it treads the path of right.
Calling back the family members of the saints gone on before,
Offering peace and comfort as you enter thru the door.
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