The faithful members of Providence class wanted a meeting house, so they began to pray and ask God to open the way. Their religious fervor soon got hold of the bar keeper who was converted while attending a revival in Randleman. Following his conversion, he closed the bar room. The members of Providence class immediately asked and received permission to hold services in this small 12 ft. x 16 ft. building.

In a few Sundays, this building would not hold all the people wanting to attend services, so the members and friends began contributing toward a new church building. Among those faithful men contributing $125.00 each were Allen Jay, David Petty, Clinton Petty, and Moses Hammond.

In 1874, Mr. L. F. Davis of Shady Grove Church attended the Indiana Conference as a lay delegate from the N.C. Mission where he made impressive pleas for the needs of North Carolina and as a result of this, David Crockett Linville was sent in 1875 to supply this need. Linville was invited by the Providence class to come and hold a revival in the community. Since there was yet no church building, they erected a brush arbor which was 80 ft. long and 30 ft. wide. Rev. Linville was aided in this revival by Rev. R. H. Pegg and Rev. Thomas F. Sechrest, and by the end of the week, seventy people had professed faith in Christ.

Interest in a church building heightened as a result of this successful revival, and the Providence class once again saw God working in their behalf. They had desired to purchase the property where the brush arbor was erected, but it belonged to a Quakeress named Hayworth, and it was feared that she would not sell it to the Wesleyans. As God would have it, their prayers were answered when she had two sons and a daughter saved in the Linville revival. She was so touched by the conversion of her three children, that she gladly sold this property, and work on a church building was begun. Mr. J.L. Hayworth supervised the construction and was able to get it enclosed, but funds ran out. Mr. J.B. Leonard immediately began to canvas the community and a few days later, enough money was on hand to finish the work.

Providence Church of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America was officially organized in July, 1878, by Rev. Emsley Brookshire. Rev. G. J. Hardy, an elder from the New York Conference, dedicated the Church in July, 1879. It is reported that when he arrived, the crowd was so large, he spoke from the steps of the building so all could hear; including those who had gathered three and four deep by the windows on the outside of the church. Rev. Levi White was the first evangelist at Providence after its organization and Rev. David Crockett Linville was the first pastor.

Rev. D.C. Linville was a former union soldier who had followed Sherman on his march through the south to the sea. He is described by historians as a man of unusual mental and physical ability and although not highly educated, was an able pulpiteer. He was soon recognized for his talents in the field of administration and organization, and it was largely through his vision and planning that the North Carolina conference was organized.

On July 4, 1879, a meeting was held at Shady Grove Church in Colfax for the purpose of organizing the North Carolina Mission into an Annual Conference. Mr. Lindley Hayworth represented Providence Church at the historic meeting where Providence's first pastor, Rev. David Crockett Linville, was elected President of the first North Carolina Conference. The next session of the North Carolina Conference was held at Providence Church in 1880.

In 1881, the conference recognized a need for developing an educational program to meet the growing demands of the denomination. A committee was appointed and plans were made to begin work on January 1, 1882, at a site adjacent to Providence Church. Unfavorable conditions in the conference prevented action on these plans and in the third session of conference another educational committee composed of William Fulp, William Thompson, and M. L. Cude was elected, and it was urged that they take immediate action. An institute for training ministers was organized at Providence Church and named Providence Wesleyan Methodist College. Rev. G. M. Hardy was elected professor of theology, and a class of five students was formed to study under him for one term. They graduated and were ordained elders on December 23, 1882. This one and only class of graduates from Providence Wesleyan Methodist College included W. H. Roach, N. M. Cooper, H. C. Presnell, J. P. York and R. H. Pegg.

For years, Providence Church prospered and grew and held an important position in the conference. The church was on a circuit and had services on the 2nd and 4th Sunday afternoons. Their Sunday School, or Sabbath School as it was called then, met every Sunday afternoon. The first written record of Providence Sabbath School was on April 22, 1894. Sixty-one people were present including five visitors and four teachers. The meeting was opened with singing, praying and a reading from Genesis 41:38-48. The lesson was about Joseph in Egypt. The collection for this Sunday was 19¢. The record states that a few remarks were made by Rufus King at the close of this session. An interesting story is told about Mr. Rufus King. When he rode his horse and buggy to church, he would always bring a brick and place it on top of the wood stove. When services were over, Mr. King would place this brick in the foot of his buggy to keep his feet warm on the way home.

A quarterly conference report of the final quarter (1894) noted an expense of $1.07 for the Sabbath School -- $1.00 for 10 consolidated Hymnals, and 7¢ for ½ gallon of lamp oil and 1 box of matches. Attendance from those early records until the last record available on June 8, 1902 ranged from 23 to 75 people, with an average of 50 people each Sunday. Sabbath School Collections ranged from 14¢ to an all time high of 63¢ per session.

The church began to lose support in the early 1890's and was ordered sold in 1893 by the conference. There is no record of the actual date of the sale. However, Sabbath School records are available until June, 1902. The church was probably closed and sold around this time and remained an empty, unoccupied structure until 1911.

By 1911 the Wesleyan movement in the south had begun reviving church works that had been allowed to fail. Rev. W. L. Allred, an individual with the evangelistic zeal typical of this time period, visited Providence with the intent of holding a revival. Much to his dismay, he found the building with its windows smashed, the pews removed and the pulpit furniture destroyed. Lumber was on the ground next to the church which someone said was to be used to convert this former place of worship into a house for its owner. However, an over-ruling Providence was to control and quickly change this situation.

Mr. G.W. Hayworth spoke of passing the church late one night and becoming burdened by the dilapidated condition of this church his mother Kate had named and worked so hard to preserve. He thought of how it had become a habitation for bats and owls and of the wild dogs that could be heard baying and fighting within its walls. The Lord spoke to Walter Hayworth and called him to rally to the work needed there. He promised God that night that he would give his time and service to the rebuilding of this church when the proper time came. Evidently God decided the proper time was right away. Mr. Hayworth promptly mortgaged his home and on October 23, 1911, used this money to buy Providence back for $305.00. Within a week of that night when the Lord had spoken to Walter Hayworth, the windows were replaced, kerosene lamps were hung, and a revival was announced. Out of this effort of Walter Hayworth and the Rev. W. L. Allred grew the present Providence Church. The debt of $305.00 was paid on by the church for several years until Mrs. Emma Hayworth gave $191.00 to clear the church of its indebtedness.

In 1912, the conference president, H. W. Hawkins, came to Providence, organized the church, elected officers, and at this time the church was officially reopened with nine full members. Because of a previous good relationship with Rev. E. W. Jones, Providence was placed on the Randolph circuit, or charge as it was called then. This charge included Bundy's Chapel, Hoover's Grove, Neighbors Grow, Central Falls, High Pines, and Providence, and was pastored by Rev. E. W. Jones.

Many interesting stories are told of the church during those years. Transportation to and from church was by horse and buggy, on horseback, and by foot. Several trees had rings in them and two larger hitching posts were available for folks to secure their horses during services. Mrs. Dora Hayworth would also insist that revival times were scheduled during a week when the moon was full so that members who walked could see their way home without having to use lanterns.

Since the church did not have pews in these early years, those attending services would sit on planks laid across wooden supports. The men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other, divided by a thick plank. One could always find those church members who had arrived at the courting age sitting as close to the middle plank as possible.

In 1915, the church was made part of the Guilford Charge with Bundy's Chapel (now Hickory Chapel) and Bales Memorial. M. L. and Nora Andrews pastored this charge for one year. Rev. E. W. Jones moved from the Randolph to the Guilford Charge in 1916 and was once again the pastor of Providence. Rev. W. C. Lovin, Sr. was assigned to pastor the Guilford Charge in 1918 and remained until 1922. During this pastorate, he and his family lived in the Guilford Charge parsonage located near Hickory Chapel Church. In 1922, Rev. E. W. Jones took over the Guilford Charge. In 1937, Providence left the Charge and voted Rev. Jones in as their pastor where he remained until 1948. The following pastors have been at Providence since the retirement of E.W. Jones after his 26 years of faithful service to our church.

Providence started more than 120 years ago in a one room frame building heated by a wood stove, lit with kerosene lamps on the walls and served by outside plumbing facilities which included one wooden outhouse behind the church, and the Folwell spring for drinking water located in the lake site behind the parsonage. In the beginning, Sunday School classes were held in each corner of the one room building. Eventually curtains were hung on wires to separate these classes. Toward the end of E. W. Jones ministry, the church built a brick parsonage on Sechrest Circle.

The one room frame meeting house was replaced by a brick Sanctuary during the pastorate of Rev. Alvin Morgan. During this time, the old building was still used for Sunday School Classes, W.Y. and C.Y.C. Meetings. The Sunday School office and classrooms behind the sanctuary were built in 1960 during the tenure of Rev. John H. Long.

During the fifteen year period of Rev. C. Glenn Powell's ministry, the church facilities were improved to include a new parsonage adjacent to the church (1964), enlarging of the sanctuary (1971), construction of the fellowship hall and additional Sunday School classrooms (1972), and the purchase of 10.8 acres of land behind the church (1978). In the early 1970's the average morning worship attendance was over 100. An attendance record of 175 was set at the 1973 Homecoming/Rally Day. That record was just recently broken when 235 people attended the 2001 Homecoming Sunday.

The development of our church park began under Rev. Slaughter in 1983 and the picnic shelter dedicated in memory of Bennie Riddlehoover was completed in 1985.

During the late 1980's and into the mid 1990's the attendance remained relatively strong. Now, after a brief period of decline, the church is experiencing new growth and has recently exceeded 100 in average attendance once again.

Providence has progressed from a small one room building to a multifunctional facility with buildings and property valued at more than $800,000 with no indebtedness. The recent increase in attendance is raising a good bit of discussion concerning the need to expand the church facilities in the near future.

Special recognition should be given to the many lay men and women who have served the Lord here at Providence. The Hayworths, Folwells, and Pettys have been followed by countless other dedicated Christian workers. The Hill, Kennedy, Kersey, and McNabb families are just a few examples of long time members of the Providence Church family. 

The present active members and friends of Providence are confident that the Lord will continue to bless our church and we praise Him for the blessings of the past 120 plus years. We pray that we may be used to glorify His Name and build His Kingdom.

Special thanks to Ken Wheat for preparing and maintaining this church history for the past several years.

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