Friendship Baptist History

Full-Time Pastoral Staff

2008

Full-time pastors of Friendship Baptist Church have included: Ken Harris, Randy Maynard, Jeff Edwards, and Fred Brown, Adam Fleener served as our assistant pastor between September 1, 2008 and May, 2010 when Adam left to pursue college full-time.

Fellowship Hall

2003

As our church continued to grow, in 2003, we added the fellowship hall, kitchen and more classrooms.

Ordaining Peter Mariga

1997

In 1997, we ordained Peter Mariga, an immigrant from Kenya. Rev Mariga pastored a Kenyan congregation that met at Friendship on Sunday afternoons for over a year. They then moved to their own building. They were followed by a deaf congregation which met on Sunday afternoons.

Growth, Sanctuary Extended

1991

The church grew and we needed more room. In October of 1991, we extended the sanctuary, enlarged the stage and added more classrooms.

First Service in New Building

1988

The association put us in contact with several church building mission groups. A crew from California came to put in the foundation. Crews from Arkansas and Texas came and helped us with the framing, plumbing, electrical and drywall. An Oklahoma group helped with paint and finish carpentry. In one month’s time, the church was up and we had our first service on August 7, 1988. At this time we were the only building on Westview Drive.

Home in Franklin

1988

In the spring of 1988, we located a five-acre parcel of farmland for sale by the Williams Family in Franklin. The church voted unanimously to move to this property in Franklin. The following Sunday we held a dedication service in our soybean field.

Our First Building

1984

On July 28, 1984 the church voted to buy a home at RR1 Box 69A on north U.S. 31 in Whiteland for $80,000.00. We renovated the house into a sanctuary (with a fire place) and two offices.

Moved to Whiteland

1982

From Greenwood, we moved to Whiteland, Indiana where we rented the 2 story building on U.S. 31 that previously housed a shoe store. Up until this point, members and guests were bringing lawn chairs to the services. At this time we purchased folding chairs for the congregation. We celebrated our first year anniversary as Friendship Baptist Church in this facility. On our first year anniversary, we had 201 attendees in the church service. The service was followed by a dinner on the grounds. We continued to rent this building and build up our funds until we could afford to buy the property.

Date of Charter

1982

Sept. 12, 1982 was established as our date of charter and the church voted to extend the charter membership to November 14, 1982. We called Brother Ken Harris as pastor. At that time we chartered with 97 members.

The Naming of Friendship Baptist

1982

On August 28, 1982, in a business meeting, the church voted to name us Friendship Baptist Church. That name was already taken so we incorporated as (Friendship Baptist Center Inc.), DBA as Friendship Baptist Church.

Our Start

1982

Friendship Baptist church began in August 1982. For 2 weeks, we met for services at the shelter house of Craig Park in Greenwood, IN. On August 22, 1982 the church moved the meetings to the community room of Bargersville Bank on Smith Valley Road in Greenwood.

What We Believe

Welcome! We want to thank you for your interest in Friendship Baptist Church! You will notice as you visit with us that we are friendly, ordinary people who love Jesus Christ.

We believe that we grow together in our relationship with Christ and with one another as we: