Denham Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church

A Brief History of Denham Springs, Louisiana

Denham Springs Company Organized in 1927

As a result of tent meetings by Elder I. C. Pound held in Denham Springs in 1927, a company of eighteen believers was organized (Pound, 1928). They began holding a Sabbath afternoon Bible study and had fifty to seventy-five in attendance each week (Pound, 1927). In 1928, another series of tent meetings was held with seven more baptized. The members met in a rented hall, but hoped to erect their own building in the near future (Pound, 1928). After about six years, however, most of the members had moved away and the church was disbanded, with the remaining members going to the Baton Rouge Church (O’Dell, Jr., 1967). In 1938, Elder J. L. Neil reported that the isolated members had been visited and he hoped that a Sabbath school would soon be organized. Two families especially were anxious for this to happen (Record, 1938).

Denham Springs Church organized in 1967

Denham Springs church in 1975. *Photo courtesy of the Southwestern Union Record.*

In September 1966, Elder C. F. O’Dell, Jr. led out in a series of evangelistic meetings, with assistance from members of the Baton Rouge and Gonzales churches. On October 1, 1966, a company of twenty-nine believers was organized in Denham Springs. The evangelistic meetings and the Sabbath services following the organization were held in the St. Francis Episcopal Church. On Sabbath afternoon, September 9, 1967, the Denham Springs company was organized into a church with thirty-two charter members. They began looking for property on which to build a church and had plans in place for another evangelistic series in November of that year, to be conducted again by Elder I. C. Pound (O’Dell, Jr., 1967). Around 1974, the members purchased a church building in which to meet (Record, 1974).

A New Church in 1985

Baptized in Denham Springs on September 14, 1985, L to R: Tyodale Carrey, Pastor Michael Tomlinson, Kahne Blount and her husband, Tommy Blount. *Photo courtesy of the Southwestern Union Record.*

In the summer of 1983, the church property was sold and property on Highway 16 was purchased. On September 14, 1985, the members of Denham Springs inaugurated their new church building by starting Friday night evangelistic meetings and holding a baptism. The evangelistic meetings by J. J. Millet continued weekly for several months. About sixty-five non-Adventists were attending (Tomlinson, 1985).

Baton Rouge Flood

Devastating flooding hit Baton Rouge in August 2016, bringing six feet of water into the church and destroying everything inside. Many volunteers including thirty-nine students from Bass Memorial Academy, came to help pull out furnishings, drywall, insulation, and floor coverings down to the studs so rebuilding the inside could begin (SAU, 2016).