Description
During the year of 1896, the Supreme Court ruledthat segregated facilities were not illegal under the 14th amendment, provided those available for both races were of equal quality that is "separate but equal", Plessy vs. Ferguson, and the population of the United States was 70,885,000. There also was a group of people meeting in a schoolhouse in Southwest Little Rock with a vision. This group of visionaries; Prince Bryant, Henry Love, Anita Longley, Emma Bryant, Wade Webster, Frank Murray and Martha Murray, came together and organized Longley Baptist Church with Rev. Phillip Pumphrey as the first pastor.
Many years later, progressive Idealism caused the church to experience a split between the regulars and the progressives. Longley Baptist Church met in two locations; the schoolhouse, with Bro. Sanders, and down the road in a brush arbor on Rev. J. E. Johnson’s property.
The Longley Baptist Church has grown from its eight person beginning, to 52 persons, in 1962, to 200+ members in 1988, to 900+ in 2001, to our present membership of over 2600 persons. Our physical structure has changed through the years, but Longley still remains a body of baptized believers in Christ.
We realize that there is still much that need to be done and will be done but we are very thankful to the Lord for all He has allowed to be done thus far and for guiding us every step of the way. It is our sincere prayer that, in God's time, Pastor and People, Church and Community, will truly be a church "Where Excellence is the Standard "!
