Loudoun County's Ketoctin Baptist Church has an outhouse instead of a bathroom. White painted numbers beneath the front gable date the brick building to 1854, and a plaque inside proclaims the congregation has been teaching “plain and simple truth since 1751.”
American Revolutionaries pronounced independence on these grounds. Civil War soldiers marched across the 18.75 acres. A slave gallery and separate entrances for men, women and blacks speak of a different era in a place just a few minutes outside the town of Purcellville.
Ketoctin Baptist Church, probably the first Baptist church in Virginia, has a history: a history of impacting its community with very little man power. A plaque inside the building lists the names of six Revolutionary soldiers, followed by that of the Reverend John Marks, who was pastor during the war. Above his name is engraved “Patriot.”
The sanctuary of Ketoctin Baptist Church.
Marks strongly opposed British taxes and the British established church. He fostered such patriotic zeal in the community that nearly every man of military age in the area enlisted in the Continental Army.
Now, a gentle breeze ripples the aged oak leaves and dances through the silent graveyard. Over 600 graves hallow the site, dates ranging from 1777 to the present day. Crooked fieldstone markers intermingle with elaborate marble and granite ones. But within the building, the haunting, angelic tune of Amazing Grace reaches into every corner, breaking the deadly silence. Cars begin to park on the front lawn and fashionably dressed congregants file through the small door into the main meeting room.
Laughter and greetings fill the sanctuary as about 20 people seat themselves and pull out their hymnals. Beneath the slave gallery, which now houses Christmas decorations and little American flags, Ketoctin Baptist gathers each Sunday to worship in a traditional style.
“This is the mother, grandmother and great-grandmother church of many other Baptist churches in the area,” said David Sweet, pastor of the Ketoctin congregation.
Five years before the first log meeting house was built on the spot in 1756, Ketoctin Baptist was founded by a mission preacher, John Thomas of Pennsylvania. The congregation flourished until the early 20th century, when construction of other Baptist churches in the area caused it to dwindle. Soon the building was only used for special occasions or when the board of trustees held their annual meeting.
As of 2001, Ketoctin Baptist had not had a congregation for over 60 years. Its history intrigued pastor Joe O'Connell and inspired him to have one in place by the 250th anniversary. “He wanted to build a congregation in the Purcellville area that provided a more traditional style of worship,” said Sweet, who came with O'Connell to develop the music program.
“It is not stuck-in-the-mud traditionalism with no point,” Sweet said. “Everything points toward one message, the one idea we are to leave with at the end of the service.” About 38 people shared that vision and joined O'Connell and Sweet in forming the congregation on Father's Day 2001.
However, after a year, the congregation began to dwindle again. “As we talked about establishing ourselves as a full-fledged church and not a mission and discussed what this would entail, the congregation began to fall away,” explained Sweet. “There seemed to be less long-term commitment among them. I suspect they simply wanted to help found the little mission and then move on—in the end many of them did just that.”
In October 2002, O'Connell resigned as pastor, and the doors were almost shut. But a few members refused to let the dream die, and Sweet agreed to stay on as pastor of the miniscule congregation.
“Slowly and surely it became important to our lives. God has been moving in our congregation and it has been exciting to watch him work in our lives,” said Margaret Matthews, who drives from Reston every week to play the piano at Ketoctin. “The sermons and the fellowship with other members were feeding a hunger in my soul. We at Ketoctin come from varied backgrounds, and yet there's a bond and a oneness that is amazing! I may not always agree with someone, but they love me like no one else.”
The congregation grew again to about 20 members and has plans to continue growing. “For the future we want to establish indoor plumbing that is modern and comfortable,” Sweet said. This is the first step toward allowing the congregation to develop more modern programs, such as Vacation Bible School, weeknight Bible studies, Sunday school and summer outreaches to neighborhood children.
The members had saved for a year and accumulated over $15,000 to install indoor plumbing. Then Hurricane Katrina hit and the church's treasurer suggested sending money to help with the relief. “We asked how much and he said, ‘We have the money saved for the bathroom and many of those people have no bathroom so let's send the bathroom money,' ” said Sweet. “No one batted an eye; in fact, one person suggested we take up an offering to add to the money and in the end it was a bit more than $17,000.”
“It just didn't seem right to have all that money sitting around when there were people going without food and water and having so many other basic needs, besides!” said Matthews.
So Ketoctin Baptist Church still does not have a bathroom. As the offering basket passed around, one child emptied a bag of coins into it. They still do not have a Sunday school, but the whole congregation offered prayer requests, one little girl raising her hand multiple times to offer requests. They still do not have weeknight programs, but the sanctuary rang with voices joined in singing, “I will tell the world I am a Christian.”