2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12
Commending New Grove Baptist Church.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 19, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, January 22, 2026
WHEREAS, for 160 years, New Grove Baptist Church has played an integral role in the Kenbridge community by providing spiritual leadership, opportunities for joyful worship in the Baptist tradition, and generous outreach programs that have touched countless lives; and
WHEREAS, New Grove Baptist Church traces its roots to 1865, when Black residents began holding worship services in a bush arbor that was located on Oral Oaks Road and became known as Moore's Arbor; and
WHEREAS, several members of the congregation, including James Bank, Alex Cousin, Henderson Ghee, Isaac Ghee, Charlie Hepburn, Anderson Ingram, Robert Nelson, and Charlie Woodard, sought to strengthen the fledgling church and create a more permanent house of worship; and
WHEREAS, these members of the congregation worked with Mr. Leach, a white Northerner, and Mack Bagley, a Lunenburg County resident, who served as preachers and taught many of the early church members to read and write; the congregation subsequently built a log church and several members began studying to become preachers themselves; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Alec Cheatham served as the first elected pastor of New Grove Baptist Church and helped the church community grow in both faith and number until 1892, when he was succeeded by the Reverend Peter Ghee, the son of one of the church's original members; and