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Church History
Reverend Captain Norton and a few faithful members who banded together and went from house to house holding prayer meeting organized the Rock Holiday Baptist Church, known as Good Hope Baptist Church, in 1918. Their regular services were held in the home of Mr. Alfred Breaux.
In 1920, this congregation began holding services on the corner of Houston and Potts Street, where they built a platform and covered it with brush for a pulpit. Pews were constructed out of boards placed upon wooden or concrete blocks. Immediately following these accomplishments, the Reverend Reed, leader of another group, consented to unite his forces with those of the Rock Holiday Church with Good Hope Baptist Church.
Reverend Foster assumed leadership of the new church. Under his guidance, the congregation through hard labor, firm determination and Christian beliefs purchased land where they were worshiping under the Brush Arbor. Mr. Holiday, one of the members, donated a small building which was used until the building was paid and later enlarged. Following Reverend Foster was Reverend Baker who served an indefinite number of years until he was called to serve as pastor in Kirbyville, Texas. Reverend P.A. Bolden succeeded Reverend Baker, and then Reverend B.L. Brown replaced Reverend Bolden who had become the pastor of Mt. Rose Baptist Church. Reverend Brown, during his six (6) years of service with the church, was given credit for having done much good with the expansion of the church. In 1938, The Reverend J.O. Simmons accepted the call to pastor Good Hope Baptist Church.
Reverend Simmons came at a time when the spiritual tide was low. A salary of $12.50 a week was agreed by a few members but could not be met due to a lack of finance. It was believed that the reason for the crisis was due to small membership and only three auxiliaries in the church. Pastor Simmons came in inauspiciously and without fan-fare and began viewing the situation. He simply said, "I choose not to make any Hill-Top promises. We will do what God wants done at this time." He began serving the congregation with one-half (1/2) Sunday per month. He further initiated his service with weekly night preaching.
After the "Special Business" of reclaiming many souls from the inactive list, Pastor Simmons said his "next order of business" was to rebuild confidence in the membership, who psychologically, had become the victims of humiliating circumstance...In 1939, he called the church together again and began laying the foundation and framework for Greater Good Hope Baptist Church on the corner of Houston and Potts Streets. During Pastor Simmons pastoral, the climb was steep and sometimes rough; tears were blinding and sufferings bitter; however, Pastor Simmons accepted the challenge entirely undaunted. He was faithful and courageous. It seemed the Lord came down and personally directed him, and he said the right things to the congregation at the right time. More land was purchased, and the church was remodeled and enlarged. The members of "Old Sixth Street Baptist Church of Port Arthur who together with the Good Hope Baptist Church worked out a plan for Reverend Simmons to assist in their services thus allowing them to avoid foreclosure. He then diverted his attention to the Good Hope Church. The building funds for a new building had been placed in the bank. The first building was completed and dedicated to God December 7, 1941.
As a vote of confidence to the executive ability and Christian leadership of Pastor J.O. Simmons, on December 7, 1941, the members voted and placed in records guidelines for membership. In 1948, the program called for the launching of another “Building Fund Campaign," and in 1949 the Lord poured out his Blessings again in that He arranged for the church to purchase the "Old Keith Home," located on Seventh and Calder Streets. Out of this building the church salvaged enough Glazed face (Grey) and common brick to complete 98% of the building. They also salvaged enough yellow pine and oak to complete 60% of the woodwork. On
April 14, 1950, the Ground Breaking Ceremonies were held which marked the beginning of the construction of this house by the Pastor and Deacon F.D. Grogan. On the 15th of April 1950, the foundation holes were dug; and by the end of the week, the foundation was poured. Pastor Simmons and the watchful supervision of Mr. Morris Joseph, the contractor and member of the church, laid the first brick for this edifice on the 23rd of April. The last brick was laid on the 18th of October, 1950. Following this accomplishment, the long tedious job of fixing the interior was completed; and on the 30th day of September 1951, the doors were opened to the public for worship services.
Work well done under the leadership of Pastor J.O. Simmons, who served faithfully until his demise. Reverend Rufus Cormier carried on the service faithfully until Reverend Jeff Rollins was called in 1975 at which time the church parsonage was purchased. Reverend Rollins and Reverend M.M. Johnson each served for a short period. Reverend Johnson left Good Hope to return to his native California. After prayerful consideration, the church called A.R. Obey as Pastor. He accepted the calling and arrived at a time when a large percentage of the church membership was inactive. He studied the situation and recognized that many of the elderly were unable to attend service because of the structure of the church building. Reverend Obey, along with the church deacons, decided to build this building for our Lord. Reverend Obey, through prayer and guidance of the Holy Spirit, instituted classes for religious education, some of which were: New Members Orientation, family Bible study class, and growth group classes in which members studied what it meant to be a Spirit-Filled Christian. Under his leadership, Greater Good Hope experienced financial growth. Our present building was constructed by Eddie Senigaur with ground breaking ceremonies in 1980.
Under the leadership of Pastor Obey was the birth of the following ministers: Elton Small, Daryl Price, Michael Minix, Jimmy Parks, Richard Morrow, James Segura, Arthur Guidry, Larry Hawthorne, and Ronald Bishop. Andrew Sellers, Jr. was one of several deacons ordained.
Greater Good Hope Child Development Center was formed under the leadership of Pastor A.R. Obey on August 8, 1985. The Director was Jamesetta Tompkins and a staff consisting of Director, Curriculum Coordinator, two (2) teachers, one (1) cook, and one (1) janitor. The Center opened with five (5) students with a weekly tuition of $25.00. The enrollment later increased to 25 students by Mid-September. Two additional teachers were added to the staff. All staff worked without pay for one year. Tuition payments were used for operational funds (food, supplies, etc). By the end of the first school year, enrollment increased to 65 students. The community was beginning to notice that the students were receiving great educational tools, and the enrollment picked up so wonderfully we quickly began to run out of space. We purchased trailers to accommodate all the students we had received and decided to use the A-Beka Curriculum for the next fall semester of 1986.
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In 1991, God, in his wisdom, gave us another pastor, Rev. Larry Hawthorne. He had served as associate minister under the pastorate of Rev. Obey.
Under Pastor Hawthorne's leadership the following deacons were ordained: Bernard Simon, Samuel Simon, Robert Jones, Roosevelt Frank, Roland Ward, Glen Cunningham, John Malone, Herman Wells, and Arthur Hector. The five ministers who accepted the calling and were licensed are: Garland Flakes, Billy Harper, George Hester, LaCharles Mitchell, and Herman Wells. Carol Marks began as Director of Greater Good Hope Child Development Center on January 6, 1992. During which time we were servicing approximately 168 children ages 18 months through 5th grade. Using the A-BEKA Curriculum we have established a reputation for having a strong Academic and Christian Program. On December 18, 1998 we moved to our new facility which was constructed by Nehemiah Construction of Port Arthur, Texas. The Pastor’s sister, Seletia Nelson provided the financing for the construction of the building. We are proud to say that when students leave the Greater Good Hope Child Development Program they are well equipped for any program. Most teachers in BISD and private schools are happy to have our former students in their classes.
A great majority of our former students have moved on successfully to other venues. In 2010, we serviced approximately 300 students ages 0 months through 5th grade. We also offered assisted services to parents through Catholic Charities Services. Greater Good Hope employed 35 people and made many contributions to the community. We also had a very active P.T.O. (Parent, Teacher, & Organization) that made contributions to the school yearly.
Once again, God blessed us in the person of Reverend T.F. Simmons who was a mentor and Bible Study teacher. He was moderator and instructor for a Seminary in this Golden Triangle until his health began to fail, and the call of the heavenly Father came to carry him away to that mansion prepared for him. Pastor Hawthorne was deeply inspired by Pastor Simmons and he constantly reminded us that, “We must keep our hands to the plow and be about our Father’s business. God gave us His best, His all, Jesus gave His best, His life. It is our duty to give our all, our best, to serve in this present age.”
We feel that the Lord has truly blessed us. He has brought us through many trials and tribulations. After each storm, He has given us a period of calm for rest and reassurance. We know the Lord will continue to guide and protect us, and we thank Him.
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