Friendship Church - Lexington

Friendship Church - Lexington on Friendship Church Road in Lexington, NC was established in 1834, although meetings were held long before this in the open air.  The church was organized by Peter Byerly, a resident of the community, and by George Byerly, his son, who gave land for the church and cemetery.  Charter members were Mr. and Mrs. George Franklin Byerly, Mr. and Mrs. Sanford Phillips and Peggy Phillips.  The first building was a small log house.  This meeting house was enlarged and repaired several times.  The first plank, or board house, was built in 1873.

 

Much land was donated to the church over the years from numerous donors including: Mr. Peter Byerly in 1844, Mr. W. A. and Mrs. Mary A. Phillips in 1878, Ms. M. P. Staley, Mr. Wesley M. and Mrs. E. E. Byerly in 1910, 1913, and 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Orrell Koontz in 1958 and 1964, Mr. and Mrs. B. L. Koontz, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. J. Willie Shoaf, and the estate of Addie Reich Shoaf in 1993.

 

A second chapter in the history of Friendship Church -Lexington began in 1883 when the walls were re-sealed and the outside walls were weatherboarded.  In 1920 a new pulpit was installed and other improvements were made.  Then, in 1923, the church was renovated throughout and the Sunday School rooms were added.  In 1932 more rooms were added, the church was bricked, and concrete walks were poured.  The brick was given by Mr. M. L. Craver as a memorial to his wife, Ollie. 

 

In 1953 an educational building was added to the structure.  In 1962 and 1963 the church hut was renovated and furnished.  In the summer of 1967, the idea of building a new sanctuary and additional classrooms was explored.  A groundbreaking ceremony for the new structure was held on July 11, 1971.  The first shovels of soil at the new site were turned by three of the older church members: Aruthur Hartley, Mrs. Addie Crews, and William Phillips.  Other participants were: Mrs. Lindsay Walser, Wendy Crotts, Johnny Shoaf, Joe Bryant, Jimmy Bryant, Kent Essick, Billy Essick, Mr. and Mrs. D. Odell Miller, Alfred Hartman, J. Odell Miller, Paul Hartley, and Wayne Colvert.  The building committee members were: Floyd Bailey, Gene Essick, Willie Walser, and Henry J. Shoaf.  The building was completed in 1972 with new walks in the cemetery, newly-landscaped grounds, and parking areas also completed.  (The parking area was eventually poured in concrete in 1985.)  The first service was held in the new sanctuary on Christmas Eve on Sunday, December 24, 1972.  A week of dedication services were held January 28-February 4, 1973. 

 

Friendship had been a part of a three-church charge for many years, but members dreamed of Friendship becoming a station church.  This came true in 1991 when the church family welcomed our first full-time minister, Rev. Barry Lemons, and his family to our church.  By this time we had our own parsonage for our new pastor and his family. 

 

Our renovations continued in 1993 when our church hut was doubled in size and new carpet, tables, and chairs were added.  In 2015 we embarked on a renovation of our sanctuary and Sunday School classrooms, which included updates to pew cushions, carpet and other flooring, paint, and the addition of chairs for the choir and classrooms and televisions for projecting songs and videos during worship.