Mother Neff Baptist Church to host “Clear It & Clean It Day” March 11

Join the community on Saturday, March 11 at the Clear It & Clean It Day event. It will take place at Mother Neff Baptist Church, 7 a.m. through 5 p.m. The goal is to clear brush and overgrowth to bring new life to the historic space. 

Be sure to wear long sleeves, pants, and work shoes. Lunch and snacks will be provided. 

A kids zone will be available for anyone who wants to volunteer with children. All volunteers will be entered for a chance to win various prizes including gift certificates to Bub’s BBQ & Burgers, THE Gym, and Uncle Cal’s Smokehouse. 

After the event, Double Sky Diner will host a fundraiser from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to Mother Neff Baptist Church. 

Mother Neff Baptist Church is on six acres of land donated by Pat Neff in 1945 for the church’s use. The church was used off and on for many years by different organizations. The homeowner’s association that surrounds the church made an agreement with the church association and built a small building to use as the community center for meetings and such, but the church is to remain active by holding services, prayer meetings, etc. 

Jessica Owens, President of Mother Neff Baptist Church, moved to Gatesville with her husband and children a few years ago. After waiting out the COVID pandemic, Owens sought out information about the church. She discovered the church building was uninhabitable, the property was overgrown, and the HOA and the Church Association became disconnected because of the pandemic. She found a name and number on a bulletin board, and it happened to be the contact information for the HOA president.

After speaking with the president, encouraging meetings began and the community was sparking interest in the church’s revival. “Needing a leader to take on this large, worthy project, I decided that person was me,” Owens said. A couple of meetings were planned to reunite the Church Association and Owens was elected president. Shortly after, the church had a small group to begin the campaign to revive the church to share the teachings of Jesus. 

The vision is to restore the community center building, add a playground, a picnic area, a proper parking area, an outdoor seating area, a fire pit for prayer circles, and a proper church building to hold regular Sunday services. “The clean-up day is our first event we are holding in order to start cleaning the enormous overgrowth and brush,” Owens explained. 

While the church works toward additional goals, monthly Community Prayer and Church Association meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Other events are in the works, and the first will be an Easter sunrise service on Sunday, April 9 starting at 6:30 a.m. 

For more information contact Mother Neff Baptist Church by email at motherneffbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Mother Neff Baptist Church is located at 1415 TX-236 near Moody.