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Our Story
How it all started
In 1946, God gave a burden and a vision to Harold and Fred Hatfield to come to Batesville and build a church. The process of fulfilling that vision was not easy. During their trip from Mammoth Springs, AR to Batesville, their vehicle had a flat tire 27 times. Despite this, they continued on. After arriving in Batesville, they found the piece of land that they believed God wanted them to build the church on. They were told by a neighbor that the owner lived in Oklahoma and would not want to sell the land. Believing that this was the right location for the church, they traveled to Oklahoma and were able to purchase the land.
A burden and a building
Once the land was purchased, work on the building began. The building was finished and the first service was held in 1947. Bro. Fred Hatfield served as pastor of this new church until his passing in 1956. Bro. Harold Hatfield and his wife, Irene, moved back to Batesville from Paducah, Kentucky to begin pastoring in his brother's place. Bro. Harold served faithfully as pastor until 1990.
Where we are going
In October of 2021, Bro. Ryan Markee became the pastor of Harbor Lights Temple. Under his dynamic and prayerful leadership, our church continues to see new growth. Our church has always been very youth focused and today, around 60-70% of our congregation is age 40 or younger. As we continue to see new growth and ministry opportunities, the need for facility expansions has become evident. We are looking towards the future with great anticipation of what God is going to do at the "little rock church on Central Avenue". We are excited to see what the future holds as we enter the next chapter of our church story.
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