Church & Community Profile
October 2006Our Church
Hamilton Street Baptist Church was founded in 1954 as a mission of First Baptist Church of Kirksville. During one cold winter, the pastor of First Baptist noticed that some members of his congregation were not making it to church. These members lived in the neighborhoods surrounding the shoe factory, and they walked all the way downtown in order to attend church services. During the winter, it became too cold to walk to church, so these members were unable to attend. The pastor, with the support of his congregation, decided that the neighborhood surrounding the shoe factory needed a church of its own, and thus, Hamilton Street Baptist Church was born. While the shoe factory has since been torn down, the church has continued to grow.
The original members held their first meetings in a house located on the same site as our present building. The first sanctuary was constructed in 1956. The church building has been enlarged and modified since that time. A multipurpose building was added in 1978 which included a gym/fellowship hall, kitchen, and several classrooms. Unfortunately, this structure collapsed in August of 1996. In the spring of 2004, we completed phase one of a building process which involved the construction of a new multipurpose building with classrooms, nursery and preschool space, kitchen, and fellowship and activity space. Phase two of our building process will involve the construction of a large multipurpose space. We are excited about the new ministry opportunities that we will have as a result of having this new facility. We believe that God has great plans for our church and our building.
According to the 2006 Annual Church Profile, Hamilton Street Baptist Church has 369 resident members and 729 total members. The average attendance for the two combined Sunday morning worship services is 220. Sunday School enrollment is 240, with an average attendance of 124. We have a wide variety of age groups represented at our church, from babies to senior adults. On a typical Sunday at our church, we begin the day with a traditional worship service at 8:30 a.m. The music for this service is composed of hymns, with a piano and an organ for accompaniment. The average attendance for this service is approximately 86, and the majority of the people who attend are ages 50 and older. Sunday School classes begin at 9:45 a.m., with classes available for all age groups. At 11:00 a.m., we have a contemporary worship service featuring a worship band with vocalists, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. The average attendance for this service is approximately 135, and the majority of the people who attend are under the age of 50. On Sunday evening, we have a worship service at 6:00 p.m. During this time, the children participate in Children's Choir. Throughout the week, we have a prayer meeting, dinner, Bible studies for all ages, and various committee meetings on Wednesday evenings. We currently have one small group and three women’s Bible studies that meet once during the week. During a typical month, various groups which meet include WMU/PEP, women’s fellowship, and men’s monthly breakfast. The youth do a variety of activities, usually with one main event per month. We also offer a quarterly Parents’ Night Out ministry. We enjoy regular fellowships, usually picnics or carry-in dinners, as well as playing softball and volleyball together on church leagues. During the Christmas season, we enjoy a variety of worship experiences, including the Children’s Christmas program and a service where our members share their talents and gifts of music, poetry, and more. The past several summers, we have held our Vacation Bible School during the evenings to provide a different experience for the children of our neighborhood as well as to allow those with jobs the opportunity to serve. One of our largest annual ministries is the Sports for Christ Retreat (SFCR), which occurs every March. SFCR is an area-wide event hosted by our church where youth compete in sports – volleyball, basketball, soccer, bowling, billiards – as well as a Bible Quiz and puzzle and word games. The main focus of this two-day event is evangelistic, as the youth are encouraged to invite their unsaved friends to listen and learn about Christ during the devotional times and the worship services throughout the weekend.
Our Community
Hamilton Street Baptist Church is located in a residential neighborhood in the southwest portion of Kirksville, Missouri. The neighborhood houses a wide variety of families, from young adults with small children to senior adults. One block from the church is a city park, where we hold some of our church picnics and fellowships. Adjacent to the park is a low-income housing complex where many children live. Of the children who attend Vacation Bible School and Parents’ Night Out but whose families are not members of our church, many live near the church throughout the neighborhood or at the low-income housing complex. Truman State University is approximately six blocks from the church. Many students from the university attend our contemporary worship service each week, and several of the Truman students have become actively involved in the various ministries of our church. Specifically, we have Truman students who serve in the church nursery, work in Parents’ Night Out, are members of the Worship band, teach preschoolers on Wednesday nights, help with VBS, and more.Our City
Hamilton Street Baptist Church is located in Kirksville, a city in the northeast part of Missouri. Kirksville has an approximate population of 17,000 and houses two higher education institutions, Truman State University and A. T. Still University - Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Part of Kirksville’s unique diversity is attributed to these two institutions, which attract a body of students, faculty, and staff unlike most rural areas. Kirksville was founded in 1841 and established as the county seat for Adair County. Kirksville has prospered through the years in large part due to the exceptionally diversified local economy. Agriculture, industry, medicine and education all employ many Kirksville citizens and have helped the community to mature into the economic and cultural center of Northeast Missouri.
According to 2000 census information, the median family income for Kirksville is $36,772, while the median household income is $22,836. Adair County maintains a cost-of-living rate at about six points below the national average. 74.3% of Kirksville residents have 12 years or more of education, and 23.0% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. 94.4% of the population is Caucasian, with the remaining 5.6% being composed of various ethnic backgrounds. 25.3% of residents are under 19 years of age, 20.9% are 19 to 25, 41.2% are 26 to 64, and 12.6% are 65 and older. The average annual high temperature is 62.0ºF, while the low temperature is 41.3ºF, based on climate information from 1961 – 1990. January is typically the coldest month, with an average high of 32.8ºF and an average low of 14.5ºF. July is typically the warmest month, with an average high of 87.3ºF and an average low of 65.2ºF. The average annual total precipitation is 36.39 inches, and the average annual snowfall is 21.20 inches.
The Kirksville R-III School District is a Class AAA school with an enrollment of 2,342 students, kindergarten through 12th grade. The district was accredited with distinction in performance in March of 2000. The district includes 4 schools: Kirksville Primary (K-2), Ray Miller (3-5), Kirksville Middle (6-8), and Kirksville High (9-12). The student to teacher ratio is 13:1, and the amount of expenditures per student is $5,963. Kirksville also houses three private religious schools: Covenant Life Fellowship School (K-12th), Faith Lutheran Church School (Preschool-2nd), and Mary Immaculate School (K-8th). For child care needs, Kirksville is home to nine child care facilities, three of which are affiliated with local churches (Covenant Life Fellowship Church, Church of God – Holiness, and Faith Lutheran Church).
Kirksville offers many opportunities for higher education. Truman State University, formerly Northeast Missouri State University, is Missouri’s only highly selective public liberal arts and sciences university. Truman has a student population of approximately 6,000. Founded in 1867, Truman has a long history of being nationally recognized for providing high-quality education at an affordable price. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Truman as the number one public university in the Midwest. Truman emphasizes high-quality teaching as its number one priority. Truman currently offers 43 undergraduate areas of study and nine graduate degrees. The Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM) is the founding college of the osteopathic profession established by A. T. Still in 1892. The enrollment of KCOM is slightly below 1,000, and students represent 46 states and territories and 3 foreign countries. Moberly Area Community College opened a new 25,000 square foot facility in Kirksville in 2001, which includes classrooms, science labs, administrative and faculty offices, computer labs and a resource room. MACC offers Associate degrees of Arts, Science, Applied Science, Nursing, and certification in various fields. Operated by the Kirksville R-III School District, the Kirksville Area Technical Center strives to provide the area with the highest level of vocational-technical programs possible to meet the needs of secondary and adult students, as well as the demands of business and industry. In addition to these institutions, there are 12 other colleges and universities within 100 miles of Kirksville.
For transportation needs, Kirksville and the surrounding area provide several options. Two state highways and one U.S. highway all intersect in Kirksville. U.S. Highway 63 is a major north-south route and is currently being expanded to four lanes from Kirksville south to Macon. State highways 6 and 11 run east and west. The Kirksville Regional Airport is located 4 miles south of Kirksville off U.S. Highway 63. American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, makes two round trips daily between Kirksville and Lambert International in St. Louis. Other private planes charter flights to airports throughout the Midwest. Amtrak runs through LaPlata, located 14 miles south of Kirksville. The city is also served by a regional bus line. OATS offers in-town transportation service and transportation to Columbia. These services are provided free to elderly residents and for a fee for others. Other public transportation is provided by three cab companies and by Kirk-Tran.
A variety of other services and opportunities exist. The Adair County Public Library is home to almost 80,000 volumes, while Pickler Memorial Library on the campus of Truman State University is home to almost 430,000 volumes. Kirksville has 8 hotels/motels offering 385 rooms. The local hospital, Northeast Regional Medical Center, offers many healthcare services. The Kirksville Aquatic Center features a six-lane indoor pool available year-round and an outdoor pool with water slide open seasonally. The Downtown Cinema Eight is a movie theater with eight screens that opened in May of 2001. The Adair County Family YMCA offers many programs for the whole family to enjoy. Thousand Hills State Park is located three miles west of Kirksville on Highway 6. This 3,252-acre park offers many recreational opportunities including swimming, boating, sailing, water skiing, fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking, and meeting and dining facilities.
Visit www.kirksvillechamber.com or www.kirksvillecity.com for more information.
Copyright 2003, Hamilton Street Baptist Church