William R. "W. R." Beard

(Pastor of MHBC from 1950 - 1954) Our eighteenth pastor was William R. Beard who came on the field in June of 1950. Soon after becoming our pastor he married Frances Niceley. Their oldest daughter was born while they served here. Worship services and prayer meetings were well attended and the Sunday School broke all previous records with an attendance of 376 on a homecoming day. During seasons of revival the church would often be filled to capacity with people sitting in the aisles and around the platform of the pulpit. Bro. Beard was instrumental in starting a building fund for the Present house of worship and at the time the building was started, there was $10,000.00 in the building fund. Rev. Beard made known his resignation January 24, 1954 to become pastor of Mackville Baptist Church in Washington County. William R. Beard was born February 5, 1922 in Louisville, Kentucky to Walter and Anna Beard. He has two sisters (Juanita and Dorothy) and two daughters (Anna Lou and Marilyn Sue). He professed faith in Christ in 1934 and attended Campbellsville College and Southern Seminary. He was in the Navy before he was called to the ministry in 1945, and was ordained at the First Baptist Church, Highland Park, Louisville, Ky. His pastorates include: Locust Grove and Round Top, Elizabethtown, Ky.; Muldraugh Hill, Mackville Baptist Church, Mackville, Ky.; Temple Baptist Church, Springfield, Ohio; Beavercreek Baptist Church, Dayton, Ohio; East Union Baptist Church, Graham, Ky.; Lowell Avenue Baptist Church, Campbellsville, Ky.; and he is now serving at Austin Village, Warren, Ohio. He served on the Executive Board of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and of the Ohio Baptist Convention; on the Christian Education Committee of the Kentucky Baptist Convention; served twice as tour leader for tours to the Holy Land and Europe and served as a mission preacher to Haiti. Addendum: Bro. Beard died December 29, 2011. Below is his obituary as listed by Parrott and Ramsey Funeral Home:

Rev. William Raymond Beard (1922 - 2011) Rev. William Raymond Beard was born February 5, 1922 and passed away on December 29, 2011. He was a Navy Veteran of World War II. He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Anna Beard; and three sisters, Juanita, Marjorie and Dorothy Beard. He is survived by his wife, Frances Niceley Beard; two daughters, Anna (Roger) Weddle and Marilyn (Mitch) Ash; four grandchildren, Leanne, Chip (Brandi), Angela Weddle and Aaron Ash; and two great-grandsons, Quinn and Asher Weddle. Rev. Beard served as pastor of the following churches: Round Top, Locust Grove and Valley Creek Baptist in Elizabethtown, KY; Muldraugh Hill Baptist in Lebanon, KY; Mackville Baptist in Mackville, KY; Temple Baptist in Springfield, OH; Beaver Creek Baptist in Dayton, OH; East Union Baptist in Graham, KY; Lowell Ave. Baptist in Campbellsville, KY; and Austin Village Baptist in Warren, OH. He also served as Taylor County Baptist Director of Missions. Visitation for Rev. Beard will be Monday, January 2, 2012 at the Lake Cumberland Funeral Home in Somerset, KY beginning at 5:00 P.M. The funeral service will immediately follow at 7:00 P.M. with Mitch Ash, Roger Weddle and Bill Dawson presiding. Burial will be in the Mill Springs Veteran’s Cemetery in Nancy, KY. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in the memory to Gideons International. Service Details: Location: Lake Cumberland Funeral Home Somerset, KY Date: Monday, January 2, 2012 Time: 7:00 PM

Pastors of MHBC 1875-1880 - Thomas Underwood 1880-1883 - E. H. Brookshire 1883-1884 - J. C. Wray 1885-1886 - Thomas Underwood 1886-1889 - V. E. Kirtley 1889-1890 - J. H. Riffe 1890-1893 - W. M. Stallings 1893-1903 - J. T. Hall 1903-1912 - J. W. Crawley 1912-1915 - T. E. Ennis 1915-1916 - No name in minutes 1916-1917 - T. E. Ennis 1917-1918 - A. R. Abarnathy 1918-1920 - No name in minutes 1920-1921 - W. C. Hundley 1921-1924 - No name in minutes 1924-1928 - W. C. Hundley 1928-1929 - C. L. Harmon 1929-1932 - W. C. Hundley 1932-1938 - L. E. Whitlow 1938-1940 - E. M. Gash 1940-1944 - G. E. Puckett 1944-1947 - John T. Pierce 1947-1950 - John M. Wall 1950-1954 - W. R. Beard 1954-1955 - W. R. Cook 1955-1958 - Kit Yeaste 1958-1961 - Richard Shields 1961-1963 - Harold Meers 1963-1968 - E. V. Carrier 1969-1974 - Bruce Hullette 1975-1980 - William Earl Pike 1980-2012 - Victor J. Stansbury 2013-2017 - Steven Skaggs 2018- Billy Compton