The birth of Gashland Baptist Church took place on April 30, 1953 in the home of Harrison S. Reed with five other families in attendance that were members of the Bethel Baptist Church on Barry Road and desired to see a new work planted further west.  Their second meeting was held on May 7, 1953 at the Gashland Elementary School, which at that time was only a frame school house which no longer exists.  Reverend Virgil Bonner became the pastor of the new church plant.

The whole church planting process was born of prayer.  Cottage prayer meetings were begun April 30, 1953 and continued in the homes of the members until the new building was completed in January 1956. On August 12, 1953, our organization was recognized as a new Baptist Church and on August 19, 1953 the congregation adopted Gashland Baptist Church as its official name. The church was received into the Clay-Platte Baptist Association at the annual meeting September 22, 1953.

The Missouri Baptist General Association, now known as the Missouri Baptist Convention, Loaned $10,000.00  on December 15, 1954 to help with the completion and furnishing of the original building located at 601 N. E. Barry Road.  The final cost of building the original structure was $ 21,169.65 and would have cost up to $70,000.00 if it were not for all of the volunteer labor and gifts during construction.

The first Pastor called to Gashland Baptist Church (GBC) was Rev. Virgil Bonner and served the church for approximately 2 years and then left GBC in October of 1955 and started another congregation just before the completion of the first church building.

The next period of ministry was led by a Naval Chaplain, Rev. Milton Hinderer from January 1956 until July 1957 when he decided to return to active duty as a Naval Chaplain.

Rev. Owen Moody was called as the 3rd pastor to GBC in December of 1957.  He and His wife Faye served GBC as it continues to grow at a fast pace. 

During the first few years of leadership with Rev. Moody, the church enlarged its facilities with “Unit B” of the construction phase in 1960. The new unit was 133 feet by 43 feet with a full basement and 2 stories of education space and a new sanctuary area on the 1st floor.  The structure cost was about $80,000.00 and was financed by selling church bonds.  The “Unit B” was completed and dedicated on May 20, 1962

During 1963, the old auditorium was refurbished to become a modernized nursery with restrooms and cabinets.

In fall of 1963, GBC planned to build a cabin on location of the New Hope Association Camp as a memorial to Kenneth Wilson, a young man who was a counselor from GBC at New Hope Camp. Kenneth was killed in a car accident and would have graduated from NKC High school in 1964.

The materials were paid for by the Wilson Family and the Labor was provided by the men of GBC.  The cabin was completed and dedicated on October 4, 1964.  The cabin was built with the agreement that because it is on Association Camp property, it will be controlled by the camp. However, it is supposed to be made available for our church use when it does not conflict with Associational programs.

On August 5, 1965, Charles P. Kumer was licensed to the Gospel ministry by the members of GBC.

August 11, 1968, GBC sponsored the Barry Mission Church and borrowed money to obtain property to build five acres of land located at 9600 N.W. Old Stagecoach Road, was purchased for $20,000 to be the future building site for the Barry Baptist Mission. Rev. Tommy Blair served as the first regular pastor of the Barry Mission from February 16, 1969 to June 18, 1972.  On May 23, 1971, the Barry Mission Property was paid off by Gashland Baptist Church.

In August of 1972, Rev. Donald G. Gardner was called as pastor of the Barry Baptist Mission.

In spring of 1973 GBC held a note burning ceremony for the “Unit B” loan.

In June of 1973, Rev Bill O’Toole was licensed to the Gospel ministry by the members of GBC.

As of March of 1974, during the first 20 years of GBC they had celebrated 3 building programs and baptized 477 into the Kingdom of Christ.

In May of 1974, a study was done for the noise level due to the proximity of the Barry Mission building site to the KCI airport.  The congregation noted that there was never going to be any new building projects near the acreage purchased for the Barry Mission and decided to disband and sell the property. At the time they disbanded they had 51 regulars in attendance and had seen 43 baptisms into the Kingdom of Christ.

In February of 1982, another church bond issue of $540,000.00 was issued to pursue the building of “Unit C” which was to become the main sanctuary and choir room with new offices and entryways. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 13, 1982 and the new building celebrated the dedication ceremony on August 28, 1983.

The new auditorium spans 11,200 square feet of room and seats 460 people for worship.

Twelve special stained glass windows were set in the exterior walls of the new facility containing symbols representing events in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

After 26 years of service to Gashland Baptist Church, Rev. Owen D. Moody tendered his resignation and went to serve the First Baptist Church, Gallatin, Missouri as their Pastor starting on November 10, 1983.

In October of 1983, Dan Gabrielse was called as the Music Minister.

Dr. Jimmie D. Lady became the new pastor of GBC on March 18, 1984.

GBC called Rev. E.J. Barnes of Coolgate, Oklahoma on September 23, 1984 as their full time Associate Pastor of Multi-ministries.

Dan Gabrielse left the service of GBC as Music Minister in April of 1986.  Later, on June 1, 1986 David Brown was called as Minister of Music.

Pastor Jimmie Lady left GBC in June of 1990, and the church called

Rev. E.J. Barnes, their Associate Pastor, to become their Pastor in September 1990.

David Brown resigned the position of Minister of Music at GBC in June of 1990 and Marty Taylor was called as the new Minister of Music in September of 1991.

Mrs. Lori Morris was called to the position of Minister to Children on August 17, 1996.

Rev. E.J. Barnes left GBC after 20 years of ministry and of those 20 years he served as Pastor for 14 years. Pastor Barnes went to serve as the Director of Missions for the North Grand River Baptist Association located in Trenton, Missouri on February 12, 2005.

Rev. William A. Friese, Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri was called as Pastor and began his ministry with GBC on September 4, 2005. He came to us from Northern Hills Baptist Church in Holt, Missouri. Rev. Friese resigned as Pastor on April 27, 2008.

Dr. Tom Sneed came to serve as Interim Pastor from July 6, 2008 to September 20, 2009. He served as a healing Pastor for Gashland and his ministry was greatly appreciated.

Ted Yoder was called to serve as Part-time Minister of Music on October 20, 2008. He was ordained into the Gospel Ministry on May 17, 2009.

George McDowell was called to serve as Pastor on September 27, 2009. He previously served as Pastor of Hillside Baptist Church in Greeley, CO.