A Sesquicentennial History of the Green River Missionary Baptist Church 1836 - 1986, Written and Compiled by Wendell Holmes Rone, Sr., For the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Church, 1987. By permission of author. Ohio County DON R. MATHIS, the Thirty-Eighth Pastor of Green River Church, was born near LaFayette, Trigg County, Kentucky, on August 28th, 1941. He is the son of the late Caleb Alvurn Mathis (b. May 8, 1908 - d. June 14, 1984) and Myrtle Beatrice (Miles) Mathis (b. February 12, 1907 - died. July 26, 1965). They were married in 1929 at LaFayette, in Trigg County, and became the parents of four sons and three daughters. Caleb A. Mathis was born in Trigg County, while his wife was a native of Stewart County, Tennessee. Both of them died at Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, and are buried in Riverside Cemetery in that city. Brother Mathis attended the Pembroke and South Christian Grade Schools, graduating from the latter in 1955. He is a graduate of the South Christian High School, Class of 1959. He attended Murray State University in 1959-1961, and received the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1966. After entering the ministry, he received the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) Degree (1974) and the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) Degree (1976) from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He has rapidly come to the front as one of the leading evangelistic Pastors in Kentucky and elsewhere. Brother Mathis was converted to Christ at the age of thirteen, through the witness of a sister and others, and was received into the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, near Hopkinsville, by Christian Experience and Believer's Immersion, being baptized by Pastor A. J. Smith. He was saved at home. His home Church licensed him to preach in September, 1961, in his nineteenth year. He was ordained to the Gospel Ministry at the same Church on December 27, 1964. Pastor Richard K. Tapscott (Pleasant Hill) served as the Moderator, and Brother Don L. Champlin (Pleasant View) served as the Clerk of the Presbytery or Ordaining Council. Pastor A. J. Smith (Mexico Church), who baptized him, was the Questioner, Pastor Glenn Henderson, Viers Mill Church, Silver Springs, Maryland, preached the Ordination Sermon. Brother Woodson West (Pleasant Hill) presented the Bible. Others present on the Council were: Pastor Fred Richardson (New Palestine), Thomas E. Charles (Pleasant Hill), Harry T. Powell, Oscar Pyle (Crofton), George Powell, Leo Simpson, Clyde Marsh, Pastor Mark Lowery (Gracey), Pastor Archie Allison (Edgewood), George Harrison, William Munday and Pastor Leslie Williams (Pleasant View). Brother Mathis' first pastorate was with the Crofton Baptist Church, Christian County, Kentucky, from October, 1964, through September 7, 1966. This was followed by the pastorate of the Green River Church, Ohio County, Kentucky, from September 14, 1966, through June 19, 1968, a period of twenty-one months. Brethren Billy Daugherty, Bobby Daugherty, Martin C. Porter, Ranney Flener and Boyce Flener served as the Pulpit Committee which recommended that the Church call him as the Pastor. He was officially called on August 10, 1966, and began his ministry four weeks later. During most of his pastorate at Green River Brother Mathis was unmarried. But the declaration of Proverbs 18:22 became true eventually: "Whoso findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Therefore, on March 24, 1968, he was united in marriage to Miss Sharon Daugherty, the daughter of Rev. Romie Lee Daugherty (b. 1901 - 1977) and Ressie Rhoda Daughery (1905 - ), who was born at Hartford, in Ohio County, Kentucky, on January 16, 1947. Her parents had been married at Morgantown, Butler County, in Kentucky, on April 20, 1921. Brother and Mrs. Mathis are the parents of two children: Donny Ray Mathis II (b. November 24, 1971) and Laura Beth Mathis (b. August 22, 1976). Although he and his wife did not get to live in it, the Church had set on foot plans to sell the old original Pastor's Home (1957-1958), move it off the lot, and erect a new one on the site, in 1967-1968. Mrs. Mathis (Sharon Daugherty) was a member of Green River Church when Brother Mathis came as pastor, and was in her nineteenth year when they married. She had united with the Church by Christian Experience and Baptism on June 30, 1957, being baptized by Pastor Hayward Casey. She was lettered out on July 15th, 1968, to the Southside Church, Princeton, Kentucky. Brother Mathis united with the Green River Church on promise of letter on September 11, 1966, and was lettered out on July 10, 1968, to the Southside Church, mentioned above. Brother Mathis' pastorates at the Southside Church, Princeton (June 26, 1968 - October 14, 1979), and at Central Baptist Church, Corbin, Whitley County, Kentucky (Since October 15th, 1979) have been outstanding. At Southside Church there were 293 added by baptism and 401 by letter from 1968 through 1978. Total membership increased from 268 in 1968 to 666 in 1978. A total of $143,518.00 was given to all Mission Causes and $1,045,387.00 to all Causes in the 1968-1978 period. The Central Church story has been more phenomenal. From 1980 through 1986 there have been 565 baptisms and 760 additions by letter. Total membership has increased from 1,744 in 1980 to 2,514 in 1986. Total gifts to all Mission Causes in the 1980-1986 period have been: $681,643.00 and gifts to all Causes gave been [sic] $3,286,229.00. The 1987 statistics will increase these figures substantially. Mrs. Mathis is the daughter of a missionary-minded Baptist Minister, and has been a constant, vigorous, and faithful supporter of her husband in all his work. Her mother and father became members by letter of the Green River Church, on September 14, 1965. He died on October 22, 1978, and is buried in the Green River Cemetery. Brother Mathis speaks affectionately of his father and mother, as follows: "Father was a share-cropper, who could write little more than his name. He was honest, hard-working. Became a Christian as a teen-ager. Mother was a strong influence in the family. Her grandfather was a Baptist Preacher. She prayed that God would call one of her sons to preach." Brother Mathis has been a strong and vigorous supporter of all Southern Baptist life and work. He was Moderator of the Caldwell-Lyon Association, in 1972-1974; preached the Annual Sermon therein in 1972; the Mission Sermon in 1969; and the Doctrinal Sermon in 1970; in addition to serving as the Chairman of Evangelism for seven years. He served the Mt. Zion Association as Evangelism Chairman five years, and preached the Doctrinal Sermon before that body in 1982. In 1982 he served as the President of the Kentucky Baptist Pastor's Conference; and, in 1984, preached on "Church Growth" at that Conference. He was elected as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, in November, 1985, and served in 1986, delivering the President's Address at the Annual Meeting, in November, of 1986. Also, in 1986, he preached, by invitation, before the Ohio Baptist Convention. He has been serving a term on the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (1984-1987). Mathis Miles Smith Tapscott Champlin Henderson West Richardson Charles Powell Pyle Simpson Marsh Lowery Allison Harrison Munday Williams Porter Flener Daugherty Casey = LaFayette-Trigg-KY Stewart-TN Hopkinsville-Christian-KY Louisville-Jefferson-KY MD Morgantown-Butler-KY Corbin-Whitley-KY Caldwell-KY Lyon-KY http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/ohio/mathis.dr.txt