CHAUNCEY, Ga. — Harper's Chapel Baptist Church, located in Chauncey, Georgia, is celebrating 146 years of fellowship and service, despite the fact that its current membership accounts for three people.
They call themselves 'brothers and sisters in Christ', and two of the members are biological sisters. Their late brother, Elston Wooten, pastored the church from 2008 until his death in 2015.
One of his sisters, Sherita Thomas said her baby brother died of a heart attack. Elston Wooten was the youngest of six and he was the only boy in the Wooten bunch.
"People still come up to me now and mention, 'Pastor Wooten, Pastor Wooten!'" Thomas said.
Thomas said as kids, Wooten and some of their other siblings would walk to the church building and pretend to hold service. Elston Wooten would imagine himself as a preacher, replicating the mannerisms of the pastors he grew up listening to.
"They would come up here in this church and play church and my brother would stand up there and he would be the preacher because they've been brought up in this church all these years," Thomas said.
Thomas said one of his sisters he grew up in the church with went on to become the church's secretary. Her name was Lenora Wooden-Bennett. The three were actively involved in protecting the legacy of the Harper's Chapel.
Thomas told13WMAZ, because of low membership, the church holds a second service where they'll invite members of local congregations to join them in worship.
"It was pretty full then," Thomas said. "On other occasions, we have to have a 2 p.m. service in the evening."
Now, Thomas fights to keep the legacy alive, with the help of her surviving sisters: Phyllis and Jewel Wooten. Phyllis Wooten and Jewel are the other two active members of the church, while Jewel Wooten attends Deliverance Temple Church in Eastman, Georgia.
She said most of the family was there to watch him give his final sermon.
"The day before he died he preached his last sermon here and he was just so full of the holy ghost and joy bouncing all everywhere," Thomas said.
Jewel Wooten said she remembers the day when she received the phone call about her brother being hospitalized. When she arrived, he was dead.
"Only the grace of God and him not suffering could allow me to look at him and the peacefulness on his face," Wooten said.
Years following Elston Wooten's death, Lenora Wooden-Bennett and Cecilia Collins passed away. They were older sisters of the late pastor.
Thomas said every year the family gets together to host a memorial for the siblings they've lost. Gospel artist Debra Snipes usually performs at the memorials.
Thomas said Snipes was one of Wooden-Bennett's favorite gospel singers. This year Snipes will be joined by Luther Barners and Roy and the Revelations.
The concert will take place Saturday, July 13, at Deliverance Temple Church and doors will open at 3 p.m.
"This will probably be one of the biggest events to come through Eastman in a long long time," Thomas said.
Thomas said she's grateful for local support. Because of the community's generosity, they have been able to keep the church's doors open and make repairs to the exterior and interior.