Changes

While A.T. and Ida Powers were residing in Greer County near the town of Hester, Oklahoma, they attended a revival meeting featuring the Southern Baptist evangelist J.R. Caviness, who preached "Justification by Faith" from the Book of Romans, a message that during the Reformation had prompted Martin Luther to demand unfulfilled reforms in Roman Catholicism. Spurred by that sermon, Powers declared that he had found salvation in Jesus Christ and was baptized by immersion, the only method accepted by Baptists. After a short period of farming on a rented 140 acres near the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, Powers underwent the call of the ministry. He and Ida joined the Pleasant View Baptist Church in nearby Ledessa, which later entered the "New Convention" of Oklahoma, one of several founding bodies of the ABA. In October 1919, Pleasant View licensed Powers to preach.[7]

While A.T. and Ida Powers were residing in Greer County near the town of Hester, Oklahoma, they attended a revival meeting featuring the Southern Baptist evangelist J.R. Caviness, who preached "Justification by Faith" from the Book of Romans, a message that during the Reformation had prompted Martin Luther to demand unfulfilled reforms in Roman Catholicism. Spurred by that sermon, Powers declared that he had found salvation in Jesus Christ and was baptized by immersion, the only method accepted by Baptists. After a short period of farming on a rented 140 acres near the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, Powers underwent the call of the ministry. He and Ida joined the Pleasant View Baptist Church in nearby Ledessa, which later entered the "New Convention" of Oklahoma, one of several founding bodies of the ABA. In October 1919, Pleasant View licensed Powers to preach.[7]

Upon receiving the call to the ministry, Powers attended from 1921-1925 the Missionary Baptist College in Sheridan in Grant County, south of Little Rock. With assistance from the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1918, he received his Bachelor of Theology degree. At Missionary Baptist College, Power became a close friend of the clergyman Conrad Nathan Glover (1895–1986), whose father, Robert W. Glover, had been a member of both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly prior to 1912. Powers and Glover were the only two individuals ever named moderator-emeriti of the ABA.[8] Missionary Baptist College closed in 1934, and Missionary Baptist Seminary thereafter opened in Little Rock through the auspices of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.[9]

Upon receiving the call to the ministry, Powers attended from 1921-1925 the Missionary Baptist College in Sheridan in Grant County, south of Little Rock. With assistance from the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1918, he received his Bachelor of Theology degree. At Missionary Baptist College, Power became a close friend of the clergyman [[Conrad N. Glover]] (1895–1986), whose father, Robert W. Glover, had been a member of both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly prior to 1912. Powers and Glover were the only two individuals ever named moderator-emeriti of the ABA.[8] Missionary Baptist College closed in 1934, and Missionary Baptist Seminary thereafter opened in Little Rock through the auspices of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.[9]

Powers was a pastor while in Sheridan and then from 1925-1936 at the Promise Land Missionary Baptist Church in Hamburg in Ashley County in southeastern Arkansas. In 1931, while in Hamburg, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Missionary Baptist College. From 1936-1939, he was the pastor of the Pauline Missionary Baptist Church in Monticello, the seat of Drew County, also in southeastern Arkansas. The Pauline congregation consisted primarily of blue collar members who worked for low wages in a cotton mill. The church paid Powers only $12.50 per month; therefore, he sold burial insurance to support his family during the height of the Great Depression. At the time, no Missionary Baptist pastor earned more than the $100 per month paid to Ben T. Bogard, a leading figure in the denomination, by the Antioch church in Little Rock.[10]

Powers was a pastor while in Sheridan and then from 1925-1936 at the Promise Land Missionary Baptist Church in Hamburg in Ashley County in southeastern Arkansas. In 1931, while in Hamburg, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Missionary Baptist College. From 1936-1939, he was the pastor of the Pauline Missionary Baptist Church in Monticello, the seat of Drew County, also in southeastern Arkansas. The Pauline congregation consisted primarily of blue collar members who worked for low wages in a cotton mill. The church paid Powers only $12.50 per month; therefore, he sold burial insurance to support his family during the height of the Great Depression. At the time, no Missionary Baptist pastor earned more than the $100 per month paid to Ben T. Bogard, a leading figure in the denomination, by the Antioch church in Little Rock.[10]

Powers then moved to the Main Street Missionary Baptist Church in Pine Bluff (since the Olive Street Missionary Baptist Church), where he served from 1939-1943. He was the pastor at Oak Lawn Missionary Baptist Church in Hot Springs, the seat of Garland County, Arkansas, from 1943-1948.[11]

Powers then moved to the Main Street Missionary Baptist Church in Pine Bluff (since the Olive Street Missionary Baptist Church), where he served from 1939-1943. He was the pastor at Oak Lawn Missionary Baptist Church in Hot Springs, the seat of Garland County, Arkansas, from 1943-1948.[11]

==Leader in the ABA==

==Leader in the ABA==