Caledonia United Pentecostal Church

In the 1940s, the Bowen and the Baughn families moved to the Town of Caledonia as Sharecroppers, sharing a hard life in the fields, and the oneness Pentecostal faith and miracles from house to house because there was no Apostolic Church to attend.

In the mid-1960s, the C. B. Mitchell family moved to Caledonia after retiring from the Air Force. Though a member of a denominational church in Caledonia, Grant Mitchell came into the truth while visiting the Pentecostal Church (pastored by W.E. Bowen in Aberdeen, Mississippi). Mary Margaret Baughn, Grant’s godly grandmother, had her prayers answered as other family members also accepted the truth.

After graduating from Caledonia High School in 1969, Grant attended the Pentecostal Bible Institute, where he received a Bachelor of Theology in 1973. Grant met Brenda Jane Whatley while attending Bible College, and they were married on June 12, 1971. Ministry led them to serve at Aberdeen, Eufaula, Columbus, Amory, and later to Caledonia to start a church in an abandoned package store located at 200 North Wolfe Road on September 14, 1980, with 17 in attendance.

The first convert was Vina Stanley, who lived across the street from the church. She had received the Holy Ghost but was praying for a church to come to her town. She quickly saw the Oneness revelation and was the first to be baptized in the newly installed baptistry downstairs.

Section Two Presbyter, Coy Hill, and the Amory Church assisted with support and some of the furnishings. The church of Vichy, Missouri, donated pine pews. Home Missions department purchased a window air conditioner unit. The old P.B.I. pulpit was used for years until it was donated to the G.H. Hill Historical Center on the Mississippi District Campgrounds.

Grant and Jane have three daughters, Angela (Cary), Amy (Rick), and Andrea (David), and now seven grandchildren. All are significant assets to Caledonia’s work.

After twenty-one years, the church outgrew its capacity and purchased property at 5850 Cal-Kolola Road on the west side of Caledonia. The local assembly immediately went to work to build a beautiful facility. On August 5, 2001, the church family left the old church and marched to the new building for the first service. District Superintendent G.R. Travis dedicated the building in September of that year, with approximately 500 in attendance. The message was entitled, “A Certain Place for the Ladder.”

Five years later, the church added a family life center with a gymnasium, commercial kitchen, and additional classrooms. The congregation added a baseball field and a children’s park on newly acquired property.

To God be the glory for souls that came to God, impacting the community and the world. The Caledonia U.P.C. has given to missions, both home and foreign, and often been in the Mississippi District programs’ top ten givers.