Bailey, Henryette

Chisholm Baptist Church
Montgomery Baptist Association

Favorite Bible Verse: John 3:16
Favorite Hymn: “Amazing Grace”
Hobbies: Cooking, crafts and gardening
Family Status: Widowed after 64 years of marriage to Hubert; two children, Guy and Jane; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren

Henryette Bailey is the oldest person she knows with a Facebook page. The active 84-year-old uses the social networking site to keep up with her family and church family.

Q: What was your childhood like?
A: I had two sisters and I was the middle child. … We didn’t go to church often, but when we went, my sisters and I walked.

Q: How did you come to know the Lord?
A: Even right after I married Hubert, we didn’t go to church that often, but we were at Chisholm Baptist one day in 1949, where we heard Pastor J.W. Brown speak. We didn’t believe what he said about the Second Coming, so we went home, looked it up in the Bible and learned that what he said was true. After that, we made our decision to accept Christ, and we made it public the next Sunday. The next Wednesday, we were in prayer service, then we were there the next Sunday and I’ve gone ever since. 

Q: How have you been involved in church through the years?
A: I’ve served in Sunday School and [Discipleship] Training, teaching children … to youth. I’ve served on search committees and just got through serving six years on the Personnel Committee. Earlier this year, I chaired the committee for our church’s 100th anniversary homecoming celebration. I also chair the Manna Committee, helping cook for the homebound, and I co-chair the Fellowship Committee. I’ve been in the choir for over 60 years, and I’m now the oldest one in the choir.

Q: What does the Christian life mean to you?
A: It is so precious because I feel God’s presence every day. … In everything I do, I try to live for the Lord and in such a way that would not cause others to fall.