Pastors of Hilltop
Rev. Henry Skinner
Rev. Geo W. Lawson
Rev. Joe Butcher
Rev. Henry Skinner (2nd time)
Rev. Elmer Patton
Rev. David Franklin
Rev. Bennie Sutherland
Rev. Jan Spaulding
Rev. David Brock
Rev. Bill Johnson
Rev. Kevin Maberry
A small church with a rich history.
Hilltop Pentecostal Church is located southwest of Highway 54 on County Road 350 North in Avoca, Indiana.
The church was started in 1909 when John and Bessie Bennett. and Pearl and Hattie Mann came to Avoca. They rented a house and preached the first Pentecostal message that was heard in the Avoca area. Ben and Bessie Franklin, Stella and Jot Baker, Jessie and Mary Ann Wells, Elsie Kirkman, Lestie McDonald, Susie Smithers, Lonnie and Effie Butler, John Perry, and Mary Kirkman were just a few of the early converts. They rented the old schoolhouse and services were held there for several years.
In 1921, Rev. D.A. Franklin, and Delmar and Ella Foddrill held a revival during which several young people were saved. Harry and Mary Franklin, Roscoe and Bernice Kirkman, Greta Massey, and Rev. Thomas Kidd visited the church. Garrett and Lucy Mills, and Charlie and Birdie Kern also started attending.
Plans were then made to build a new church. The men all pledged fifty dollars. John Perry worked every day, and Harry Franklin and Roscoe Kirkman helped at nights and on weekends. Other men from the church helped when they could. The ground that the church was built on was donated by Elmer Patton, who became pastor of the church several years later.
Greta Massey named the new church, "Hilltop
Rev. Henry Skinner was the first pastor. In 1928, Rev. Garrett White from Corbin, Kentucky preached the dedication service.
The women had bake sales and made aprons and bonnets to pay for the first piano. B.I. Day was the first Sunday School Superintendent. Ben Franklin was the first treasurer. Mary Franklin played a pump organ in the old church building, and was the first pianist in the new building. For a list of charter members, see page six,
The basement was added to the existing church in 1946. In the early 1950s, the church was enlarged by extending the front twelve feet and adding on to the north side. After this was completed, limestone was put on the exterior of the building. The basement was remodeled in 1975. Through the years of remodeling and changes, frosted windows and carpet have been installed; air conditioning was added and the pews were padded. The fellowship hall was built in 1979.
Directly behind the church is a cemetery where many friends and loved ones of the Hilltop Pentecostal Church have been laid to rest.