HANGING ROCK – Hanging Rock Apostolic Church will celebrate its 16th anniversary this weekend with a special service and a dinner.

Though the building is relatively new to the area, the church’s beginnings date back to the 1950s with local evangelist Orval Hankins, who came through Lawrence County preaching “Acts 2:38 and the oneness of the Godhead,” according to church historians.

From his ministry, the faithful began to meet in each other’s houses, later in a converted garage and finally, in 1989, in the building just north of Hanging Rock that followers now call their church home. When they gather this weekend, those faithful will count their blessings.

“We’re thankful to the Lord we’ve got this building and it’s paid for,” said Elder Glenn Jenkins, who leads the congregation today.

“And we’ve got a lot of friends, a lot of good people in our church. Some drive a long way to be with us.”

The church will celebrate at 7 p.m. Saturday with a special service and speaker David Lee Montgomery of Plymouth, Ohio.

The celebration will continue at 2 p.m. Sunday with dinner, special music and a video presentation at the Jae Roush Community Building in Coal Grove.