Reverend Henkle Little came to Calvary Baptist Church in September of 1954 with a burning desire to “see people saved and living for the Lord”. Coming to Calvary, the attendance was 21 with an offering of $4.85. But that did not discourage Rev. Little – for he knew that the Lord had called him there. He preached the Gospel, encouraging the congregation to pray, sing from their hearts and lift praises to the Lord. Brother Henkle served as pastor for over thirty-three years.
Under his leadership the fellowship grew in attendance, built a new church with a seating capacity of over 900 people (the largest in Alexander County at the time) and built a parsonage. Brother Henkle founded the Taylorsville Baptist Camp Meeting with Calvary as the sponsoring church. The Camp Meeting continues today and has flourished under the direction of Rev. Dagenhart.
In the early days of his ministry at Calvary, Brother Henkle started a daily 11:00 am prayer meeting at the church for the two weeks prior to a revival. After the revival he planned to discontinue these prayer meetings but the Lord led him to keep going on with them. Over the years, many people came at 11:00 am, broken hearted, asking for prayer. (Brother Henkle kept a log of the weekly prayer meetings on a board from the old church. His last entry was 1,705 weeks of prayer.)
Brother Henkle’s love of southern gospel music was well known and visitors came to Calvary from all over to hear the good singing of the church’s choir, quartets and other singers. Rev. Little started the First Saturday Night Singing at the church. This monthly singing (which continued for over thirty years) included groups from the county, surrounding counties and other areas of North Carolina. Calvary was the first church in the area to bring in professional groups such as the Speer Family, Rebels Quartet, Oak Ridge Boys, LeFevres, and Statesmen, to name a few.
The Lord called Brother Henkle home to Heaven in March of 1988. While we miss him, we know that he is in a better place. If he could speak to us today, his message would be the same – “Be saved and live for the Lord”.
