ABOUT US
Who We Are
A Church Family in Cowee Valley Since 1828
For nearly two centuries, Cowee Baptist Church has gathered in Franklin, North Carolina, to worship Jesus, open God’s Word, and care for one another. Whether you grew up here or are just moving to Macon County, there’s a place for you.
Reaching and empowering generations to love God, love people, and put love in action.
Plan Your Visit
How We Follow Jesus Together
Gather · Group · Give · Go
Gather
Worship together each Sunday and sit under the faithful preaching of Scripture.
Hebrews 10:24–25
Group
Grow in God’s Word and Christ-centered friendship in a Bible study or discipleship group.
Acts 2:42
Give
Steward your time, talents, and resources for God’s glory and the good of others.
1 Peter 4:10
Go
Put love in action by sharing the gospel with our neighbors and the nations.
Matthew 28:19–20A church is more than a building. It’s people, living stones, built together into a spiritual house for God.1 Peter 2:5
Meet Our Pastor
Pastor Jason Smith
Jason has served as Senior Pastor of Cowee since July 2016. He is committed to expositional preaching, generally working verse by verse through books of the Bible so that God’s Word is clearly understood and faithfully lived out. He holds an M.Div. from Liberty University, and he and his wife, Sherry, have two children, Hope and Grant.
Our History
Generations of God’s Faithfulness
In 1828, Humphrey Posey saw that “the land is fit for harvest” and began Cowee Baptist Church. The congregation first met in places like the Caler Schoolhouse, and in 1830 it bought land and built a log cabin.
- 1830–1994Cowee “mothered” five churches in Macon County and one in Swain County.
- 1914A new building went up where the church stands today.
- 1952–53When no bank would lend the money, six families pledged their own property so an educational building, still in use, could be built.
- 1964A new sanctuary was built. It still serves the people of Cowee.
- 2004 & 2011The Christian Fellowship Center and a new children’s wing were built.
- 2013Crossover worship launched in the former gym.
- 2024A third Sunday worship service was added.
- 2026Cowee became the Sending Church for Cowee Español, our next church plant, led by church planter Vidal Mendoza in partnership with SendNC. We’re praying to see Spanish-speaking families reached with the gospel, leaders raised up, and a healthy church that will one day send others.
God has been faithful through every generation of Cowee, and His work is not finished yet.
An early photo of Cowee Baptist Church.
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
The composite of the statements below constitutes the Statement of Faith that defines the core beliefs and values of Cowee Baptist Church.
God and Scripture
- We believe in one only true and living God and that there are three persons in the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – and that these three are one in substance and equal in power and glory.
- We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God and the only rule of faith and practice.
Sin and Salvation
- We believe in the doctrine of original sin.
- We believe in man’s impotency to recover himself from the fallen estate he is in by his own freewill ability.
- We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.
- We believe the Saints will persevere in grace and that they never shall fall finally away.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
- We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ and that true believers are the only proper subjects.
- We believe the true mode of baptism is immersion.
Resurrection and Judgment
- We believe in the resurrection of the dead and a general judgment and that the punishment of the wicked shall be everlasting and the joy of the righteous eternal.
Church Life
- We believe it to be the duty of church members to assist in supporting the Gospel having regard to their necessities.
- We believe it to be the duty of Christians to embody themselves by mutual consent for the purpose of statedly worshiping God and for edifying each other and for this purpose we mutually agree to give ourselves to each other in a church state (being assisted by divine grace) to watch over and assist each other endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in bonds of peace.
Gender and Marriage
- We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as biologically male or female to together reflect the image and nature of God.
- We believe that the meaning of the term marriage is a union designed and created by God as an exclusive covenant relationship joining one male and one female as a picture of Christ’s relationship to the church, for peoples’ good and with sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other.
Our authority for faith and practice is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Cowee Baptist Church also affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a summary of the convictions we hold together.
Partnering for Greater Work
Better Together
Cowee Baptist Church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention, a family of thousands of churches that cooperate to reach people with the gospel. No single church can do it alone, but together we can do far more for the kingdom.
Through the Cooperative Program, our giving helps send and support missionaries across North America and around the world.
We help train the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders through Southern Baptist seminaries.
We also partner directly with ministries from Clarkston, Georgia, to Honduras and El Salvador.