Little Obion Baptist Church was started as a mission church by J.P. Edwards in 1824.  The church was constituted April 16, 1831.  The name was derived from the Little Obion River which went through the area where the church was started.  The church now rests adjacent to the old fork of the river.

Edwards was the son of a Baptist Preacher from Harrison County, Virginia.  He was ordained in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and labored there and in Southern Illinois.  From Jonesboro, Illinois he began traveling to Western Ky and started approximately 18 churches.

In 1834 Edwards moved to Ballard County, Kentucky and united with Little Obion Baptist Church.  He was the pastor from that time until 1843.  Edwards and others such as Willis White and T.L. Garret, were Pioneer Preachers in Western Ky and Northwest Tn.

Little Obion affiliated themselves with Western District Association upon her conception in 1824.  This Association was divided into two separate unions in 1828 because it had grown so large in membership.  Little Obion Baptist Church was now part of the Obion Baptist Association.  This Association was comprised of churches in Tennessee and Kentucky. 

            These two early Associations in West Kentucky and Northwest Tennessee were known for their doctrinal stands of the historic Baptist faith. (Atonement, Lord’s Supper, Baptism, Salvation by Grace, etc…)  The minutes of several meetings also reveal that each church was compelled to reject anyone who frequented the Masonic Lodge.  They also rejected Arminian Doctrine and exposed it as so.

            The Obion Baptist Association began being influenced by Hardshell churches in Tennessee.  This drift toward an anti-mission thought caused many churches to expel themselves from the Association, including Little Obion.  This Association also had a number of Masonic pastors that had crept in unawares.  When the declaration of the Association against this heresy was revisited, several of the prominent members denounced the standard as they were members of this “fraternity”.  This also caused several churches to leave the Association due to their newfound acceptance of Masons.

            Little Obion then joined itself to the Clarks River Baptist Association which was organized in 1831 under the same doctrinal belief as the Obion Association.  This was the first Baptist Association organized in the Western most part of Kentucky.  All the churches were west of the Tennessee River.  This Association is documented as being Hyper-Calvinist.  The churches of the Obion and Clarks River Associations were not harmonious when it came to the teaching of Sovereign Grace.  Some were considered moderately Calvinistic and supported Missions, while others were Hyper-Calvinist and were “us four and no more” (Hardshell).

            Because of this doctrinal difference (missions), about 11 churches met to discuss the need of a separate Association.  In 1834, the following churches met at Gum Spring church in McCracken County:  Wadesboro, West Fork, and Sinking Springs all from Calloway Co; Ohio church from McCracken, Trace Creek, Mayfield Creek, and Little Obion from Graves Co; Emmaus and Clinton churches from Hickman Co.  J.P. Edwards was chosen as moderator of the new Association to be called West Union.  He has been referred to as the father of the West Union Association.

From what little documentation is available; it is clear that Little Obion Baptist Church strived to remain true to the Word of the God by standing against the Masonic Lodge, denouncing Arminianism while separating from Hardshells, and upholding the purity of the church in discipline and strict adherence to the ordinances.

One of Little Obion’s famous sons is the preacher, author, and debater David Burcham Ray.  He was born in Hickman County in 1830.  In 1844, Willis White baptized him upon his profession of faith and he was accepted into Little Obion Baptist Church.  In 1856, Ray was ordained and entered the ministry.  His ministry was interrupted by the Civil War in which he fought in.  Ray apparently spent a short time at the seminary in Clinton, Ky (which the building still exists).  Ray was known for his oral debates which numbered over 40.  There are recorded: 8 with Methodists and 12 with the Disciples (Campbellites).  His book; Text-book on Campellism (1867) is a must for every Baptist who faces these heretics.  His concise work; Baptist Succession (1870) is one of many valuable historic overviews of the Baptist faith from this time period.  In 1870, Ray became editor of the Baptist Sentinel in Lexington, Ky.  In 1873, he was called to pastor at La Grange, MO.