\The HVBA was organized in 1884, when seven churches in Hawkins County sought to belong to an association close to home. Each of these churches belonged to other associations that were a distance away which made traveling to meetings difficult. After having two organizational meetings in the spring, they decided to gather at what became the first annual meeting of the Holston Valley Baptist Association on October 2-3, 1884, at Persia Baptist Church. At this meeting they welcomed three additional churches making for a total of 10 charter churches with a membership total of 691. They elected their first Moderator J. S. Hamilton at this meeting and W. L. Winfrey as their first Associational Missionary. There have been numerous Moderators over the life of the association and 20 Associational Missionaries.

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During 1962 and 1963 the Association purchased land at 207 Hawkins Street in Rogersville, TN and erected a home for the Associational Missionary and a separate office building for the Association. The land and home cost a total of $8,085. In 1995 the association renovated and joined the separate home and office to create what is now the current office of the Holston Valley Baptist Association.

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In the beginning the mission of the Holston Valley Baptist Association was to equip churches and assist in the Great Commission. All of these years later that is still the focus of the Association.