Charles “Chuck” Linscomb, a Burlington resident, told the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners on June 17 that the restored Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church will soon be turned over to trustees and will need day-to-day management and help attracting visitors.

Linscomb said the restoration work should finish “in a few months,” and that the trustees want someone to “do the day to day, running of that place,” to support tours, weddings, funerals and other community events. “It is a church…but you can do a tour of it or have an event there,” Linscomb said during public comment.

The commissioners did not take formal action but agreed to route the request to county tourism and recreation committees for follow-up. Commissioner Copley said Marty Connolly and other committee members who have worked on the renovation will be contacted and that the commissioners will “take this to some of those committees and see what ideas we can come up with and then determine if there's a way the commissioners might be able to just support one of those organizations or one of those committees.”

Commissioner Copley and other commissioners discussed the site’s role in local heritage tourism; Copley noted the project is part of efforts to increase recognition of Underground Railroad sites in Lawrence County and the Tristate area and said committee members Bill Dingus and Marty Connolly represent the county on those efforts. No votes or funding commitments were made at the meeting.

Linscomb told commissioners the building’s trustees own the property and that the venue will not be used for weekly worship only, but also for special events and tours once operations are established. He said the trustees had attempted to form a preservation society but had not yet succeeded in establishing an ongoing operator.

The commissioners asked staff to contact Connolly and committee members and report back on possible county support, including whether a county-sponsored committee or partnership could assist with operations, programming or outreach. The discussion concluded without a timetable for staff follow-up.

The request arose during the public-comment portion of the June 17 meeting rather than as a formal agenda item.