Zoar Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in Saline County, was organized about 1825 with nine founding members. Its name, "Zoar," appropriately means "little" (Genesis 19:22). The first church building, a log structure, was erected in 1831 in the Hardeman neighborhood about four miles northeast of here. Peyton Nowlin (1767-1837), a native of Virginia, served as the first pastor; he was one of the first ministers of any denomination in Saline County and became known as the "marrying person" because he officiated at so many early Saline County marriages. A second church building was built near Hardeman in 1849. In 1860 the congregation moved to Jonesboro, now Napton, and built the present church building. Preaching services have been held without interruption since 1825, including during the war years 1861-1865, although on one day during the war the state militia surrounded the church during preaching and made the men inside fall in line and march away. The church joined the old Concord Baptist Association in 1829 and is now a member of the Missouri Baptist Association and the Southern Baptist Convention.