First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
First Baptist Church of Augusta
Augusta Georgia First Baptist Church.jpg
First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia) is located in Georgia (U.S. state)
First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia)
Location Greene and 8th Sts., Augusta, Georgia
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1902
Architect Denny,Willis Franklin
Architectural style Beaux Arts
NRHP Reference # 72000397[1]
Added to NRHP March 23, 1972

First Baptist Church of Augusta is a Baptist church in Augusta, Georgia. The original location is now a historical site, and the church is currently located on Walton Way.

Baptists Praying Society

According to the earliest church records, the Baptists Praying Society was established when "In the year 1817, Jesse D. Green, a layman, was active in gathering together the few scattered Baptists in Augusta, and, after holding one or more preliminary meetings, the brethren and sisters, to the number of eighteen, had drawn up and adopted a covenant, to which they affixed their names."[2] In May 1817, they congregated in the court house. A few years later in 1820, Rev, Wm. T. Brantly was chosen for the pastoral office, and he undertook erecting a brick house at 802 Greene St., at a cost of $20,000. It was dedicated on May 6, 1821.[2]

The Southern Baptist Convention was formed at a meeting May 1845 in this church.[3]

Historical marker

A historical marker was erected outside the church by Georgia Historical Commission in 1956. (Marker Number 121–29.) It is inscribed as follows:[4]

In March 1817, eight men and two women meeting in an Augusta home formed "The Baptist Praying Society of Augusta" - the forerunner of the First Baptist Church. Two months later the society was constituted a church under the leadership of the first minister, Wm. T. Brantley, this property was purchased in 1870. A church on this site was dedicated May 26, 1821. In 1845, after serious friction arose in the national Triennial Convention, 327 delegates from eight southern states and the District of Columbia met here to form the Southern Baptist Convention. This building was erected in 1902.

Greene Street building

In 1975 the congregation moved to another site in Augusta on Walton Way,[5][6] and the old church building was sold to the Southern Baptist Non-Profit Historical Society.[7]

The Southern Baptist Convention erected an identification marker on the grounds in 1984, noting this as the site of the convention's founding.

By 2003, the building was owned by the Southern Baptist Restoration Foundation, and the Southern Bible Seminary had started using the building to hold classes.[5][7]

Pastors

The list of pastors of this church are:[2][8]

  • Wm. T. Brantly (1820–1826)
  • James Shannon (1826–1829)
  • C. D. Mallory (1829–1835)
  • W. J. Hard (1835–1839)
  • Wm T. Brantly, Jr. (1840–1848)
  • N. J. Foster (1849)
  • C. B. Jannett (1849-1851)
  • Dr. J. G. Binney (1852–1855)
  • J. E. Ryerson (1855–1860)
  • Dr. A. J. Huntington (1860–1865)
  • J. H. Cuthbert (1865-1867)
  • James Dixon ( 1869-1874)
  • M. B. Wharton (1875)
  • W. W. Landrum (Feb. 18, 1876- 1882)
  • Dr. Lansing Burrors (1883-1899)
  • Dr. Sparks W. Melton (1900-1909)
  • Dr. M. Ashby Jones (1909-1917)
  • Dr. William Vines (1917-1918)
  • Dr. Edward L. Grace (1919-1927)
  • Dr. Fredrick Smith (1927-1936)
  • Dr. R. Paul Caudill (1937-1944)
  • Dr. A. Warren Huyck (1944-1953)
  • Dr.Robert Jackson Robinson (basketball & Baylor) (1953–1974)
  • Dr. George Balentine (1975-1982)
  • Dr. Charles Bugg (1982-1989)
  • Dr. Timothy Owings (1990-2003)
  • Dr. Greg DeLoach (2005-Present)

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. The Baptists Heritage, Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, H. Leon McBeth, Broadman Press, 1987
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

External links