First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia)

First Baptist Church of Augusta
Location Greene and 8th Sts., Augusta, Georgia
Coordinates 33°28′21″N 81°58′3″W / 33.47250°N 81.96750°W / 33.47250; -81.96750Coordinates: 33°28′21″N 81°58′3″W / 33.47250°N 81.96750°W / 33.47250; -81.96750
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

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 William Cathcart (1881). The Baptist Encyclopedia.
  3. ↑ The Baptists Heritage, Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, H. Leon McBeth, Broadman Press, 1987
  4. ↑ "The First Baptist Church". The Historical Marker Database.
  5. 1 2 "Brief History of this Site where the Seminary meets".
  6. ↑ Virginia Norton (October 31, 2003). "Old church shows new signs of life". Augusta Chronicle.
  7. 1 2 Scott Barkley (March 17, 2005). "Georgia group making moves in rebuilding Southern Baptist birthplace". The Christian Index.
  8. ↑ "Augusta First Baptist Church of Augusta". National Park Service.

Further reading

External links

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