First Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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First Baptist Church of Augusta
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 Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Location in the United States
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| Location | Greene and 8th Sts., Augusta, Georgia |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1902 |
| Architect | Denny, Willis Franklin |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000397 |
| Added to NRHP | March 23, 1972 |
The First Baptist Church of Augusta is a very old and important Southern Baptist church in Augusta, Georgia. The original building is now a special historical site. The church congregation later moved to a new building on Walton Way.
Contents
The Start of the Church
Forming the Praying Society
The church began with a group called the Baptists Praying Society. In 1817, a man named Jesse D. Green helped gather Baptists in Augusta. About eighteen people joined together and created a special agreement.
In May 1817, they started meeting for worship in the local courthouse. A few years later, in 1820, Rev. Wm. T. Brantly became their pastor. He led the effort to build a brick church. This first church building was located at 802 Greene Street. It cost $20,000 to build and was officially opened on May 6, 1821.
A Big Meeting in 1845
A very important event happened at this church in May 1845. The Southern Baptist Convention was officially formed here. This meeting marked a big separation between Baptists in the Northern and Southern parts of the United States. They disagreed on important issues, including slavery and how the church should be run. This happened before the American Civil War.
Remembering History
The Historical Marker
In 1956, a special historical marker was placed outside the church. The Georgia Historical Commission put it there to remember the church's history.
The marker explains that in March 1817, ten people started "The Baptist Praying Society of Augusta." This group later became the First Baptist Church. Their first minister, Wm. T. Brantley, helped them buy the land in 1870. The church building on this site was dedicated on May 26, 1821.
It also mentions the 1845 meeting. At that time, 327 leaders from eight southern states and Washington D.C. met here. They formed the Southern Baptist Convention. The current building on Greene Street was built in 1902.
The Greene Street Building Today
In 1975, the church members moved to a new building on Walton Way in Augusta. They sold their old church building to the Southern Baptist Non-Profit Historical Society.
In 1984, the Southern Baptist Convention put up another marker. This one showed that the church was the founding place of their convention. By 2003, the Southern Baptist Restoration Foundation owned the building. The Southern Bible Seminary even started holding classes there.
The building fell into disrepair after 2015. In August 2020, a local real estate developer named Joe Edge bought the building. He plans to save the structure and fix it up. He wants to turn the back part into office space and restore the outside of the building.
Church Leaders
Here is a list of the pastors who have led this church over the years:
- 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 Burrows (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 (2005–2015)
- Dr. Will Dyer (2017-Present)
- Isabella Jordan, A Century of Service
- Anna Olive Jones, History of the First Baptist Church, Augusta, Georgia, 1817–1967 (1967)
- Supplement to the History, 1967–1992 (1992)
