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The First Baptist
Church of Edgefield, known originally as the Edgefield
Village Baptist Church, was constituted in 1823. The Constitution was read and signed by 26
charter members. The first service was held Sunday, April 20, 1823. The first
pastor was the Rev. Basil Manly, who served the church until 1826.
Dr. William Bullein Johnson came as pastor in 1830. As president of
the South Carolina Baptist Convention, he called a meeting in 1845
to consider withdrawing from the General Baptist Convention and
forming a new body that was to become the Southern Baptist
Convention. He was elected president of that body when it was
formed in Augusta, Georgia. Another prominent pastor was Dr. R. G. Lee, one of the most beloved
preachers in
America. His
sermon “Pay Day Someday”, written in Edgefield in 1919, became one
of the most famous sermons ever preached. Before his death, he
delivered the sermon 1,275 times and over 8,000 people professed
faith in Christ in response to it.
In 1888, the original small frame
church building was dismantled and a new brick building was
erected. Tragedy befell the church on June 25, 1913, when lightning
struck the steeple and the church burned to the ground. The present
main structure was built when Dr. M. D. Jeffries was pastor. The
first service was held in the new building Sunday, September 27,
1914. There have been two major additions to the physical plant.
An educational annex was erected in 1948, and a new activities
building was dedicated in 1978. In 1993, the church expanded its
choir loft and added the large stained-glass window with a life-size
figure of Christ. The window is the focal point of the sanctuary,
appropriately symbolizing Christ as the focal point of the church.
From May 1997 to May 1998, the church completed a major renovation
of its buildings. In 1998, the church celebrated its 175th
anniversary.
Through the years, First
Baptist Church has been blessed
by the leadership of many outstanding pastors. Those who have
served are:
|
Dr. Basil Manly |
1823-1826 |
|
Dr. R. G. Lee |
1918-1921 |
|
Rev. Joseph A. Warne |
1827-1828 |
|
Rev. Arthur T.
Allen |
1921-1926 |
|
Dr. William B. Johnson |
1830-1845 |
|
Rev Walter L.
Coker |
1927-1928 |
|
Rev. J. M. Chiles |
1845-1845 |
|
Rev. B. W.
Thomason |
1929-1940 |
|
Dr. William B. Johnson |
1845-1852 |
|
Rev. J. F.
Burriss |
1940-1943 |
|
Rev. C. A. Raymond |
1853-1854 |
|
Dr. P. H.
Anderson, Jr. |
1944-1945 |
|
Rev. E. L. Whatley |
1854-1856 |
|
Dr. John S.
Wimbish |
1945-1950 |
|
Rev. L. R. Gwaltney |
1858-1868 |
|
Dr. H. M.
Kinlaw |
1950-1955 |
|
Rev. Luther Broaddus |
1869-1875 |
|
Dr. Lewis
McCormick |
1956-1958 |
|
Rev. W. J. Alexander |
1875-1877 |
|
Dr. J. Graydon
Dukes |
1958-1963 |
|
Rev. W. T. Hundley |
1878-1882 |
|
Dr. B. Conrad
Johnston |
1963-1970 |
|
Rev. H. A. Whitman |
1882-1886 |
|
Rev. Tom
Collins |
1971-1974 |
|
Rev. T. D. Clark |
1886-1888 |
|
Dr. William
Harris |
1975-1977 |
|
Dr. G. L. Hunt |
1888-1890 |
|
Rev. James G.
Revels |
1978-1982 |
|
Rev. J. N. Booth |
1891-1893 |
|
Dr. Michael L.
Glenn |
1982-1987 |
|
Dr. L. R. Gwaltney |
1893-1902 |
|
Dr. W. Richard
Kremer |
1987-1991 |
|
Dr. C. E. Burts |
1903-1911 |
|
Dr. Tony
Hopkins |
1992-2002 |
|
Dr. M. D. Jeffries |
1911-1914 |
|
Rev. Keith
Goretzka |
2003-2004 |
|
Dr. E. Pendleton Jones |
1915-1918 |
|
Rev. Stacy
Williams |
2005-present |
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