This week, I visited the First Baptist Church of Augusta. It was the site of the founding church of the Southern Baptist Convention. Also visited was the first Baptist Church in Georgia which is in Appling.The interesting thing about both is that they tie to Jacksonville; sort of….

The First Baptist Church of  Augusta, located at 802 Greene Street began in 1817 with a “Praying Society”.  It expanded and in 1821 a brick building was dedicated .  The fellowship continued and in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was established. A historical marker is outside of the church with this inscription:

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.

The first Baptist Church of Georgia, Kioke Baptist Church,  is  located in Appllng, outside of Augusta.  It began with a meeting house in 1772 with the Rev. Daniel Marshall as pastor.  It held church meetings at least 45 years before the First Baptist Church of Augusta 

In Jacksonville, Florida, there is a historic building at 218 West Church Street less than a block from the Historic Hobson, the First Baptist Church, built after the Great Fire of Jacksonville.  The  “Florida Baptist Building” was designed by the Jacksonville famous, Henry John Klutho. In January of 1984, it was designation a U. S. National Register of Historic Places.   It is now being repurposed to have apartments and living quarters for residents.  It was there that Southern Baptist Convention business was conducted, newspapers for the Southern Baptist Convention were written and more.The photo below is the original rendering by Klutho.(credit:unknown).

When Kioke Church, the oldest Baptist church in Georgia,  built its beautiful current facility, it asked the Southern Baptist Convention founding Church, the First Baptist Church of Augusta which was in disrepair since they changed their facility to another location,  to give them some of the stained class windows from their former church in downtown Augusta.    They did and today, those beautiful windows can be seen in their lovely facility in Appling, Georgia.  The former church where the Southern Baptist Church was formed is in total disrepair but their former windows are seen in beautiful display in Appling.

In Jacksonville, The building once used by the Southern Baptist Convention in Jacksonville, which through the years has moved to another location in Duval County, is being repurposed to house others and create living and retail space.

In all, the Church is alive and well although the facilities have changed, God remains The I AM.  

See you tomorrow,

Sources: Wikipedia, Baptist Press, Waymarkers, Southern Baptist Convention, Markers at Kioke, FBC Augusta, Fl Memory.