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200 YEARS OF HISTORY
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History Articles Published in the Informer
Taking a look back at History, as we move forward.
When the town of Washington was laid off by Col. James Bonner, about the year 1776, he set aside Lot No. 50 on the plot of the town "for public use of the said township for building a church on." This lot was located at the corner of Main and Bonner Streets, present site of St. Peter's Episcopal Church cemetery. Here, facing Main Street, the first church building in Washington was built. The Free Church was used by all denominations until the year 1800 when the Methodist Church was built. The Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians continued the use of the Free Church until 1822. At this time St. Peter's and the Presbyterian Churches were built. The Baptists church secured full ownership of the Free church and became the First Baptist Church of Washington.
Published May 25, 2022
"The early history of First Baptist Church Washington is wrapped in what was happening with Baptists in eastern North Carolina, and elsewhere, with adherence to specific doctrines and practices. Baptists have long held to their right to fellowship in worship with individuals who believe as they do, and associate with other churches which believe as they do. While Baptists generally agreed on several important theological points, a primary disagreement was over whether salvation was only for the elect chosen by God, known as predestination, or whether it was for any who heard the good news of God’s grace and chose freely by faith to follow Christ.At the time First Baptist Church Washington was received into the Kehukee Association in 1822, the Association strongly advocated predestination. In 1827, the association divided, with the majority of the churches becoming anti-missionary. Eventually, the disagreement would impact the Washington Baptists."
Published July 06, 2022
Baptist Church conference records between 1823 and 1837 are often briefly worded with no indication of strife among the members. However, by 1832, some members had begun holding monthly meetings at the free church building located at Beaver Dam with the Baptist congregation founded there (also in 1822) by Jeremiah Mastin and Joseph Biggs. There are no minutes recorded between 1837 and 1852. During those years it is possible that those professing to be Old School Primitive Baptist (anti-missionary) and those professing to be Missionary Baptists agreed to share the use of the Baptist Church building in Washington, holding separate meetings.
When the minutes that we do have resume, after several blank pages in the ledger, the first items are labeled copies of two letters, one dated July 1852 addressed to Elijah Clark of New Bern and one to “those professing to be missionary Baptist in Washington.” In the letters, the Baptists meeting at Beaver Dam assert that the Missionary Baptists have excluded them from the meeting house in Washington. The Baptists at Beaver Dam request a response from the missionary Baptists in Washington as "to their Equitable right, title and interest in the meeting house to the exclusion (of) us as a place of worship”. Subsequent minutes state no response was received from the Baptists meeting in Washington. The Baptists in Washington would reorganize in May 1869 as a Regular Baptist Church sending messengers to the Pamlico Association and the Baptist State Convention. Finally, In February 1873, the Old School Baptists meeting at Beaver Dam would change their name to Beaver Dam Church.
Published July 20, 2022
The records we have seem to indicate that the church made steady progress under the leadership of several pastors through the turn of the Twentieth Century. During the pastorate of the Reverend J. H. Sullivan (1907- 1911), additional classrooms were added and other improvements made. It was at the close of his ministry in 1911 that the church was able to relinquish the aid being given to it by the North Carolina Board of Missions. Since then, the church has been selfsupporting and has regularly participated in giving aid to missionary work at home and in foreign lands.
Published July 27, 2022
Under the leadership of Reverend R. L. Gay (1913-1915) a movement was started to erect a new church building in a more suitable location. Reverend Gay began the work of raising funds for a new building. The Morton property at the corner Main and Harvey Streets was purchased in 1916. He resigned before actual construction was begun, and the Reverend Edward Jenkins (1916-1917) was pastor during the actual building. Two lots were sold from the grounds before building would begin. The Morton house which stood facing Main Street was moved to face Harvey Street and was used as the church annex. In 1916, with the Great War (World War I) raging in Europe, ground was broken and construction began. The $20,000 builing project was completed in 1917 as the United States entered the war, and is still in use. The fifteen members of the church of 1893 had swelled to 150 members when the building on East Main Street was occupied.
Published August 03, 2022
In 1930, during the early months of the Great Depression, the Rev. J. R. Everette was called to serve as pastor of First Baptist. He was instrumental in initiating the unified budget plan, though First Baptist struggled financially. Church minutes reveal that the congregation borrowed from the Bank of Washington several times to pay bills. Nevertheless, acoustical alteration of the church dome and carpeting were made possible through the efforts of the women of the church during his pastorate. Also, during Rev. Everett’s tenure, the debt for the construction of and alterations to the 1917 building was finally paid, the mortgage was burned, and the building was dedicated December 5, 1937. Church membership grew to 430. Rev. Everette served until 1943 when he left to serve as an Army Chaplain during World War II.
Published August 17, 2022
Dr. Wistar Hamilton, Jr., came to the pastorate of the church in October, 1946 serving until May 15, 1953. During Dr. Hamilton’s ministry, a parsonage was constructed at 209 College Avenue, Washington Park. Also, during his ministry more than 300 members were added to the church, increasing the membership to 695, which greatly strengthened the work of the church in general and lay the groundwork for a building program for a new educational building.The Rev. Earle J. Rogers came from Wendell, North Carolina to the pastorate of the church on September 29, 1953. During his ministry, ground was broken January 9, 1955, for an educational building. The huge brick building, at a cost of $67,000, was designed with 26 classrooms over two floors and a spacious, open basement. Joined to the 1917 building on the north side, the educational building was occupied Sunday May 13,1956, with a record Sunday School attendance of 406. That record, made in the middle of the “baby boom” resulting from the end of World War II, stands unbroken. The cornerstone was laid September 16, 1956 by church member N. L. Miller who had laid the bricks for the 1917 building.
Our Celebration Selfie
Published August 24, 2022
Reverend Gary B. Thompson answered the church’s call in June, 1971. Rev. Thompson served until 1981. He led the church in a church training program and spiritual renewal which permeated the membership. Rev. Thompson’s wife, Peggy, spearheaded a revitalization of the church Library/Media Center as an important educational and mission arm of the church. Rev. Thompson led the church to a membership of 701. During Rev. Gary Thompson’s tenure, plans for a 150th Anniversary commemoration were implemented, culminating in a celebration service on Sunday November 5, 1972.
Published August 31, 2022
In October 1982 Rev. B. J. McKee, a retired US Navy Chaplain, was called to First Baptist Church as pastor. During his tenure, First Baptist began a capital campaign for a new Family Life Center to be built attached to the north side of the Educational Building and celebrated the groundbreaking for the structure. The new two-story facility was designed with a gymnasium-sized fellowship area featuring a double staircase on the north wall to classrooms on the surrounding second floor. The lower floor incorporated a commercial grade kitchen with a pass through into the fellowship area and a large pantry. The Family Life Center has become a hub for church activities.
Published September 7, 2022
Keithen Tucker was called to First Baptist Church in 1987 and served from January 1988 until 1993. The Family Life Center was completed and dedicated May 15, 1988. Rev. Tucker served as Master of Ceremony, and Rev. B.J. McKee was speaker for the occasion. The loan note of $470,000 was burned during the facility dedication, and First Baptist Church was debt free. The new Family Life Center provided the opportunity to remodel the former church kitchen into a pastor’s suite and the former fellowship hall into a choir room with a music minister’s office.
Published September 14, 2022
In 1994, Dr. Jimmy Moore came as pastor of First Baptist Church from Enoree, South Carolina. He would serve 22 years, becoming the longest tenured pastor until his homegoing July 18, 2016. During Dr. Moore’s leadership, First Baptist experienced several spiritual markers that, with God’s guidance, directed the congregation into new areas of service. In February 1996, Dr. Moore responded to a South Roanoke Baptist Association initiative for a North Carolina-South Africa Missions partnership and became part of a three-member team traveling to Swaziland (now eSwatini) to survey the work to be done over the five-year period. Dr. Moore returned with other members of First Baptist Church the following year. A strong mission partnership was established that has endured for over twenty-six years. Over 100 First Baptist church members have participated in many mission trips to eSwatini involving homestead visitations, revivals, construction projects, medical clinics, and leadership training.
Published September 28, 2022
In 2005, Dr. Jimmy Moore led the congregation in Pursuing Vital Ministries, starting with Prayer Triplets to conduct a spiritual inventory of member gifts and their visions for First Baptist. Among the priorities revealed during the assessment was addressing facility needs. Dr. Moore asked the existing Long Range Planning Committee in 2006 to investigate the feasibility of providing more Sunday School classrooms to accommodate a growing attendance. Input gathered from the church membership revealed fifteen facility priorities that needed to be addressed to provide space not only for classrooms, but for the ministries the membership felt called to provide as a direct outcome of Pursuing Vital Ministries.The church stepped out in faith with its Widow’s Mite stewardship and capital campaign for the expansion in 2008, and ground breaking was held October 3, 2010. The completed project entailed new construction, renovation, and upgrading of all areas of the church, provided improved traffic flow across all building additions, and included a centralized elevator to provide handicap accessibility to all three floors of the facility.The project provided a new WEE School/Pre-school wing, Children’s Wing, Youth Area, Gallery, Gathering Space, Media Center, and Parlor. The Sanctuary, Family Life Center, and Music Suite were upgraded along with all Sunday School rooms and administrative offices. A new porte corchere and handicap ramp provided a protected drop-off for the elderly and families with young children. First Baptist dedicated the new and improved spaces on March 25, 2012. The total cost of the project was $2.6 million. Over half of that amount was paid at the time of the building dedication, with a debt of $1.1 million carried forward. The debt was retired on March 4, 2019 with a note burning at both services.First Baptist Church embarked on a very difficult journey in 2015 when Dr. Jimmy Moore was diagnosed in August with cancer. Dr. Moore had served for over twenty-one years, shepherding the congregation with humility and leading by example through several spiritually significant events and all matters that typically impact church life. Jimmy’s passion was preaching, and for the next eleven months, with few exceptions, he was in the pulpit on Sunday morning for both services. He delivered the Word, honestly shared his feelings about the walk he was on, and through that tremendous effort, he allowed the congregation to accompany him on that journey. His homegoing on July 18, 2016 will remain a spiritual marker for the First Baptist congregation.During Dr. Moore’s illness and treatment, Dr. Greg Barmer assisted Jimmy with day-to-day church administration while maintaining his own responsibilities as Minister of Music. On those few occasions when Jimmy was physically unable to be in the pulpit on short notice, Greg delivered the sermon at both Sunday morning services. Both prior to and during this difficult time, Rev. Barmer had begun to feel a distinct restlessness and redirection in his call, and following Pastor Moore’s death, the invitation from the pastor search committee helped clarify his call to the pastoral ministry. First Baptist Church called Greg in November 2017 to begin serving as pastor in February 2018. The continuity in leadership provided a grieving congregation comfort and stability during a tender period of transition.
The new stained glass window was revealed at the celebration commemorating 200 years. The stained glass has been hidden in the dome since the ceiling was closed in many years ago. It was professionally removed, cleaned and mounted on the wall on prominent display on the wall in the Sanctuary, to be enjoyed for many years to come.