First Baptist Church (est. 1774) was the first Baptist church in
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...
;
[Albert J. Raboteau, ''Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South''](_blank)
Oxford University Press, p. 137, accessed 27 Dec 2008 one of the
first African-American
African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "bre ...
Baptist congregations in the United States, and one of the oldest black churches in the nation.
[Henry Chase, "Proud, free and black: Petersburg - visiting the Virginia location of the largest number of 19th century free slaves"](_blank)
''American Visions'', Jun-Jul 1994, accessed 27 Dec 2008 It established one of the first local schools for black children in the nation.
Its congregation was active during the 20th century
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
. Today it has the largest community outreach program in the city.
History
In the earliest decades of the Baptist Church in the American Southeast, it was stimulated by preachers from New England who generated the
Great Awakening
Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...
. As more churches were started, members came together in an association. With growth through the end of the American Revolutionary War, in 1781 the association of churches split into two parts: along state lines for Virginia and North Carolina. The twenty-one congregations in Virginia formed the Portsmouth Baptist Association, named after their first meeting place. Representatives worked together to form church policy. From 1810 to 1828 they began to work on Foreign Missions and Christian Education. Later they established Sabbath Schools.
The history of First Baptist Church started with scattered black members in
Prince George County, Virginia
Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George.
Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. stat ...
worshipping as
New Light
The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...
s in 1756 after the Great Awakening. Baptist preachers had traveled widely in the South where they appealed to both blacks and whites in evangelical outreach. In the early years, such preachers strongly supported an anti-slavery message, based on the equality of men made in God's image. Their democratic message and willingness to welcome blacks in active roles attracted many new members to the Baptists, including slaves. At a time when the Anglican Church was the established church in the colony, in some areas energetic young white men without many other opportunities were the ones to take up leadership roles as Baptist preachers, and they challenged the class system of the colony.
In 1774 some of the black New Light members united under the Rev. John Michaels. Calling themselves the First African Baptist Church, they met in
Lunenburg in a building on the plantation of Colonel
William Byrd III
Colonel William Byrd III (September 6, 1728January 1 or January 2, 1777) was an American planter, politician and military officer who was a member of the House of Burgesses.
Early life
He was son of William Byrd II and Maria Taylor Byrd, and t ...
. After their meetinghouse at the Byrd plantation burned in a fire, in 1820 free members of the congregation moved to
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...
, where there was a growing
free black community. (From about 300 free blacks in 1790, this community in Petersburg grew tenfold to 3,224 by 1860, when it was the largest free black population in the South.
"National Register Nominations: Pocahontas Island Historic District"
, ''Heritage Matters'', Jan-Feb 2008, National Park Service, accessed 30 Dec 2008 On the eve of the Civil War, city residents also included about 6,000 enslaved African Americans and 9,000 whites.)
With the move into Petersburg, the congregation took the name of First Baptist Church. They built their first church on Harrison Avenue (near the location of the current church.) This was one of two early black Baptist churches in the colonies before the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
; this was the first Baptist church to be established in Petersburg.
Emphasizing education, the First Baptist congregation also created one of the earliest local schools for black children in the nation. From its beginning, the congregation was led by black pastors. In the wake of Nat Turner's slave rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831.Schwarz, Frederic D.1831 Nat Turner's Rebellion" ''American Heri ...
in 1831, however, planters became so alarmed about the potential for religious messages to cause other revolts that they passed legislation in 1832 requiring that all black churches be led by white pastors. The planters believed they could ensure control of the message that whites would deliver. During this time, Thomas G. Keen was one of the ministers at First Baptist. After the Civil War, blacks took back control of their church and left the Southern Baptist Convention.
By 1865 First Baptist had 1700 members. Rev. Leonard A. Black was pastor from 1873 to 1883, during which time the congregation grew to 3,600 members. At about age 17, he had escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1837, joining three brothers in Boston, Massachusetts and settling that year in Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
. He later married and lived for years in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. In 1847 he had published a memoir of his trials and journey, ''The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black, a Fugitive from Slavery,'' classified as a slave narrative
The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as ...
.[Monique Prince, "Summary: Leonard Black, ''The Life and Sufferings of Leonard Black, a Fugitive from Slavery. Written by Himself,'' New Bedford: Benjamin Lindsey, 1847"](_blank)
''Documenting the American South,'' University of North Carolina
First Baptist soon joined a state convention of black Baptist churches, aided by the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, to escape the supervision of whites. Such black state conventions eventually founded the National Baptist Convention, USA
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Cen ...
. The First Baptist congregation continued to grow after the war as numerous freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
moved to Petersburg from outlying areas. Its members helped the rural migrants adjust to urban life.
The current church at 236 Harrison Avenue was built starting in 1870, after a fire burned the previous one. The congregation steadily added to the church, completing the steeple during Rev. Black's pastorate.[ First Baptist Church Petersburg, Virginia](_blank)
Official website, accessed 27 Dec 2008
New Bedford: Benjamin Lindsey, 1847, full text online at ''Documenting the American South,'' University of North Carolina In the late 1880s the pastor, Rev. Charles B. Gordon, also edited ''The Pilot'' (later known as ''The National Pilot''), a paper that was said to be a mouthpiece for Baptists in Virginia.["First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia"](_blank)
African American Heritage-Virginia, accessed 31 Dec 2008
20th century
Like other major black churches, First Baptist long played a role in training new leaders in education, politics and business. Its congregation was active in the Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, and the church was a place of mass meetings for demonstrations, support and voter registration.
In 1980 First Baptist built a new education building, and it has purchased nearby lots as part of planning for its future. It is an active leader in the downtown association of churches, with the largest community outreach program in the city. Its ministries include education and scholarship programs, welfare and family counseling. In addition, it televises services twice a week.
See also
List of African American firsts
African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "brea ...
Citations
Further reading
* Albert J. Raboteau, ''Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South,'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2004 (25th anniversary edition)
External links
www.firstbaptistpetersburg.org
€”Official web site
"First Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia"
African American Heritage
New Bedford: Benjamin Lindsey, 1847; full text online at ''Documenting the American South,'' University of North Carolina, 2004
{{black church
African-American history of Virginia
Baptist churches in Virginia
18th-century Baptist churches in the United States
Religious organizations established in 1774