Southern Baptist
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...
megachurch
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...
in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
. The First Baptist Church building is located downtown on South Perry Street. Founded in 1829, it had a mixed congregation (consisting of enslaved and free blacks as well as
whites
White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view.
De ...
) until 1867 when most
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
members (themselves often the slaves of the white congregationalists) branched off to found their own church, initially called "First Baptist Church, colored" a few blocks away on Ripley Street.
History
The church was founded in 1829 by Lee Compere, who had been sent out to do missionary work among the
Creek Indians
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTallassee, east of Montgomery. The current building was constructed between 1905 and 1923 and is based on the
Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral (), formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower ( ), is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Florence, Italy. Commenced in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed b ...
.
In April 1965, by now an all-white church, in light of the ongoing struggle for
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
, the
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
, J.R. White, and the church's
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
s proposed an 'open door policy' to the First Baptist Church congregation. Although originally rejected, the proposal was subsequently accepted, and has been described as one of the first 'cracks in the segregated church.'. Dale Huff became pastor in 1980. In 1991, Jay Wolf become pastor of First Baptist for 29 years until he retired in 2020.
On September 30, 2021, an arsonist attempted to set fire to the main sanctuary, the historic Stakely sanctuary, as well as some other office spaces within the church. The reception office was destroyed and there were several burn spots on the carpet of both sanctuaries. Fire also damaged a few pews in the main sanctuary and smoke and soot were throughout the church.