4. First African Baptist Church
Ephesus Baptist Church, now First Baptist, was of a mixed congregation before 1840, with slaves and masters having been worshipping together for the first 21 years of its existence. The Ephesus Baptist congregation outgrew their old building, and constructed a new sanctuary in 1840, the old wooden building was utilized by the slave and freedmen congregation. There is debate on the definite date of the founding of First African Baptist Church, considering that it was illegal for colored freepersons or slaves to manage their own separate religious institutions until the conclusion of the Civil War.
The rationale behind creating a separate institution is unclear, however the Southern Baptist Convention, with First Baptist being a member church, in the 1850’s became increasingly white, and would cement action by member churches to execute the segregation of congregations.
The original building was destroyed by fire in 1870, and another was built in 1881 in the same location, and for eleven years the congregation received permission to worship in the Muscogee County Courthouse. The building that sits today at 901 5 th Avenue is not the original location of the church, but the building we see today was constructed in 1915, and has remained virtually unchanged, despite damage from a fire in 1977. Many of the city’s most outstanding persons of color, stretching from the Antebellum period all the way through the Civil Rights era have attended services at First African Baptist, including local integration leaders including Dr. Thomas Brewer, and the famous ‘Mother of the Blues’, Ma Rainey, was baptized there.
Churches in Columbus during the Reconstruction era were an integral part of moving Columbus forward, particularly in local politics and creating outreach programs to be enjoyed by all.
Submission composed by Austin Chesteen, April 9, 2017
References and Further Reading
"First African Baptist Church Celebrates 156 Years of Service." Columbus Times, August 13, 1996, A2 sec.
Gierer, Larry. "First African celebrates 175 years." Ledger Enquirer: Religion, July 31, 2015. Accessed March 7, 2017. http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/living/religion/article30075246.html.
The One Hundred Forty-First Anniversary Program of First African Baptist Church. Columbus, GA: First African Baptist Church, 1981.