First Baptist Church (Greensboro, N.C.) Records
The church met informally as early as 1850 under the leadership of Elder Elias Dodson. In 1859, Greensboro Baptist Church was formally constituted. The church has undergone three name changes: Greensboro, 1859-1887; West Washington Street, 1887-1902; and First, 1902. This collection contains a run of First Baptist News from 1951 to 1967, a small amount of other history materials, and audio recordings of sermons and talks from 1952-1974.
Biographical and Historical Note
This church met informally as early as 1850 under the leadership of Elder Elias Dodson. Prior to its constitution, it was an arm of Madison Church and a member of Beulah Baptist Association until 1856 when it joined Liberty Baptist Association. On March 13, 1859, Greensboro Baptist Church was formally constituted under the leadership of Dr. John Mitchell and Elders Thomas E. Skinner and Levi Thorn. There were fourteen charter members. Histories indicate charter members were both Black and white. The newly constituted church returned to the Beulah Baptist Association later that year. In 1894 the church joined the Piedmont Baptist Association.
Initially, the church worshiped in a building on South Elm Street, purchased from the Methodist Church in 1851. A new building was erected on South Elm Street around 1871 but was destroyed by fire in 1885. The church met at a temporary location until dedicating a structure on West Washington Street in 1887. In 1906, a new church was built on the corner of West Market and Eugene Streets. By 1952, the church moved into its current building on Madison Avenue, now Friendly Avenue. This building was dedicated January 1, 1956.
Dr. J. Clyde Turner became pastor in 1910 and stayed until his retirement in 1948. Dr. Claud Bowen became pastor in 1948, a time in which the church experienced rapid growth. The church staff expanded and two new churches were established - Lawndale Baptist and Hunter Hills Baptist. Bowen retired in 1973 and Dr. Alton McEachern assumed the role of pastor from 1974 to 1987. Dr. W. Randall Lolley became pastor from 1990 to 1997. Dr. Kenneth W. Massey served as pastor from 1997 to 2011. During that time, the church voted to leave the Southern Baptist Convention in 2004 and is now aligned with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Sources:
- Culclasure, Scott P. In every good work: a history of First Baptist Church Greensboro, North Carolina Available online at https://archive.org/details/ineverygoodworkh00culc
- Turner, J. Clyde (John Clyde). A century of service: history of First Baptist Church, Greensboro, North Carolina, 1859-1959. Available online at https://archive.org/details/centuryofservice00turn/mode/2up
Collection Overview
This collection contains a run of First Baptist News from 1951 to 1967, as well as a small amount of other history materials for the First Baptist Church of Greensboro, N.C. The collection also includes audio recordings of sermons and talks from 1952-1974. Formats include 32 reel-to-reel tapes and 38 dictation discs.
Controlled Access Headings
Geographic Names
Subjects
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Stephanie Bennett, 2024
- Revision Description
- Revised by Emily Houlditch; added abstract and expanded historical note, 2024 October
- Revision Description
- Revised by Emily Houlditch; edited historical note and added audio recordings, 2025 April
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- First Baptist Church (Greensboro, N.C.) Records (MS605), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.