Statesville Baptists count their beginning as 1875. On November 21, 1875 elders W.R. Gwaltney, J.B. Boone and G.W. Green met with a small group in the courthouse and organized what is now the First Baptist Church of Statesville.
As was the case in many churches of that time, the founding of this church was traced to the State Mission Board, who sent Reverend J.B. Boone to the districts of Charlotte, Salisbury and Statesville as a state missionary. At the date of organization, J.B. Boone was called to serve as the first minister for this church.
Within a month, the congregation realized a need for a church building. On December 30, 1875, the committee of Dr. John Robertson, William P. Turner and elder J.B. Boone were appointed to secure a church building.
The church was located on the corner of East Broad Street and Tradd Street (above). At the same conference it was decided that a Sunday School was needed. The Sunday School was started in January of 1876. Members would go to the Sunday morning services and return in the afternoon for the Sunday School. Reverend F.M. Jordan said he attended this school on the afternoon of March 26, 1876 and remarked: "The Sunday School is in its infancy, but it is a very interesting school."
The three original elders would go on to serve in prominent positions within the family of the church. W.R. Gwaltney became a pastor at Wake Forest, J.B. Boone served as editor of the Recorder and as Superintendent of the Orphanage at Thomasville, and G.W. Green became a missionary to China
On September 15, 1901, church conference letters were granted to fifteen members to organize a Baptist Church at the chapel location. In 1910, the church minutes stated: "Resolved, that the Trustees of the First Baptist Church of Statesville are authorized and directed to convey by deed to the Trustees of the Western Avenue Baptist Church of Statesville the lot at the corner of Sixth Street and Western Avenue in the City of Statesville, 50 X 160 feet on which the Western Avenue Church now stands, as a gift from this congregation to them.”
First Baptist Church was also the parent to Front Street Baptist Church.
On July 15, 1945, members of First Baptist Church voted to purchase a 10-acre lot at the corner of Davie Avenue and Oakwood Drive known as the Allison property, the price being $20,000. This money was to be raised as a sacrificial gift over and above any money previously paid into the Building Fund or any pledges yet unpaid. In December of the same year, the church voted to build a parsonage on the newly acquired church property at a cost of $25,551.34. The need was urgent, as the pastor had to re-claim the old parsonage which had been used for Sunday School rooms for fourteen months.Reverend Harry Gamble introduced The Interim to the congregation on October 19, 1945, which was to serve as a connecting link between the church and home "between the Sundays." The Interim remains the weekly communication of the First Baptist Church to all of its families to the present time.
In 1955, Dr. and Mrs. C. Winfield Applewhite came forward to state to the congregation their intention of becoming foreign missionaries. They were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board to Indonesia, with the church supplementing their salary through the Foreign Mission Board in the amount of $2,000.
In the Sixties, the church sponsored Reverend George Braswell as a foreign missionary. The church family came to know the Braswells when the couple was involved in a car wreck while passing through Statesville. They were befriended by First Baptist Church and subsequently adopted by the congregation. The Braswells left for the Middle East as missionaries in December of 1967. Later, Dr. Braswell returned to North Carolina to serve as Professor of Mission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest
In the early 1970’s the missions committee authorized the transfer of $1,500 of funds to purchase materials and assist Mr. R.C. Johnson to set up a Youth and Family Counseling clinics to train tutors to work with the youth and their problems. This ministry was cosponsored by First Baptist Church and the South Yadkin Baptist Association
On September 5, 1973, at the regular business meeting, three important recommendations were passed. One of the recommendations was that there be no discrimination regarding sex in voting for deacons, recognizing that male and female are equal in Christ. As an outcome of this historic decision, three women were elected in the September election of deacons. They were: Miss Jakie Foster, Mrs. L.M. Flowers and Mrs. Caroline Bentley. The following year, Mrs. Eleanor Brock was ordained as the fourth woman to be elected to the Diaconate
One of the most significant elements in the life and ministry of the First Baptist Church has been its commitment to missions. The church has given many sons and daughters to be missionaries and has generously supported Baptist mission causes. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the men and women of this church have shared with missions in Cuba, Antigua, in the West Indies, in South America, from Russia to the Palau Islands in the South Pacific, from Prague in the Czech Republic to Guam, to name just a few.
At home, First Baptist Church has worked on many local projects for Fifth Street Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), Pastoral Counseling Center, Teen Challenge and the Malachi House, to name just a few. The members of our church have helped with flood relief in the eastern part of North Carolina and our youth have been on mission trips to South Carolina, West Virginia and New Jersey. God has honored their commitment and blessed First Baptist Church through the years.
The future of First Baptist Church may well be even more exciting than its past. The faith and vision of our forefathers is equally matched by the dedication and commitment of those who serve today. Life in Statesville, "The Crossroads of the Future," will continue to change and present challenges. The members of this church will be attentive to those challenges as they minister in the name of Jesus Christ through leadership in the local Association, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the Southern Baptist Convention. This leadership will be manifested in both their dedication and their financial support.
One hundred and twenty-five years of countless men and women dedicated to serving God through the First Baptist Church is only the beginning. We have a glorious heritage. We should never forget our past, but we should always keep our eyes toward the future for opportunities to serve God in Statesville and throughout the world.
Created by William Barnard, November 2000.
Charter Members of First Baptist Church
Elders: J. B. Boone, W. R. Gwaltney and G. W. Green
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Wesley Hiatt
John F. McKee
F. W. Johnston
G. W. Watts
Chalmers Bost
Miss R. M. Belt
Mrs. A. L. Gillespie
Miss Mollie Bost
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Miss Hannah McKee
Mrs. Frances H. McKee
Mrs. Elizabeth Johnston
Mrs. Martha S. Watts
Mrs. Margaret P. Bost
Miss R. C. Hanison
Mrs. Rowena M. Jamison
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