On Sunday October 11, 2015 First Baptist Church of Charleston celebrated 333 years of glorious service to God, to the community, and to the world. Not only that but it launched a building campaign for the next 333 years. Think of that. It is not a museum church. It is a church vibrant with dedicated members and leaders. For the historians the service should have been on September 27th. The current sanctuary was dedicated in 1822 during the pastorate of Richard Furman.
Worshiping in this oldest Baptist Congregation in the South, in this time loved city of Charleston fills one with a certain sense of permanence and continuity. Both have been here a long time and neither is going anywhere.
I have been a member of this body for 50 years. I know that God brought me here. It is family. For most of the time it has been a good fit. For all of the time it has nourished my soul. I am indebted to the great saints of the past who made this place possible. I am inspired by some of the great saints of the present who labor on. I single some of these out in my book, Our Father: Discovering Family. I could never name all of them. Members of the congregation are busy with mission project both minor and major. They are really too numerous to mention but all of them are part of what makes First Baptist, First Baptist. For example, recently Emory Hyatt, Minister to Children, suggested that each Sunday school class give a small gift once each month to the day school teacher with whom we share space. Just another but thoughtful way to say, “We appreciate all that you do.” God is at work when the people of God are at work.
The picture is Mitch Carnell, Jane Hamrick, Dr. Arthur Caliandro of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York when he was a speaker for the John A. Hamrick Lectureship.
