History

When seven faithful men and women gathered in their homes in 1849 to constitute the First Baptist Church of Thomasville, Georgia, how could they know this ministry would some day grow to a church with two services on Sunday mornings and a Sunday School with an enrollment of almost three thousand members?

In the spring of 2004, the members of First Baptist Church undertook an historic commitment to open their homes to their friends and neighbors to participate in in-depth Bible Studies built around Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life. Over 1700 adults, youth and children met in homes and other facilities all over this community to discover their purpose in life and seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Over 100 adult groups discussed the question, "What on Earth am I here for?" and they discovered that the focus of life is God. Life starts with God, and we were created for His pleasure, His family, His service, and His mission and in the process to become more like Christ.

In spring 2008, this emphasis led to an even greater challenge to connect to God, to our Families, and to the Family of God through "Connect: 100 Days of Real Relationships." The acceptance of this challenge resulted in our families drawing closer to God through personal and family devotionals. We drew closer as a church as evidenced by a twenty percent increase in worship and Sunday School attendance. We drew closer to each other through care group fellowships, Connect Group fellowships and various men's and women's ministry events. Throughout the summer and fall the Church was challenged to then accept a commitment to connect to our community through witnessing and service projects.

The First Baptist Church of Thomasville is proud of the four buildings that have borne its name throughout the years. However, this "Connect" emphasis moved far beyond the walls of the building to the community as a whole. While a fire in 1982 destroyed one of buildings of the church, a fire of commitment and dedication inflamed the hearts of people during this "connection."

First Baptist Church has enjoyed a long history of service to the community and has endured many trials and tribulations through the years that have paralleled the history of our great nation. From removing the carpet on the floor of the sanctuary in 1863 to make blankets for the Confederate soldiers to helping to start four other churches (First Missionary Baptist Church, West Side Baptist Church, Dawson Street Baptist Church and East Side Baptist Church), First Baptist has always been concerned for the community, the country and the world. In fact, in October 1999, the Church demonstrated her support for needy people around the world by contributing almost $10,000 to purchase rice for the starving people in North Korea. This gift enabled the purchase of almost two tractor-trailer truckloads of rice! When the gift was combined with other churches in the association, enough rice was donated to feed 3,600 people for one year.

Another opportunity for assisting those in need came in 2005 when our Church adopted Edgewater Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, to help it rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The members of our Church contributed over $330,000 to restore the ministry of this great church. This hurricane also presented opportunities for our members to personally minister to refugees as well to physically rebuild the church during various mission trips.

First Baptist has always supported missions even in times of limited funds, but recently the mission giving of the Church has placed our church in the top 100 churches of the nation for the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions and in the top twenty churches in Georgia for contributions to the Cooperative Program. To provide opportunities for hand-on missions, the Church established the Strategic Missions Involvement Committee to provide opportunities for mission trips throughout Georgia, our nation, and the world.

On May 3, 1982, the fire which completely destroyed the 1928 sanctuary and the newly renovated four-story educational building still could not deter the pioneer spirit that started this congregation. Only three and one-half years later, the members occupied their beautiful new complex featuring increased education space and sanctuary seating. By January 24, 1988, a note-burning ceremony signified that the building had been completely paid for in only six years.

In 1999, the Church celebrated her sesquicentennial anniversary. This 150th anniversary was a milestone few churches have had the opportunity to claim. To celebrate this event, a pageant depicting the church history, "May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful," was presented on Wednesday, January 13th. In addition, a special Celebration Worship Service was conducted on Sunday, January 17, 1999, with the presentation of a special anthem, "Legacy of Faith," which was commissioned specifically for the Church. Joseph P. Martin wrote the music, and J. Paul Williams wrote the lyrics.

First Baptist is also unique in the fact that only six pastors have served this church since 1913: Dr. W. M. Harris (13 years); Dr. T. F. Callaway (23 years); Dr. Paul Brooks Leath (2 years); Dr. L. F. Kennedy (16 years); Dr. Milton C. Gardner, Jr. (31 years); and Dr. Martin Daniel (Dan) Spencer (8 years).

However, God does not call His people to look backwards at their "history" but to look forward to share "His story." The mission of this Church to evangelize this community burns as strong as the pioneer spirit that began it almost 160 years ago because no matter what happens to the world, this country or this community, the purpose for our existence will still be to tell everyone that life is "All about Jesus!"

Colossians 4:2-6 tells us to: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
(Pray - Equip - Serve - Share)

These efforts have been and will continue to be the focus of the Connect emphasis of First Baptist Church as we march on through the years. We will Connect to God through prayer and daily devotions; we will Connect to our Family through family devotions and through the special events planned to encourage our families; we will Connect with our Family of God with special events such as picnics and Awesome August Nights; but we will take the Gospel outward to our neighbors as we Connect with our Community when we participate in the numerous community events of this town and go out into the world. We must all get Connected for Today, Tomorrow and for Eternity!