::Our History

     Baldwin Baptist Church was organized and constituted after a prolific two-week revival meeting held on the corners of Willingham Ave. and Shore St. in Baldwin .  A brush arbor was erected for this revival and it was conducted by a Reverend Harris of the Atlanta area.

     J.H. Wilbanks purchased the property where the arbor stood from Lydia A. Wolf on
March 22, 1905 and work on the new building began shortly thereafter.  Mr. Wilbanks gave this property to the church with an agreement that if the land were ever not used for church purposes, that it would revert back to him.  During construction of the 500 seat sanctuary, services continued to be held under the brush arbor.

     In 1935, strong winds blew the original church off it's pillars.  A larger lot was needed, therefore, instead of repairing this building,  the decision was made to purchase to purchase the property of our current location; and on January 17, 1936, the land was acquired through Grover and Minnie White.  During the time of the construction of the new building, most of the services were held at the auditorium of Baldwin School .
 
     In order to have a more durable building, granite was shipped to the Baldwin Depot on flat rail cars from Daisy, Tennessee which is near Chattanooga .  The depot was located on Stonepile Street (now Airport Rd ) and the stone was unloaded by hand and transported by truck to the church site.  The new building was completed in the latter part of 1936 at the approximate cost of $6,200.  The construction was paid in full upon completion due in part to the efforts of the ladies of the church, and several bake sales conducted at the old Shore's store in Downtown Baldwin.

     At this time, Baldwin Baptist Church had a membership of 107.  As the membership grew, additional space was necessary and in 1949, a Sunday School annex was added behind the sanctuary.  On October 27, 1956, Arthur Patat completed the painted back of the Baptistery which was presented to the church in memory of Virginia Shore who passed away on February 23, 1953.                                                                                                                                          

      In July 1970, Mrs. W.F. Durham and Mrs. Mary Lou Meister reported to the church that $1,100 had been raised by the Sunbeams to purchase a steeple for the church, and the church voted to contribute any additional funds that might be needed for this purchase.

     On November 7, 1970 the property known as the Clyde Vaughn property was purchased, and the building on that property was renovated for a youth center.  In 1972, chimes were installed in memory of Rev. and Mrs. W.F. Durham. In 1982, the Huey Wells property was purchased,  giving the church ownership of the entire block. 

     On October 10, 1984, the church voted to begin construction on a new fellowship hall and educational building.  In 1994, an addition to the annex included six Sunday School rooms and a small fellowship hall. 

     In 2005 , the pastorium was converted into office space, and a mobile unit was purchased for our growing youth classes.  A large deck was also built for outdoor church functions.

     Our church continues to serve the community and minister to the needs of the people.  May God continue to guide us in His work and into his presence.