Jasper, Jasper County
This church was organized on December 23, 1855, with 15 members. The establishment of the fellowship was directed by a Presbytery consisting of ministers John Bean, William Blackshear, E. S. Phelps, and W. W. Maund. The first service was conducted on Christmas Day by the Rev. Blackshear. Another church organizer, the Rev. Maund, served as the initial pastor. In 1856 the church elected the first deacon, Fabian Adams, a local merchant who served as a trustee for the Jasper Collegiate Institute. The fellowship, which included slaves as early as 1859, worshiped at this site in a small wooden sanctuary. Despite a decline in membership during the 1870s, the church later outgrew the facility. A larger wooden building was constructed here in 1893, following a year of exceptional growth for the congregation. With minor additions, the structure served the members until the present sanctuary was completed in 1943, during the second pastorate of Dr. E. A. Ingram. The First Baptist Church has been instrumental in the development of area missions. Congregations sponsored by the church include Adams Chapel, North Baptist, Hillcrest Mission,and Tanglewood Mission.