Dayton, Liberty County
The first Baptist congregation in Dayton was formed in 1878, when ten worshipers gathered together to begin a church. A one-room schoolhouse, located on what is now East Cook Street, was used for worship services until 1895. The church's first pastor was the Rev. E. M. Forman, a circuit riding minister. Other traveling clergymen also pastored the small church in its early years, including D. W. Jackson, J. McArthur Black, J. A. Lee, J. F. McLeod, and J. M. Day. In 1895 the Baptist congregation began conducting services in a Union Church on the southeast corner of Waring and North Main streets. In 1901, following damage to the Union Church in the hurricane of 1900, construction began on a baptist sanctuary near this site on South Church Street. Throughout its history the First Baptist congregation has sought to serve its community. A Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1911, and the first of many local missions was established in 1912. A youth ministry also began in 1912. The church congregation has maintained an active involvement in both home and foreign missionary projects.