Gwinnett County GaArchives Church Records.....First Baptist Church of Winder Copyright Date 1911
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 29, 2004, 3:51 pm

Winder.

	The First Baptist church of Winder, Ga., was organized on July 29, 1893, with
twenty-one members, twelve males and nine females.

	From the time it was organized until 1908 the congregation held services in a
little frame building situated where the Winder Lumber Company now stands. Not
until 1906, except for a short time, did the church have breaching but one
Sunday in each month and not until this same year did the pastor live in Winder:
In September, 1908, the church voted to have preaching three Sundays in each
month and in December, 1909, the church began to have preaching twice every
Sunday. The following men have been pastors of this church: Rev. A. J. Kelly, W.
M. Coil, L. T. Reed, T. E. McCutchon, A. E. Booth, Dr. M. M. Riley, Rev. J. D.
Mell, Rev. R. D. DeWeese, Rev. J. W. Perry, D. D. and the present pastor Lester
Alex Brown, D. D., LL. D., D. G. L.

	The congregation bought a lot and moved the house, a good six room cottage, to
the rear of where the church now stands and uses that as a parsonage. In 1908
they began to build a beautiful brick and stone church which was completed in
1910. The church property is worth about twenty thousand dollars. The church
auditorium will seat about six hundred and by using the gallery and chairs at
least one thousand people can be seated. Back of the pulpit is the pool, two
dressing rooms and the pastor's study. There is also a basement for Sunday
school, Young People's Society, etc. This has twelve class rooms. Each class
room is furnished with chairs, table and carpet on floor. The Sunday school
auditorium will seat about two hundred and fifty, and if the class rooms are
opened into, it can be made to seat four hundred.

	This church paid the. pastor, in 1893, one hundred dollars per year. It now
pays twelve hundred dollars per year and furnishes him a house and water which
means a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per year, Eighteen years ago this
church gave to all missions about five dollars. This year it gave in one
offering to State missions (we have seven Boards in all) between one hundred and
fifty and one hundred and sixty dollars. Then it gave nothing to education. This
year it has given over one thousand dollars to Christian education. Then it had
no Ladies Aid Society. Now it has one of the most wide awake societies in this
part of the State, This band of women raised and paid out last year nearly three
hundred dollars. Then there was no Woman's Missionary Society. Now there is a
well organized one which paid out last year two hundred and fifty-six dollars.
The church in 1893 had twenty-one members. It now has about two hundred and
fifteen members.

	This church owns the best church property in the town. The Baptist is not the
largest church, in number, in the town yet they have the most wealth. They pay
fifty cents taxes out of every dollar paid in Winder. This church has a well
organized B. Y. P. U. Prayer Meeting which meets every Wednesday night. From
thirty to one hundred attend this service every week. This is the department in
which church workers are developed. One of the best Sunday schools in the
country meets in this church every Sunday. The first Baraca and Philathea
classes ever organized in Winder were started in this Sunday school in 1910.

	Last year the church raised and paid out over six thousand dollars and the
present prosperity of the church is due to the splendid organization of all its
departments through the ability, skill and energy of its pastor.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

GWINNETT CHURCHES
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF EVERY CHURCH
IN GWINNETT COUNTY, GEORGIA,
WITH SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES OF ITS
MINISTERS
BY
J. C. FLANIGAN
1911


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