Church History
First Union Baptist Church was organized and established in 1868. The congregation was made up of blacks and whites that met in a hall near the home of late Rev. and Mrs. W.A. Clarke. Members later purchased the land on which the church was built. In the late 1800's, the congregation split resulting in the emergence of a second church, Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church. Members of Rising Mount Zion met in a little brush arbor. In 1889, the brush arbor burned and two congregations reunited as First United Baptist Church under the pastorate of the late Rev. Royal L. Smith. The present sanctuary was built in October 1974 under the pastorate of Rev. Benjamin H. Jackson, Sr.
This church has been in existence for more than 150 years. It has survived and thrived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, World War I and II, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. It hasn't survived because of the righteousness of the Saints of old. It hasn't survived solely on the hard work of the past and current deacons, trustees, missionaries, ushers, choir members, etc. It has survived because of the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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