Black History Month: 8 historically significant African American churches

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Historic First Baptist Church — Williamsburg, Virginia

The Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, Virginia. Originally founded in 1776 by a Baptist preacher and former slave named Gowan Pamphlet. | Facebook/First Baptist Church 1776 Williamsburg Virginia

Originally organized in 1776 by a group of slaves and ex-slaves, Historic First Baptist Church met secretly at Green Spring Plantation, not far from Williamsburg, Virginia.

Their worship was clandestine due to legal restrictions on the meetings of slaves, with an itinerant preacher known as Moses serving as their leader.

They were officially organized into a congregation in 1781 by Gowan Pamphlet, a man reported to be the first African American slave ever ordained as a Baptist minister.

Although the church has had multiple locations in the Williamsburg area over the generations, the congregation still exists in the modern day, moving to their present location in 1956.