A Brief History of the Waynesburg Baptist Church

The Waynesburg Baptist Church was founded on July 10, 1843, by a small band of fifteen dedicated Christians. By 1846 they were worshiping in a small frame structure costing less than $1,000 on the corner of High and West streets. Their first pastor was the Reverend Simeon Siegfried.

The building was located on a small part of the Waynesburg commons, deeded to the Church trustees by the Greene County Commissioners in 1843. A cupola was added to the building, and a bell, cast by A. Fulton of Pittsburgh in 1848, was installed to call the congregation to worship.

One of the first actions of the early Church in 1843 was to become affiliated with the Monongahela Regular Baptist Association, formed in 1833. It included about forty "regular" Baptist churches in southwestern Pennsylvania. In 1858 the Waynesburg Baptist Church took a leadership role in the creation of the Ten Mile Baptist Association that included Baptist churches west of the Monongahela River. Many members from the Waynesburg church served as moderators of the newly created association. The Church soon began to make small contributions to foreign and home missions, the Bible Society, and the other wider denominational Baptist causes. The archives of the Church contain the minutes of these associations.

By the time of the Civil War, 1861-1865, there were about 40 members of the Church, two of whom, J. Jackson Purman and his brother Nathaniel Purman, fought for the Union cause. J. Jackson lost his leg at Gettysburg, and many years later was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Reverend Hugh K. Craig served as pastor from 1868 until 1875, when he left to assume the presidency of the Monongahela College at Jefferson. The college, founded by the Ten Mile Baptist Association, opened its doors in 1869, and one of the leaders in its establishment was Andrew A. Purman, a deacon and Sunday School superintendent of the Waynesburg Baptist Church.

The first Church building was severely damaged by a cyclone which roared through Waynesburg in March 1880, and twisted the old structure from its moorings. In April 1883, a contract for $4,735 was let to F. B. Throckmorton of Waynesburg to build a new sanctuary. The old building was sold to J. L. Yoders for $101.

The new brick sanctuary was dedicated on Sunday, June 8, 1884, while the Reverend William M. Ryan was pastor. It contained a baptistry, and now members would no longer have to be baptized in the freezing waters of Tenmile Creek.

With all its furnishings, the new Church cost $6,566 and boasted a 100-member congregation. The Church called its first full-time pastor, the Reverend Preston F. Delancey, in 1893. In 1902 the Church was incorporated as The First Baptist Church of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. A pipe organ was installed in 1904.

About 1909, the 500-member congregation, with about 500 enrolled in Sunday School, began to discuss the construction of a new sanctuary, but decided on an educational addition at the rear of the Church. Made of native cut stone, the building was dedicated on June 4, 1916, while under the pastorate of the Reverend George C. Horter. Costing about $18,000, it contained 18 separate classrooms and a large auditorium.

During the First World War, 1917-1918, 44 members of the Church and its Sunday School served in the armed forces or its auxiliary groups. Killed in action on July 29, 1918, were members Albert Buchanan and Hallie J. Closser.

The Church celebrated the centennial of its founding on July 10 and 11, 1943, during the pastorate of the Reverend Theodore L. Rich. A lasting feature of this celebration for a congregation of about 525 members was the publication of a 36-page history of the Church written by Sarah Dinsmore.

During America’s participation in the Second World War, 1941-1945, about 70 young men from First Baptist served in the armed forces. Included in this number was Pastor Rich, who entered the service in March 1944 and served for the duration. His father, Dr. Custer C. Rich, served as pastor until 1947, when the younger Rich returned from his extended leave of absence. Two men from First Baptist made the supreme sacrifice during the war. John W. Dodds, a miner at Mather Collieries, was killed in a vehicle accident in Italy on June 29, 1944. Robert H. Strosnider, a teacher at Waynesburg High School, was killed in action in Italy on September 26, 1944.

The present sanctuary, located on the site of the first two churches, was built during the pastorate (1952-1968) of the Reverend Henry A. Young. It was constructed with the proceeds of a generous bequest from the Bessina Hughes Hoge estate, as a memorial to her mother, Margaret Rinehart Hughes. The new air-conditioned structure, costing about $400,000, was formally dedicated on December 9, 1962. There were 460 resident members at the time.

The Reverend Gordon W. Whitney (1968-1977), the Reverend Stewart Johnson (1977-1981) and three interim pastors served First Baptist from 1968 until April 1983. The Church’s first parking lot was constructed in 1979-1980 on the northeast corner of High and West streets. In 1980 a ramp for the use of handicapped persons was built at the West Street entrance of the Church.

The Reverend Dr. Richard E. Visser was called as Senior Pastor in April 1983 and served until April 2003, his twenty-year tenure being the longest pastorate in the history of the Church. Significant developments in this period included employment of the first full-time associate pastor in 1986; renovation of the sanctuary in 1988; adoption of a new constitution in 1989; and initiation in 1988 of a rigorous lay pastor educational program which spread throughout the region and resulted in licensing many lay pastors, including seven from First Baptist: Cathie Carpenter, Bradley Edgar, Robert Mooney, Jr., Dr. Wilson B. Pizzi, Paul Salosky, Frank Vucic and Cristy Wise.

In 1990 and 1991, the educational facilities were renovated at a cost of approximately $368,000 and formally dedicated on September 22, 1991. The congregation, numbering about 400 with an annual average Church attendance of 200, had raised about $260,000 in a highly successful Building for Christ Campaign. Other sums had been available from the Huffman and Pethtel trust funds, and from the Perpetual Fund, which included a bequest of $182,000 from the estate of Helen Wood Scott. The renovated facility included 26 classroom areas, a library, an elevator to all three floors, kitchen facilities on each floor, handicapped accessible rest rooms, an enlarged narthex, and air conditioning throughout.

Following the renovation of the educational facilities, a Christian Sandbox Preschool program, directed by Cristy Wise, began operation in 1992. An antiphonal organ was installed in 1993. A celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the founding of the Church took place on July 10 and 11, 1993. A feature of the occasion was the publication of a comprehensive history of the Church, written by Church Historian G. Wayne Smith.

Significant continuing programs after 1993, with dates of initiation, included Palm Sunday organ concerts (1994); Myrtle Beach summer youth retreats (1996); home mission efforts in West Waynesburg (1996), which eventually resulted in the formation of the Greater Waynesburg Christian Outreach, the WWJD Center, and the WWJD Christian Center (accepted as an American Baptist church in April 2004 with Cathie Carpenter as pastor); dramatic gospel presentations entitled "Judgment House" (October 1997); support for the planting of a new church, "The Sanctuary," in Westmoreland County (after 1997); a monthly prayer letter (1999); the establishment of the Church’s Internet web site (2001); and the institution of a Parish Nurse program (2002).

From 1997 through 2003, successful capital fund campaigns resulted in the raising of about $600,000, which brought about a number of improvements in the physical facilities of the Church. These included protection of all the stained glass windows in the Church; thorough improvement of the sound system; complete renovation of the Youth Center, renamed "The Well"; acquisition of property and then construction of the upper parking lot which provided an additional sixty parking spaces; replacement of the West Street entry way railings and portico; replacement of all the Church roofs with stainless steel roofing; refurbishing of the pipe organ; and replacement of 23 windows on the north and west sides of the Educational Building.

On July 13, 2003, the Church celebrated its 160^th Anniversary at a homecoming service which recognized 22 persons who had been members for fifty years or more. Prior to the celebration, the Church published an updated history by Church Historian G. Wayne Smith that covered the 1993-2003 period.

In July 2003, the Reverend Dr. Neil W. Hoppe began his service as Interim Pastor. At the end of 2003 there were 423 members of First Baptist with an average weekly Church attendance of 192.

On August 29, 2004, the Reverend Glynis LaBarre was called as Senior Pastor for an indefinite term to begin September 1, 2004.

G. Wayne Smith September 2004