Our History
The St. Paul Baptist Church began as a Mission over 75 years ago when various ministers came to Somerville at different times and ran services for short periods. Among them were the Rev. Mrs. Brickhouse of Philadelphia and Mr. Henry Vanderveer.
Rev. Joseph Aaron Lacy came to Somerville in 1912 and revived the mission on December 10th. On February 20, 1927, Rev. Lacy properly organized the mission as the St. Paul Baptist Church with recognition from the permanent council of churches of the New Jersey State Convention with Rev. Lacy as pastor.
The following persons, members of the mission became members of the church: Richard Van Ness, Jerry James, Jerry Clark, Junious Clark, Frances Lacy and William Sermons. After the mission was properly organized, gradually new members were added and on May 9, 1929 a deposit of $150 was placed on two lots at Third and Hamilton Streets and later lost.
Rev. Lacy resigned as pastor and the Rev. Charles A. Collier of Westfield, NJ answered the call on May 29, 1930. At this point in time, the meetings were being held at 51 Hamilton Street.
On July 15, 1931, the church purchased a house and a lot (present church site) for the sum of $1500. After rendering four years of faithful service, Rev. Collier resigned on August 31, 1934 and was succeeded by Rev. Henry L. Morgan of South Orange, NJ. Rev. Morgan served from January 1935 to November 1, 1940.
In 1936, the Rev. Cornelius H. White joined the church and was placed on the trustee board as honorary trustee. Later, he assisted Rev. Walter H. Williams who began his pastorate on a trial basis on July 1, 1941. Among Rev. White’s self-made contribution to the church was the illuminated cross which now hangs in the Sanctuary. He assisted Rev. W. H. Williams until his death on January 13, 1957.
Under Rev. William’s untiring efforts, the church began to rise again to the hopes once anticipated by the few faithful members who worked unceasingly from the days of the mission, and in June 1942, the mortgage on the church property was paid in full. In 1947, Rev. Williams with his officers broke ground for a new church building. A year later the basement was completed and used for worship purposes.
One of the greatest achievements of the church was reached on September 27, 1953 when the new building with its new pews and furnishings and a Hammond organ was dedicated. The cornerstone for this building was laid on June 6, 1954 and a few months later the Baptismal Pool was installed.
The entire indebtedness of the church was paid and on Sunday, November 25, 1956 a public mortgage-burning service was held, culminating three decades of Faith, Works and Perseverance.
Rev. Williams remained as Pastor until his death in March 1970.
During the remaining months of Rev. Williams’ illness, Rev. William Brockett of Madison, NJ began serving as Pastor. Under Rev. Brockett’s preaching and teaching, the St. Paul congregation reached a new level of insight into the world of Christian life and duty. During his ministry here, it was the privilege of the officers and members to burn the mortgage on a forty thousand dollar piece of property on Southside Avenue. Rev. Brockett resigned in October 1972 and was succeeded by the Rev. Zebedee Lawton of Linden, NJ. Rev. Lawton served faithfully until his resignation, December 31, 1976.
Rev. James E. Sherman, Sr. succeeded Rev. Lawton on a three-month trial basis and became permanent Pastor on June 22, 1977. Under Rev. Sherman’s leadership many new members were added to the church. Rev. Sherman left St. Paul in 1979.
Rev. Mitchell A. Walton accepted the call to pastor St. Paul Baptist Church on January 25, 1981. Under Rev. Walton’s leadership, the focus was upon living a Christ Centered Life. The Vision for life commitment and purpose was “A Sanctified People in a Sanctified House Serving a Sovereign God”. Under his leadership in 1984 the church purchased additional real estate, which were rental properties. In 1985, the $50,000 mortgage for the church was burned during the Church Anniversary Services. In 1986, the Church purchased a new van. In 1989, the parking lot was resurfaced, the bathrooms were renovated and we completed the payment on the Church van. In January of 2002, God implemented changes on the St. Paul Church congregation to move His Church forward in the direction He had already planned for this congregation. Rev. Walton resigned on January 12, 2002.
During the period January 2002 through June 2003, St. Paul Baptist Church was led spiritually by the Chairman of the Deacon’s Board, Deacon Henry Jones. Deacon Jones was instrumental in arranging all guest ministers and in keeping the St. Paul Church family together. Also, Deacon Jones was a key factor in AA and Narcotics Anonymous being able to have their monthly meetings in the Church Annex. We thank Deacon Jones for his untiring and undemanding efforts in keeping St. Paul Baptist Church active.
Other temporal accomplishments include purchasing additional property to assist in meeting our financial obligations and to serve our future needs; paving the parking lot along with other property improvements; and purchasing new chairs for the Choir as well as a new church van.
After several meetings with the church membership, it was decided that St. Paul Baptist Church needed to be renovated to accommodate our handicapped members. In April of 2003, it was voted to use Mr. George Jones of the architectural firm of Johnson & Jones, Princeton, NJ. If all approvals are received, renovation could possibly begin as early as summer of 2004.
May God continue to bless our endeavors as we in fear and trembling, work out the salvation of our individual souls. We are working not in order to be saved, but because we are grateful for having been saved by the Grace of God.