WAYNESBORO, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
1875
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Dr. John Wayland wrote that Baptist families moving into the Waynesboro area "held on to their denominational work and carried on the ministry of the Lord as Baptists." The first Baptist services were held in 1835 in a small building in the Oak Hill section on Lyndhurst Road. The first converts were baptized into the Baptist faith in 1836. A church was organized in 1839, but became inactive after ten or twelve years, the members joining the Laurel Hill and staunton churches.In 1875, Dr. C. P. Manley, pastor of the Staunton Baptist Church, organized the Waynesboro Baptist Church, with 55 charter members. He became its first pastor.It is fascinating to read of the accomplishments of this church. In 1932, Waynesboro Baptist Church went beyond its part of $1,500 to the Cooperative Program and paid $2,197.30, while also paying the salary of Rev. W. B. Johnson, in Soochow, China. The largest church in the Association today, its highest membership was in 1973, when it reached 1,203. In 1961, it baptized a record 46.
Waynesboro Baptist Church, which voted to become First Baptist Church on January 20, 1960, helped build the chapel in Shenandoah Heights and organize the Shenandoah Heights Baptist Church. It sponsored the mission at Fishersville and also Wayne Hills; then with Wayne Hills and Shenandoah Heights, it sponsored Westwocxj. Calf Mountain was another sponsored mission. Many charter members of the new churches were provided by First Baptist.Other work of the church has been as diverse as completing its Eagle Eyrie property in 1957, to helping to re-locate a Cuban refugee family in 1964. I once read that you can't go with God and stay where you are. Waynesboro Baptists have been on the move for over 160 years, carrying out the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
