Our History
First Baptist Church of Edgefield was originally known as Edgefield Village Baptist Church when it was constituted in 1823 by its twenty-six charter members. The first service was held on April 20, 1823 with Dr. Basil Manly presiding as the first pastor. Dr. Manly went on to help found the Southern Baptist Convention. In 1919, Dr. R. G Lee wrote his famous sermon “Payday Someday,” in the parsonage across the street from the church. Other notable pastors with connections to our church include; Dr. William Bullein Johnson, Dr. John Lake, and in 1951 Dr. Billy Graham preached at EFBC to a crowd of over 3000.
Due to an increase in membership, the original building was torn down and a new building was built in 1888. However, tragedy befell the church on June 25, 1913 when lightning struck the steeple and that second structure burned to the ground. The present sanctuary was then built, and the first service was held in the new building Sunday, September 27, 1914. God has blessed this church and we will continue to use this facility to point our community to Jesus Christ and show it the love of our Lord and Savior with everything we do and say.
We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. All those who ask Christ for forgiveness and make the decision to make Him Lord of their life can obtain an eternal relationship with the God who made us and loves us. To that end, we dedicate ourselves to Bible Study, Fellowship, Worship, Prayer, and Evangelism as the early church did in Acts 2:42, 47. We hope you will join us as we seek to make Jesus known to the ends of the earth! We have a rich history, but we know that with God’s help, our future can be even brighter!
200th Anniversary
On April 23, 2023, the church celebrated 200 YEARS of loving our community in the Name of Jesus Christ! We are so thankful for all that God has done and how He has provided for us. Reverend Derry Billingsley over 400 in worship for a wonderful time of worship and then we shared a meal in Edgefield.
A few pictures from the day are posted below, or you can click on the picture link for LOTS of photos from our history and the celebration.
