Edgefield Baptist Church family...friends...community
A Brief History...
Edgefield Baptist Church traces its beginnings back to a small group of East Nashville and Edgefield residents that began to meet together to worship in private homes during the years of the Civil War, due to restrictions on crossing the Cumberland River into Nashville. Most were members of First Baptist Church, Nashville. There were no Baptist churches east of the river at that time. In 1866, First Baptist organized a mission Sunday School in Edgefield and named Captain M.B. Pilcher as the superintendent.
On
April 7, 1867, twenty members of First Baptist withdrew their membership for the
purpose of starting a new church in the Edgefield community. The next week, on April
14, Edgefield was formally organized as a new church, with eleven additional
members joining, giving the church thirty-one charter members.
In the early days of the church's history, the small congregation met in the homes of members and in community schoolhouses and meeting halls...including Stubb's Hall at Tulip (Fifth) & Woodland Streets, and McClure's Hall, which stood on Woodland.
In
1869, during the ministry of pastor, Rev. Eugene Strode, the church purchased
property at the corner of Tulip and Fatherland Streets. A parsonage was first
built on the Fatherland Street property, paid for mainly by Deacon Ezekial
Truett, who gave $2,000 for this purpose. In 1873, the church's first building
was completed and it stood on the corner of Tulip and Fatherland. The cost of
construction was $15,000.
As the church grew rapidly during the ministry of pastor, Dr. John O. Rust (1895-1903), the J.S. Tyner property at the corner of Seventh & Russell Streets was purchased. The old building was sold in 1904 and plans got underway for a newer and larger structure to be built. The new, and current, building was first occupied on January 6, 1907.
The Nashville Baptist Association was
organized in a meeting at Edgefield in 1900.
Edgefield has played a role in
establishing, and supporting, a number of new mission churches in and around the
Nashville area over the years. Some of those churches include North
Edgefield, Lockeland, Shelby Avenue, Fairview First Baptist, and Woodcock
Memorial. The church also recently completed a period of hosting and
sponsoring a Rwandan mission church.
The Annuity Board of the Southern
Baptist Convention was the vision of Edgefield pastor William Lunsford. In
1918, he presented his idea and vision to the convention who adopted the plan
and Dr. Lunsford was named as the first secretary of the Relief & Annuity
Board. The Annuity Board, marking its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1993,
placed a plaque commemorating Dr. Lunsford in the Russell Street foyer.
A number of different and diverse
ministries have been active at Edgefield over the years.
Vacation Bible School was first held in 1934 and it continues today as a
yearly staple of the summer months. The
Mother’s Club ministry began in 1969 and continued for many years as an
outreach to single mothers and children of the community.
For a period during the 1980’s, the church offered a ministry to
Cambodian refugees that were relocating to the East Nashville area.
A tutoring ministry for children from neighboring Warner Elementary
School was offered during the mid 1990’s.
Rejoice School of Ballet for inner city children began operating out of
Edgefield in 1999, and in 2006 opened a full-fledged dance studio, in the space
above the small auditorium.
Twenty-four pastors have served the church over its 142 years. The shortest tenure was six weeks, served by the first Edgefield pastor, George W. Harris in 1867. The longest tenure for a pastor was twenty-two years, served by Roy W. Babb, 1957-1979. Our present pastor, Steve Saunders, joined us on March 23, 2008.
Our
Building...
2012 marks the 145th year that our church has ministered here in the Edgefield and East Nashville community, and it marks the 105th year of our beautiful church building located on the corner of South Seventh & Russell Streets.
The plans for the structure were drawn by the firm of Wheeler, Runge, and Dickey and ground was broken on December 12, 1905. The design was described in a Nashville Banner article as “a thoroughly modern building with auditorium and Sunday School room so arranged as to be thrown into one room when needed, seating over 1,000 people. In addition there will be twenty separate classrooms, ladies parlors, etc., and a large basement for social purposes.”
Work commenced on January 1, 1906, the cornerstone was laid on April 29, 1906 with a special service led by pastor, Dr. Arch C. Cree and a number of special guests from throughout the city and faith, including Dr. Lansing Burrows, whose father Dr. J.L. Burrows had preached the dedication sermon of the building at Tulip & Fatherland in 1873. Work was completed as 1906 came to a close and the first service took place on January 6, 1907. The formal dedication of the church took place on June 2, 1907 with Dr. George W. Truett, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX bringing the dedicatory sermon.
The structure is a Gothic design, with
red brick and trimmed with stone. There
are towers at each corner of the main structure and a gable bay with a large
window at the center of each street facade.
The door and window openings have pointed arches.
The large stained glass windows have simple Gothic tracery.
Stone-capped buttresses are located at the corners of the towers and on
both sides of the large windows. The
taller tower is distinguished by slender lancet windows.
A unique feature of the interior is the solid wooden door separating the
two auditoriums. The door can be
raised into the attic by means of cables, operated by an electric motor.
In November of 1907, a Moller pipe organ was installed. The organ includes more than 1,000 pipes. It was used for the first time on February 23, 1908. The original cost was $3,000. Dr. Cree personally secured $1,500 of the fund for the organ from philanthropist Mr. Andrew Carnegie. The dedicatory service was March 13, 1908 and was sponsored by the Ladies’ Aid Society. The program included some of the best musical talent of the city. The organ was rebuilt in 1972 and was reconditioned following the 1998 tornado. In 1983, Maas-Rowe Cathedral Chimes were added to the organ. They were given as a memorial by the family of Mr. William Bowlin, a church member and Metropolitan Nashville police officer who lost his life in the line of duty in August 1982.
Symbolism is a part of Christian
worship, and we see this portrayed in the four smaller stained glass windows of
the sanctuary.
The Dove - Reminds us of Noah
and the flood and of God’s care.
The Cross and the Crown -
Denotes not only our Lord’s kingly office, but expresses the fact that we have
eternal life through Him as well.
The Ten Commandments - Shows
man’s duty to God and to his neighbor.
The Shock of Wheat - Reminds us
of Joseph and of God’s care of His people in Egypt. Also, it reminds us of our
evangelistic responsibility as expressed in the hymn, “Bringing in the
Sheaves”.
The two larger center stained-glass
windows in the sanctuary were given as memorial gifts:
The Good Shepherd - The large window facing Russell Street was given by the Truett family in memory of their parents, Mr. & Mrs. Ezekial Truett who were charter members of the church. This window was refurbished in 1999.
Through the leadership of pastor,
William C. Kirk, the adjoining educational building was constructed in 1948.
The church building has survived three major natural disasters since its construction. In 1916, the church building was left standing as much of the community was destroyed by the East Nashville Fire. Fire captain and church deacon Mr. E.T. Holman led a bucket brigade that saved the building from destruction. In 1933, a tornado severely damaged the large steeple tower that stands at the corner of Seventh and Russell. It was rebuilt 15 feet lower than the original height. Repair costs were $4,200. Another tornado in 1998 did significant damage to the entire facility. Roof, structural and interior damage reached nearly $900,000. After the many months of repairs and rebuilding, a service of rededication took place on October 11, 1998. The Metropolitan Nashville Historical Commission presented the church its annual Architectural Award in 1999 in recognition of the restoration done following the tornado.
On April 15, 2007, the church marked the 100th anniversary of the church building with a special celebration, the opening of the cornerstone, and the removal of the time capsule. Items from the time capsule are now on display in the Russell Street lobby. A new time capsule was places and the cornerstone resealed in another special service on June 3, 2007. To read more about these special services, click here.
In conjunction with the church buildings 100th anniversary in 2007, the church launched The Centennial Campaign...for the next 100 years. This campaign was designed to raise funds for upgrades and enhancements to the church facility that will help prepare it for the next 100 years of ministry. Contributions are welcome and should be addressed to the Edgefield Baptist Church Centennial Campaign, 700 Russell Street, Nashville, TN 37206.
Edgefield Pastors...
Rev. George W. Harris 1867
Rev. Eugene Strode 1868-1870
Dr. William A. Nelson 1871-1878
Dr. James Waters 1879-1882
Dr. William H. Strickland 1883-1885
Dr. Charles G. Gardner 1886-1894
Dr. John O. Rust 1895-1903
Dr. Lloyd T. Wilson 1904-1905
Dr. Arch C. Cree 1905-1908
Dr. William Lunsford 1909-1918
Dr. William M. Wood 1919-1926
Dr. John H. Moore 1926-1929
Dr. William H. Barton 1929-1947
Rev. William C. Kirk 1947-1951
Dr. James T. Spurlin 1951-1957
Rev. Roy W. Babb 1957-1979
Rev. James H. Powers 1980-1985
Rev. Daniel J. Martin 1986-1988
Dr. Thomas E. Dumser 1989-1993
Rev. Terry G. Carver 1994-1999
Rev. Charles Seligman 1999-2000
Rev. Gary Morgan 2002
Rev. Alan D. Lowe 2003-2007
Rev. Steve Saunders 2008-present
700 Russell Street I Nashville, Tennessee 37206 I 615.255.0468 I ebcsbc@bellsouth.net