Founding Pastor
Years of service TBA
Led the congregation in its earliest days of organization and worship.
Our History
Faith planted deep in Waycross soil
St. John's Missionary Baptist Church has been a place of worship, refuge, education, and leadership for generations of families in Ware County.
Founding
How St. John began
St. John's Missionary Baptist Church was founded by a determined community of believers who wanted a church of their own — a place where they could worship freely, bury their dead with dignity, teach their children, and care for one another.
From those first gatherings grew a congregation that would anchor Black religious and civic life in Waycross for well more than a century.
Share the exact founding year, the founding members, and the names of the organizing deacons and we will write them into this history.
Timeline
Milestones in our story
Founding
A congregation gathers
Freedmen and their families organize St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, worshiping first in modest quarters before building a permanent house of worship.
Building
The brick sanctuary rises
Members give labor, lumber, and savings to raise the arched-window brick sanctuary that still stands on the site today.
Growth
A center of Black life in Waycross
Sunday school, burial societies, choirs, and civic meetings make St. John a hub of education, mutual aid, and leadership.
Civil Rights Era
Sanctuary and meeting hall
The church opens its doors to gatherings, voter registration work, and community organizing during the movement years.
Today
Faith and preservation
The congregation continues weekly worship and outreach while working to preserve the historic building for future generations.
Leadership through the years
Past pastors
Building-Era Pastor
Years of service TBA
Guided the members through the construction of the brick sanctuary.
Mid-Century Pastor
Years of service TBA
Shepherded the church through growth, expansion, and the movement years.
Send the full roll of pastors with their years of service and photographs, and each one will receive an entry here.
Archive
Historic photographs & documents
Early sanctuary exterior
Choir and congregation
Church program or bulletin
Sunday school class
Anniversary celebration
Deacons and officers
Do you have old photographs, funeral programs, anniversary booklets, or church records in a family album? Those materials are part of the church's documented history — please contact the church office so they can be scanned and returned to you.
Legacy
St. John's role in Waycross history
- A house of worship serving generations of Waycross families
- A schoolhouse and Sunday school teaching literacy alongside scripture
- A meeting place for mutual aid societies, clubs, and civic organizations
- A gathering hall during the civil rights era
- A steady partner in feeding, clothing, and encouraging neighbors in need
- A living archive of African American life in Ware County