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A Historical Sketch of Tabernacle Baptist Church
and its leadership =~ g, Georgia 1885200
- Tabernacle Baptist Church was
formally organized as the Beulah
Baptist Church on Friday, August 21,
1885 in the Union Baptist Church. The
organizational leader for the church was
the Reverend Charles Thomas Walker.
At the request of Reverend Walker, the
name of the church was changed, by
unanimous vote, to Tabernacle Baptist
Church. This occurred during a special
meeting on Sunday, August 23, 1885.
The enrolled membership of the new
church was 310.
The young pastor and his congre
gation made immediate plans to secure
a permanent place of worship.
Construction of a church edi
fice began on September 1,
1885. The building was locat
ed on Ellis Street, between
11th and 12th Streets. The
church building was formally
dedicated on December 13,
1885.
Four years later
Tabernacle Baptist Church
grew rapidly and became a
leader in local, national, and
international religious and
community circles. By 1889,
the membership of the church
had grown to 2000.
On August 25, 1886, the
first National Baptist
Convention of Negro Baptists
met at Second Baptist Church
in St. Louis, Mo. Walker was
one of only three delegates
from Georgia who attended
that convention. He became
one of the leaders of the X
National Baptist Convention.
In 1889, the convention was
held in Indianapolis, In.
Walker preached an arousing
sermon, and Rev. Dr. William
_J. Simmons, D.D., President of the
National Baptist Convention and
President of the State University of
Kentucky, told him, “You have won
your D.D,, and I'll see that you get it.”
In the summer of 1890 the honorary.
degree of Doctor of Divinity was con
ferred on Reverend Chatles T. Walker.
_Later Dr. Walker served as Treasurer of
the National Baptist Convention for
three years,
The book, entitled Life of Charles T:
Walker, which was written by Dr. Silas
Xavier Floyd in the early 1900 s, ;
‘revealed other pertinent information
about Walker and the history of
Tabernacle.
- In June of 1898, President William
“McKinley sélected Walkeér from alist of
The History of Black Americans in Augusta, Georgia
500 applicants to become the appointed
Chaplain of the Ninth Immune
Infantry in Cuba. According to the
author of Walker’s autobiography, “He
secured a leave of absence from his-
Augusta Church.” Walker joined the
predominantly African American regi
ment in the middle of November 1898
in San Luis, about thirty five miles away
from Santiago, Cuba. Dr. Walker
worked for nearly two months as a
chaplain in'the United States Volunteers
under President McKinley with the
rank of captain. ;
Also during the late 18th century,
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Historic Tabernacle Baptist Cburch
the International Sunday School
Convention was the leading “Sunday
School organization in the world.” The
constituency exceeded 23,000,000. Dr.
Wialker served as one of its five vice
presidents. Tt
Dr. Walker resigned from
Tabernacle in 1899, to accept the pas
torate of Mount Olivet Baptist Church
in New York City. Reverend Silas
Xavier Floyd succeeded him at
Tabernacle. :
One year after Dr. Walker left
Tabernacle to serve as pastor of Mount
Olivet, he led a five-week revival and
408 people gave their souls to Christ.
‘Two years later, Dr. Walker was
called again to serve as pastor of
‘Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta,
Ga. in June 1901. The twenty years that
would follow would become a glowing
period in the church’s history. During
the following decades, Walker became a
world-renowned pulpiteer.
He was also the first African
American post-slavery theologian to
take a three-month sabbatical to the
Holy Land. The predominantly African
American congregation ot Tabernacle
paid for this extensive international trip.
A powerful preacher, Dr. Walker
became internationally known as “The
Black Spurgeon.” How did he acquire
this propitious title? Well, during the
late 18th century,
Dr. Charles H.
Spurgeon of
London, England
was a British
minister known
around the globe
for preaching
great sermons.
Spurgeon invited
Wialker to preach
at his famous
church in
England
(Metropolitan
Baptist Church).
Historical
accounts read
that Dr. Charles
T. Walker
shocked the pre
dominantly white
British audience.
His intellect,
- Biblical knowl
edge and theolo
gy engaged the
audience, left the
people speechless,
awestruck, and
impressed. It was
during this time that Dr. Walker
became known around the globe as the
“Black Spurgeon.”
- During the “Walker Years,” Booker
T. Washington, John D. Rockefeller,
and President William Howard Taft
visited Tabernacle Baptist Church.
In 1913, Tabernacle sold the Ellis
Street property and purchased the site
where the Lamar Hospital had been
located at the corner of Harrison and
Gwinnett Street (Laney-Walker
Boulevard). The church edifice on
Laney-Walker Boulevard became a his
toric Augusta landmark.
The towering twin sanctuary was
designed to accommodate 2300 people.
The building design, a physical mani
‘festation of Dr. Walker's vision, also
included plans to house a cooking
school, a sewing school, an automobile
school, a laundry department, and a
library. !
Dr. Walker died on July 29, 1921
and was buried in the shadow of the
magnificent church spires. Succeeding
pastors assumed the cause of complet
ing the edifice and ministering the
church and the community. These
included in the early years: Dr. Silas X.
Floyd, Dr. W.R. Mack, Dr. D.F.
Thompson, and Reverend LJ. Yancy. In
1934, Reverend Leander A. Pinkston
was called as pastor. Pinkston led the
church through the depression and
World War II years. Throughout these
years, the aforementioned pastors and
the church membership struggled to pay
off the church’s debts and maintained
the physical plant. :
Reverend Pinkston resigned to
accept a pastorate in Atlanta, Ga. in
1945. Before calling a new pastor, the
church rallied to pay off its debts. In
one year, SIO,OOO was raised and a debt
that had existed for almost half a centu
ry was paid in full.
Reverend A. Leon Lowery was
called as pastor in February 1946.
Under the leadership of Reverend
Lowery, the church made much
progress. New organizations were
formed. A new organ was purchased. A
project was begun to complete the base
ment, and the C.T. Walker Chapel was
dedicated. Reverend Lowery resigned in
September 1955 to accept a pastorate in
Tampa, Fl. Reverend J.D. Johnson
served as the interim pastor.
In June 1956, Reverend Charles
Spencer Hamilton accepted a call to
serve as pastor of the 71 year old
church. Reverend Hamilton came to
Augusta as the United States of
America stood on the threshold of the
Civil Rights era. During the distin
guished tenure of service of Rev. Dr.
Charles Hamilton at Tabernacle, the
pastor and the church would become
leaders in the changing course of
American history.
Reverend Hamilton petitioned the
city for an end to segregated facilities
and provided courageous leadership in
succeeding Civil Rights actions in the
Augusta community. Tabernacle Baptist
Church served as a meeting place and
office site for the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP). Many mass meetings during
the Civil Rights period were held at
Tabemacle. :
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