September 12, 2024
SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — In his opening prayer on Sunday, Aug. 11, Sisters Baptist Church pastor Kevin Carter praised God for His faithfulness over the course of the congregation’s 200-year history. “Father,” he said, “You have been with us through depressions and wars and famines and all kinds of storms of life… We praise you for Your goodness and Your faithfulness.”
The church began as a plant of Bethlehem Baptist Church in nearby Warthen, Ga. Church history records that in 1820, Benjamin Manning, pastor of Bethlehem Church, was moved by the plight of three sisters who walked 10 miles each way to worship the Lord at Bethlehem. Manning suggested that a meeting house be built on Fenn's Bridge Road, two and a half miles from Sandersville on the lands of Jacob Morris, for the special convenience of these sisters. The house built for them was given the fitting name, "Sisters Meeting House."
Carter referenced the church origins in his prayer. “We are aware,” he said, “of our humble beginnings and we are aware that every step of the way you have had Your hand upon Sisters Baptist Church over these two centuries.”
Pastor Bryce Jeffcoat of Bethlehem Baptist Church and his wife Kayla attended the service along with other members of the church.
By 1824, the number of people meeting at the meeting house had grown to 24, and a church was constituted on Aug. 7. The first pastor was William R. Stansell. Today, members number around 725 believers.
As the congregation grew, the original meeting house proved to be inadequate and in 1840 a new building was dedicated on Davisboro Road. In 1874 the church again moved to a new building, where it resided until 1914 despite a fire in 1877 and a storm in 1882.
In 1914, the present building of Sisters Baptist Church was erected, becoming the first in its history to contain a baptistry. Since that time, the church campus has grown with the addition of a church pastorium and an education building.
The church has seen its share of tragedies, as on May 27, fire engulfed the church sanctuary and part of the educational building. Part of the education building survived and remains to this day.
The congregation broke ground on a new sanctuary in 1975, and the first service in the new hall coincided with the nation’s bicentennial on July 4, 1976.
Carter closed the service looking to the future. “As we enter our third century as a church,” he told members, “if the Lord should tarry, when He comes may he find us standing firm upon the Word of God.”
