OUR HISTORY
Friday, December 14, 1923, Rev. M. H. Hutchins, Bro. Dave Carroll, Sis. Mary Carroll and Sis. Emma Anderson initiated a Christian fellowship that was examined by the Old Orange Hill Missionary Baptist Association, and was found to meet criteria set forth by the Holy Bible and the Hiscox Directory for a Missionary Baptist Church. The officers of the affiliated association were Rev. W. S. Drayton Sr., Rev. Bowman (Moderator), Rev. W. R. Walker (Secretary), and Rev. Hutchins (Field Missionary), who became the first pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church.
The first congregation was housed in a wood framed structure at the corner of Eleventh Street and Mercedes Avenue. The pastors during the years of 1923 and 1929 were: Rev. Willis Cady (2nd Pastor), Rev. G. W. McClinton (3rd & 5th Pastor), and Rev. L. J. Flowers (4th Pastor). The first deacons of the church were Clifford Wood and Willie Drayton. The church’s first clerk was Sis. Lucinda Williams.
Rev. William M. Gipson, the 6th pastor of St. John, came to the church in 1929. Under his leadership, a frame structure was erected on the site that was previously purchased by Dea. J. R. Bowers.
Armed with new hope and revelation, Gipson and the congregation relocated to the newly built structure at the corner of 10th Court and Cove Boulevard in 1934. An usher board was organized in 1935 with Bro. James Bowers as president, and Bro. P. L. Glover as the first board member. Subsequently, Glover was also licensed and ordained for ministry under Pastor Gipson. In 1937, a choir was organized by Dea. J. B. Barnes (Choir President), Mrs. Rosa Lucas (Pianist), and eleven other members including Josephine Williams (1st Mother of the church). The deacons during this time were J.R. Bowers, J.B. Barnes, Eddie Smith, J.B. Folsom, James Durden Sr., and Henry Lyles. Pastor Gipson served the church and congregation for eleven years before passing away in 1940.
By the grace of God, the church chose its 7th pastor,
Rev. W.S. Drayton Jr in 1940. Pastor Drayton physically and spiritually worked to erect a new block structure for the church. During his tenure, the youth department was established, and a second church chior was organized by Dea. J.B. Barnes and Sis. Alyce C. Bright. After six years of service, Rev. Drayton resigned from the pastorate. He would later establish the Mt. Olive MB Church of Panama City, FL.
Rev. T.J. Jones became the 8th pastor of St. John in 1946. During his tenure, the church building was remodeled; runners were placed in the pulpit; and Henry C. Bailey was ordained as deacon. Rev. Jones would remain in the pastorate for six years before being succeeded by Rev. L.P. Davis Sr. in 1952.
Rev. L.P. Davis Sr served as the 9th pastor of St. John. During his tenure, the basement was partitioned for Sunday School classrooms; pews and runners were placed in the sanctuary; a baptism pool was placed in the lower unit; two houses adjacent to the church property were acquired; and William Johnson and Louis Williams were ordained as deacons. Pastor Davis served in the pastorate for 11 years until 1963.
Rev. Jackson E. Jones, the 10th pastor of St. John, was called to the church on January 17, 1964. During his pastorate, significant upgrades were made to the church building and property: the internal structure was remodeled and reorganized to include a clerical workroon and additional sunday school classrooms, a new HVAC system was installed, runners were placed in the sanctuary, a cornerstone was laid, and parking facilities were provided to parishioners. The church also acquired additional land property, an organ, and a church bus for travel. To accommodate Pastor Jones, a house owned by the church was modernized and furnished to serve as a parsonage. Throughout Jones’ tenure, St. John saw substantial growth in the congregation and church ministries: three choirs were established (mens, sunday school, and teens), a progressive project was initiated, and a golden membership club was organized. The church and Pastor Jones approved the ordination of two ministers (Tim Brooks and Rufus Wood Jr) and nine deacons—Walter H. Bowers, Jonathan Wilson, Jamie Green, William Tillman, Fred Houston Sr., Zannie Crawford, James C. Wilson, Ivie R. Burch, Wilson Dossie and Booker T. Lewis.
In September of 1975, Pastor Jones desired to construct a new church building to better serve the congregation. The planning phase included an extensive building fund effort, blueprints, and an authorized committee tasked to secure funds via lending institutions. Under the leadership of Pastor Jones and the building committee (James C. Wilson, Fred Houston Sr., Zannie Crawford, Henry W. Lee, Willie Richardson, Ivie R. Burch, and Straus Douglas), the plan for the present church building was successfully approved. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on April 12, 1987 at 1:00 p.m. After several months of construction, the church was finished. As tradition, the congregation marched from the old church to the new facility on September 20, 1987.
On September 10, 1989, Pastor Jones went home to be with the Lord. His twenty-five years and eight months of service is the longest tenure by a pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church.
Rev. James B. Hamilton served as the church’s interim pastor from October 1989 to February 1991. Under his leadership, the church continued on a progressive trend, remaining solvent and acquiring additional property.
Rev. Bernard Blount was called as the 11th pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church on April 5, 1991. During his tenure, several organizational changes were made: the church became dually aligned with the National Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention, a family night was initiated, three deacons were ordained (Fred Peterson, Robert Massalene Sr, and Clinton Whitfield Sr) and one minister was licensed to preach the Gospel (Dana Davis).
On January 5, 1992, Rev. Blount left the pastorate and established the Family of God Baptist Church of Panama City.
Dr. Rory Lanier Bedford was called as the 12th pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church on August 19, 1992. Bedford’s tenure saw a continued trend of growth and instrumental changes to the church: a new parsonage was purchased and renovated to better serve the pastor and his family, the Wednesday prayer and Bible study service took on a greater significance, two areas near the baptismal pool were converted into an office and ladies lounge, a church annex was acquired, a youth and music minister was added to the staff, five deacons were ordained (Alonzo Keys, Charlie Pryor, Josh Scott, James Harden, and Terrance Cotton), and the church ordained its first woman minister (Sister Meriam Ruth Newsome).
Pastor Bedford’s most notable accomplishment is the early retirement of the church’s mortgage. After implementing a new building fund program, the church was able to pay off the $400,000+ mortgage in August 1997. To commemorate this feat, the church hosted a celebratory mortgage burning and cornerstone laying during the 74th Church Anniversary in December 1997. Dr. Bedford’s tenure of service ended August 2000.
Rev. Delwynn Gerard Williams is the 13th and current pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church. He was called on Wednesday, May 2, 2001 and started his tenure in the pastoral office Sunday, May 6. Pre-installation activities took place Monday, July 2 and culminated with his official installation Sunday, July 8. Known for assigning annual biblical themes, Pastor Williams dubbed his inaugural year “Marching into the New Millennium with Ministry Minds.” Under his leadership, St. John has made vast improvements structurally, technologically, financially and administratively. For the first time in decades, the church building was renovated to accommodate the increase of parishioners. The sanctuary seating capacity was expanded with the addition of a balcony, the choir stand was filled with new loft chairs, and a new state-of-the-art telephone, computer, and sound system was installed. The pulpit and vestibule area was reimagined, a new roof was placed on the church, sanctuary light fixtures were upgraded, the interior décor was changed from maroon to purple, the administrative office was enlarged, and two classrooms were converted into a conference room. Also, new musical equipment was purchased for the music ministry (Baby Grand piano, Hammond organ, and Yamaha drum set).
As the congregation continued to grow, Pastor Williams established the church’s first full-time and part-time staff. The staff is comprised of an office administrator, receptionist, custodian, minister of music, and two part-time musicians.
Emphasizing the importance of service and outreach, Pastor Williams oversaw the expansion of the church’s ministries by establishing the hospitality and evangelism ministries. The two feature several distinct ministries tasked to handle the needs related to the church. The hospitality ministry assists parishioners during and outside of the church’s weekly worship services. It consists of seven ministries: the Ushers, Greeters, Benevolence, Transportation, Pastor’s Aide, Media, and Mission (W.I.N.G.S). The evangelism ministry leads the outreach efforts within the community. It consists of six ministries: CHAMPIONS, JEWELS, WIA, JWIA, Senior Women Mission, and Health and Wellness Ministry.
With the turn of a new millennium and the advancement of technology, the church extended their reach by securing radio and television slots to broadcast weekly sermons to the public. At the time, weekly television sermons aired on WPGX-TV Fox 28, and radio sermons aired on Clear Channel Radio, WEBZ-93.5 FM and 610 AM The Light in Pensacola, FL. Today, the church broadcasts their worship services live via several streaming platforms, and a weekly recording is broadcast every Friday evening on Heaven 98.3FM in Tallahassee, FL.
In addition to internal growth, the church also invested in its real estate portfolio by acquiring several properties adjacent to the church building and in the Glenwood area. The most significant acquisition was the purchase of the former next-door Triumph church building. Negotiations between the two churches took place over several years. Eventually, both sides agreed to a deal where St. John would construct a new $250,000 building for the Triumph congregation to receive the deed of their current building.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 marked the ground-breaking for the new $900,000+ educational facility on the recently acquired Triumph Church property. The building was completed just days prior to Pastor Williams’ 10th Pastoral Anniversary in May 2011. Entrance and dedicatory services for the new facility were held Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 7:30 a.m. The building and chapel were named and dedicated to the 10th pastor of St. John, Jackson E. Jones. The upstairs conference room was dedicated to deacons Henry C. Bailey and Ivie R. Burch, both who were instrumental in the church’s Christian education existence and operation.
Thursday, October 2, 2014, at the 92nd Annual Session of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Association of West Florida held at the Love Center Missionary Baptist Church, where St. John’s own Dr. Rufus L. Wood, Jr serves as pastor, Pastor Williams was selected to succeed Dr. Wood as Moderator embracing a theme “Invoking a Miracle from God!” Great success has been experienced since Pastor Williams’ election.
Monday, February 2, 2015 marked another milestone for the church under Pastor Williams’s tutelage. After successfully introducing an optional building fund effort known as Faith Fulfillment and TenPlate, the church was blessed to finalize the remaining $600,000 mortgage on the Jackson E. Jones Memorial Chapel & Educational Center, four years after its erection! A mortgage burning celebration was held Palm Sunday, March 29, 2015.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018, the church faced adversity when Category 5 Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida’s panhandle with estimated winds of 160 mph. The aftermath revealed significant damage to the city. Houses were destroyed, city infrastructures were compromised, and families were severely impacted. The church’s primary building suffered significant damage to the exterior and interior, the coach bus and handicap van were thrown several feet away from the property onto the main street, and many members were displaced, including the First Family. By God’s grace, the Jackson E. Jones Educational Facility was relatively unscathed. It became the primary location of worship services for the time being. During this period, the Sunday worship schedule shifted from 7:30 a.m. & 10 a.m. services to 9 a.m. & 12 p.m., 90-minute services.
In March 2020, an unprecedented and deadly disease known as Coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) quickly spread around the world and caused the first global pandemic in over a century. To combat the spread, the government implemented guidelines that prohibited the gathering of large groups in enclosed spaces. During this period, Pastor Williams held all services and meetings virtually on various streaming platforms. On May 3, 2021, two milestones were accomplished. The church was allowed to resume the practice of in-person worship, and the congregation re-entered the main building for the first time since 2018.
Under Pastor Williams’ tenure, 26 ministers have been licensed to preach the gospel; Tammy D. Anderson, M. LeShel Barker, Sharon Blount, Rashida Brinson, Terrance D. Bulger, Stephen Caldwell, Nichole Corder, James Cox, Dinah Crayton, Shelia Gilbert, Veryl Gilbert, V. Dion Gilbert, Courtenay Gray, Jarmon Gray, Catriese Johnson, Rosheen McLaughlin, Glorious Murray, Anthony Pilot, Daryl Richardson, Roderick L. Robinson, Jr., Kiamani Troupe, Sharice Troupe, Bobby L. White Sr, David Williams, Twyla Williams, and Daryl I. Woodson.
11 deacons have been ordained; Bobby White Sr., Daryl Richardson, Ernest Brinson, James Finklea (relocated 2025), Karl Morris, Michael Farley, Sedrick Lee (resigned 2020), Allen Kelly, Kenny Herbert, Stacy Saffold Sr., and Mark White Sr.
Additionally, 11 ministers have been ordained and are serving or has served in the pastoral field. Namely Bobby L. White Sr (New Judson Missionary Baptist Church), Dr. Terrance D. Bulger (Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church and Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church), Anthony M. Pilot (Macedonia Baptist Church) Darryl R. Richardson (Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church) Dr. Roderick L. Robinson, Jr.(Greater Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church), V. Dion Gilbert (Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church), the 1st woman ordained in our church, Dr. Tammy D. Anderson (House of Hope Outreach Ministry), Nichole Corder (The Word Church of Panama City), Stephen Caldwell (Mt Moriah First Missionary Baptist Church), Terry Luckett, who is currently residing in Texas, and our own Rev. 1st Lady Susan C. Williams.