OUR HISTORY
The First Baptist Church of Erie was
organized April 3, 1869, in the home of E.
F. Williams. The original seven
members, with the help of the State Sunday
School Missionary chose C. A. Bateman as
their first pastor. J.A. Trenchard was
ordained on January 8, 1871 and became the
church's pastor in 1874. To view a
complete list of pastors please visit our
Past Pastors page.
The first church was built and was first used
on May 11, 1872. The cost of the
church was $1500 and Pastor Bateman gave
$625 in cash, $300 was borrowed from the
Home Mission Board, and the additional
monies were paid in smaller sums.
In 1895 Walter Tanner was ordained and was
know as the "Boy Preacher" and in 1924,
Clyde Tanner, Walter's son, was licensed to
preach.
Records indicate that as far back as 1875,
the Erie church was reported to be the
oldest church in the Southeast Association.
The present building was dedicated in 1908
and in 1953 the nursery, restrooms were
added and the furnace was installed in 1956.
In 2013 the kitchen was remodeled and was
dedicated in the memory of Carl Riebe. |