Our History

Recalling the first sparks of the Community takes me back over 20 years to a prayer meeting I attended only weeks after I became a follower of Jesus. I remember someone praying for the boldness, courage, and longsuffering of Christians around the world who were afflicted and persecuted for the sake of Jesus. I was stunned by the thought that there were other disciples of Jesus whose faces and names I didn't know - spiritual siblings who I would never meet on this earth, co-laborers in Christ who didn't even know that I existed.  Yet, they were all my brothers and sisters! How mind-blowing to realize that I was a part of something so huge!

Over the years, I believe that God has been provoking in me a disquiet - a dread that the Church of which I am inextricably a "member" is neither being nor doing all that it was ordained to be and do. As I passed through different phases of my spiritual development, God kept returning me to the same disconcerting feelings of letdown. I just knew that the Christian Community was meant for something much greater than anything I had yet observed. In fact, the Scriptures bear out this ideal!

One of the most compelling passages is found in Isaiah 60. In the midst of moral, ethical, and spiritual decay, God Himself promises to send His Man as the Standard of Righteousness, the Savior-Redeemer, and the Zealous Judge (Ch. 59). This is no other than Christ Jesus incarnate! Paired with the "coming upon" of the Holy Spirit and God's word in the mouths of His people (59:21), God commands His holy nation to "Arise, shine..." Why? "...for [their] light has come (60:1a)). Then here's what God prophesies to His people:

"For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you. your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried in their arms. Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you" (Is. 60:2-5).
 
It begs the question, "Bride, where is your light?" Where is your brightness? WHERE IS YOUR RADIANCE? It wasn't until recent years that certain familiar Scripture passages seemed to reveal something that I had failed to appreciate before. These texts begged questions that I had previously been too dull to consider, or maybe it was that I had just simply ignored them. the Community is my family's personal attempt at an authentic and relevant response to God's clearly expressed desire for His glory and the radiance of his Bride as it is repeatedly revealed in His authoritative Word, the Bible.

Make History!

We invite all who have ears to hear and eyes to see, to join us as we strive to faithfully and obediently pursue the Lord Jesus Christ and his exemplary life characterized by an unencumbered, long-suffering, and single-minded ambition to gain the approval of His Father (Heb 11:39-12:2).

Wherever you are in your life journey, we hope to give you impetus to grow in a death-defying relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. We ourselves are people who are weak, poor, and fallen, facing the daily burdens of this life. However, we are also people who are daily experiencing Christ’s strength, provision, and renewal while we set our faces toward the promised life-everlasting with our King! We would like nothing more than to have you “know in part” what we have come to “know in part,” "but shall know fully” – that is, love personified, that is Jesus Christ (1 Jn 4:16); (Rom 5:8); (Jn 1:1)! Won’t you consider joining us as we race toward the finish line, growing ever more radiant along the way? It is there that the Master awaits us with the words, “Well done, my good servant” (Mt 25:21)!

The Lord is building His Kingdom right here in this Community. We welcome you to accept His gracious invitation to join Him just as we already have. The Community exists to cultivate authentic lovers of God who are relevant lovers of people to the glory of Jesus Christ who was first to authentically and relevantly love us all.

Southern Baptists History in 60 Seconds                                  
         from SBC.net

Southern Baptist roots go all the way back to the Reformation in England in the sixteenth century. Various dissenters called for purification of the church and a return to the New Testament Christian example. These dissenters also called for strict accountability in their covenant with God. One of the prominent dissenters who arose in the seventeenth century was John Smyth. Smyth was a strong proponent of adult baptism and 1609 went as far as to rebaptize himself and others. Smyth's action was a sign of the first English Baptist church. By 1644, due to the efforts of Thomas Helwys and Smyth, there were 50 Baptist churches. Some Baptists were General Baptists because they believed people choose to be saved and they saw atonement, as general not just limited. Others were referred to as Particular Baptists because they thought redemption was limited to a chosen few. Both groups strengthened the Baptist movement in England.

As the English Baptists struggled with recognition, some began to come to America. They came to America, like other counterparts, to escape religious persecution in England. By the mid eighteenth century Baptist numbers grew even more due to the Great Awakening pioneered by Jonathan Edwards. By 1790, Baptists had began to organize and expand. At this time Baptists organized missionary societies to spread the Christian lifestyle to others. It was these mission societies that led to other organizational structures that would eventually define and make a denomination of Baptists. By 1830’s tension began to mount between the Northern and Southern Baptists that corresponded with the rift that was growing between northern and southern culture in America. In 1844 these issues came to a peak and the Home Mission Society separated into northern and southern divisions. As a result of this the Baptists in the south met in May of 1845 and organized the Southern Baptist Convention.

The first annual convention of the Southern Baptists was held in 1845. In this convention the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board were established. The purpose of each board is still "the propagation of the gospel," with one board focusing on national issues and the other on foreign issues.

After Reconstruction of the South the Southern Baptists began to thrive, and from Reconstruction to the end of World War I, Southern Baptists had gone from a bunch of unorganized and scattered churches with little in common into a denomination of an even larger number of churches and people sharing both culture and program, and training and mission. By the twentieth century Southern Baptists were a cultural establishment influencing many people all over the country and world.