HISTORIC FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH CELEBRATES 151 YEARS OF SERVICE Anniversary Sunday Celebration – Remembering the Amazing Legacy of Friendship

Friendship Baptist Church, established in 1862 and independently organized in 1866, can lay claim to being Atlanta’s first Black Baptist autonomous congregation.   This fact alone calls for recognition and reflection on the heritage of this church – its history and the members of the congregation.

Commemorating 151 years on Sunday, April 28, members of the congregation will hold “Anniversary Sunday Celebration” at 10:00 am in the sanctuary located at 437 Mitchell Street, SW (30313).   Guest speaker for the memorial service, themed “Moving Forward in the Spirit of Christian Unity,” will be The Reverend Dr. Charles G. Adams, Sr., pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, MI.  The combined choirs at Friendship, under the direction of Dr. Sharon J. Willis and Dr. James Abbington, will provide music for the day.

Known throughout Atlanta and beyond, Friendship Baptist Church is often revered to as the mother church among Baptists in Atlanta because of its role in harmoniously forming several other congregations throughout the city.   These churches include: Mount Zion Second Baptist, Providence Missionary Baptist, Wheat Street Baptist, Paradise Baptist, Zion Hill Baptist, Antioch Baptist, Little Friendship Baptist, and Union Baptist Church.  For many reasons, this church and its foresighted membership has always been a part of Atlanta’s religious, educational, and political leadership.  In 1862, the congregation, being unable to buy property, worshipped in a boxcar which was also the first class room of Atlanta University.  As the congregation grew and moved to a larger location, it was the site chosen for Morehouse College when it relocated from Augusta in 1879 and began classes in the basement of Friendship.  Spelman College was also born in the basement of Friendship in 1881.

The former pastors of Friendship include Reverend Frank Quarles (1962-1881); Reverend Dr. Edward Randolph Carter (1882 – 1944); Reverend Dr. Maynard Holbrook Jackson (1945 – 1953; Reverend Dr. Samuel Woodrow Williams (1954 – 1970); The Reverend Dr. William Vincent Guy (1971 - 2007); and Reverend Dr. Timothy Boddie (2008 – 2012).   Friendship's affiliations include the American Baptist Churches USA; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; the World Baptist Alliance; and their respective regional and local units.  Ecumenically, Friendship Church is affiliated with the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta, the National Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches.

Friendship’s pastors have spearheaded an extensive housing ministry including the E. R. Carter Old Folks Home (now demolished), the Samuel W. Williams/Friendship Center Apartments and the William V. Guy Tower High-rise for the Elderly and Handicapped. Throughout its history, Friendship has contributed outstanding leaders including Mayor Maynard Jackson, son of a former pastor, who was a member of Friendship Baptist Church, and Dr. Samuel Williams, a former pastor, who was president of the Atlanta NAACP and who took the lead in integrating Atlanta’s transportation system. 

Other events that are being held during the celebration of Friendship’s 151^st birthday included a Prayer Breakfast held on Saturday, April 6, featuring Dr. Gerald Durley as the keynote speaker; the Naming Ceremony of “The Samuel W. Williams Organ and Rededication Recital” featuring A. Nathaniel Gumbs, guest organist & Friendship Baptist Church combined choirs, directed by Dr. James Abbington & Dr. Sharon J. Willis held on Sunday, April 21 at 6:00 p.m.  On Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. through noon, the Friendship Forum Ministry will presents “The Civil Rights Movement: Past, Present & Future,” featuring Ms. Lula Joe Williams, former staff member of SCLC under the direction of the Late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the keynote speaker.  Panelists for this Saturday afternoon event will include: Ms. Kimberly Mitchem-Rasmussen, founder of the Political Institute for Women, Ms. Jessica Johnson, founder of “The Scholarship Academy,” and Raymond P. Carpenter, Esq., Raymond P. Carpenter & Associates, LLC.

The Friendship Baptist Church Anniversary Celebration 2013 is co-chaired by Ms. Billye Aaron and Ms. Henrietta Antoinin.  Currently, Friendship is under the leadership of Reverend Dr. Emanuel McCall, Interim Pastor. For further information about the program activities, please contact the church at 404-688-0206.