History Of Northridge Baptist Church
(East Macon Mission, Warren Chapel, East Macon Baptist, Eastside Baptist, Northridge Baptist)
Northridge Baptist Church has been known by several names throughout its history. The body began as a Sunday School mission of the First Baptist Church of Macon. The first record of an East Macon Mission comes from April of 1872, when the Georgia Baptist Convention met in Macon and a delegate visited and addressed the "Baptist Sunday School, East Macon" established in the old Depot Building. That building stood about 75 yards south of Main Street and 50 yards from the river.
In 1875 the mission reported in the associational letter that there were 10 officers and teachers and 180 pupils in the East Macon Sunday School. By 1876 the Sunday School had expanded its ministry to include preaching services and the mission employed a theological student from Mercer to preach each Sunday and visit the sick, paying $50 per year. For unknown reasons, early in 1879, the mission granted permission to discontinue the work. However, on October 1, 1879, Dr. E.W. Warren was recalled as Pastor of First Baptist Church, and he quickly restarted the Sunday School Mission. On March 3, 1880 the First Baptist Church commended the efforts of Dr. Warren on establishing a permanent mission in East Macon and promised to erect a suitable chapel.
For $125 a lot was purchased on Cantonment Street, now Church Street, and paid for by private gifts made directly to the Pastor. Twelve young men each contributed $100 toward the erection of the chapel, and on July 28, 1880 it was dedicated as "Warren Chapel."
Whereas our pastor has by his untiring exertions caused a Baptist Chapel to be erected in East Macon for the use of our brethren and the citizens of that part of our city, be it resolved in the high esteem in which we hold our brother, and in appreciation of his work, labor and zeal, we call this chapel "Warren Chapel", and that it be dedicated with that name.
(FBC Minutes)
Four ministerial students from Mercer offered their services and their salaries were paid from the Mission Fund of the First Baptist Church (B.D. Ragsdale, L.W. Parrott, J.D. Chapman, and E.V. Baldy). Until December 1880, the chapel had been merely a place for holding services, but at that time First Baptist carried a motion that Warren Chapel be made an "arm" of the Mother Church and be vested with the right to receive members.
Warren Chapel grew rapidly and was blessed with evangelistic fruitfulness. Pastor Warren reported sixty new members to the Chapel in the fall of 1883, the Chapel's third anniversary. J.D. Chapman baptized 22 converts in 1884, and E.V. Baldy baptized 18 according to an 1887 report in the Christian Index.
In July 1887, First Baptist entertained the motion of donating Warren Chapel to its members, provided they would organize a separate church and agree to sustain it. But the members of East Macon feared it might result in injury to the cause. However, about a year later, on June 17, 1888, at the suggestion of Dr. Warren, 96 members called for their letters from the Mother church and formed a new church in East Macon.
The first Pastor was Rev. E.J. Coats. After seven years into his pastorate, in 1895, the church changed its name from Warren Chapel to East Macon Baptist. (Later, after having been known as East Macon Baptist for 54 years, the church voted in 1949 to change its name to East Side Baptist.)
A new church building was started during the pastorate of Dr. R.E. Neighbor, and was completed in 1898 during Rev. M.A. Jenkins' ministry. The old chapel was renovated for Sunday School space and a new church was built. At this time the church membership had grown to 318. Though Rev. Jenkins' tenure was short at East Side, he seems to have created quite a stir. Volume One of Baptist Biography (1917) says of his ministry: "He was then called to the East Side church of Macon Georgia where he led the church in a great missionary revival which was the sensation of the city and the Southern Baptist Convention."
On April 1, 1923 a new Sunday School annex was dedicated, with 720 in attendance. In 1923 the church reported 50 baptisms, 31 members by letter, and a total membership of 713.
The church building was destroyed by fire on November 3, 1941. The portion not destroyed by fire was converted into a Sunday School building and ground-breaking ceremonies for a new church building were held October 23, 1948. It was completed in 1954 with a seating capacity of 750: 500 in the auditorium and 250 in the balcony. The new building contained a sanctuary, twenty-six Sunday School rooms, a pastor's office, church office, assembly hall, and kitchen. In 1950, under the pastorate of the Rev. Roy Fincher and during construction of this building, East Side reported the largest membership in its history: 1,019 with 55 baptisms.
As the population shifted away from east Macon, the church faced a critical juncture. Would they cling to their historic location, or motivated by a concern for ministry, would they step out in faith? On May 16, 1976 the church voted to purchase seven acres of land on Gray Highway for the purpose of relocating. They also voted to change the name of the church from East Side Baptist to Northridge Baptist once the move was made.
Ground breaking ceremonies were held on May 21, 1978, and the first service was held December 24, 1978. Under the leadership of Pastor David L. Mosely, a new space, property and ministries were added to facilitate the growing work of the Lord. On Homecoming Day, October 30, 1988, the Northridge congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary. Within ten years Northridge had grown from 193 members in 1978 to 606 in 1988. Baptisms account for 198 of these new members.
The Gray Highway campus has undergone several major additions of property and facilities in 1999 and from 2006 to 2008. In mid 2006, with Rev. Bob Hamilton leading as pastor, the church voted to build a new 8500 square feet sanctuary and renovate other space to accommodate a growing ministry. The old sanctuary became a kitchen and fellowship hall. The previous fellowship hall became a Youth Activity Center with plenty of classrooms. The basement under the sanctuary (approximately 4000 square feet) was thoughtfully designed to house the Children's Ministry Center.
In March 2007 the church voted to purchase approximately 18 acres of land at $12,500 per acre for a total of $230,505.00. This was done after much prayer and with the hope that it will give room to expand the parking lot, have a recreation area, and act as a buffer to other development in the area. In total, Northridge authorized the borrowing of $1,500,000 for these projects. The first service was held in the new sanctuary on September 9, 2007, and a dedication service for the new building was held April 6, 2008.
Through the years, as the members of this body have stepped forward in faith, so has God's providence smiled upon them. We have proved the oft-repeated maxim "God honors those who honor Him." Known variously as the East Macon Mission, Warren Chapel, East Macon Baptist, East Side Baptist, and Northridge Baptist, we have always been a body of Christ, committed to the Great Commission and submitted to the Word of God.
PASTORS WHO HAVE SERVED
1888-1896 Rev. E.J. Coates
1897-1898 Rev. R.E. Neighbor
1898 Rev. Millard A. Jenkins
1898-1903 Rev. B. Lacey Hogue
1903-1904 Rev. D.M. Pressley
1904-1911 Rev. J. Parry Lee
1912-1914 Dr. T.S. Hubert
1914-1918 Rev. L.S. Barrett
1918-1923 Rev. A.J. Johnson
1923-1925 Rev. J.B. Tallant
1925-1928 Dr. A.B. Metcalf
1928-1942 Rev. C.W. Stitt
1943-1945 Rev. R.D. Hughes
1946-1948 Rev. B.F. Rogers
1948-1955 Rev. Roy Fincher
1955-1968 Rev. Hugh D. DeLoach
1969-1970 Dr. Leroy G. Boatright
1971-1972 Rev. A.D. Stanfield
1973-1977 Rev. Wade Rollins
1977-1999 Rev. David L. Mosely
1999-2003 Rev. Steven Golden
2003-2009 Rev. Bob Hamilton
2010-Present Rev. Klay Aspinwall
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