Condensed Chronological History of the

Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church

 

It was 1920 when forty-six members of the Friendship Baptist Church left the church and begin fellowshipping in a rented building at 310 Rivard.

 

In 1921 after renting the building on Rivard from Rev. William L. Dooley the group purchased the building.  The building had carried the name, St. James Baptist Church.  They incorporated and formally established the church, keeping the name that was attached to the newly purchased building.  Their temporary pastor was Rev. Tate.  The congregation called Rev. Samuel S. Cumby as their first pastor.  Rev. Cumby served in this capacity until 1925.

 

In 1925 Rev. Mose Williams was called as the second pastor of St. James Baptist Church.

 

Then in 1926 Rev. H. S. Shearer was elected as the third pastor and remained in that position until his death in 1937.

 

Following Rev. Shearer’s transition, Rev. Wesley C. Barnett was appointed and was the interim pastor of the church and in March 1938 was called as the fourth pastor of the St. James Baptist Church.  Having been a member of the church since 1921 under the leadership of Rev. Cumby, Rev. Barnett held the position of Assistant Pastor and was an active member of many church organizations.

 

After many years of service at the Madison and Rivard church site, the building was sold in 1956 to the Detroit Development Corporation to make room for local urban renewal projects.

 

In 1957 a new church edifice and accompanying properties located on Mt. Elliott at Pulford were purchased.   The mortgage burning service was held on this property on Sunday, November 27, 1963.  Rev. Barnett was a remarkable man of God.  Loved and revered by all who know him, he was a shining example of what a Pastor should be.  In October 1971, he was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate degree conferred on him by the Union Baptist Seminary of Birmingham, Alabama for his outstanding contributions and accomplishments as pastor of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church.

 

Rev. W. C. Barnett went home to be with the Lord in January 1972.  Two assistants to Rev. Barnett, Rev. Jerome Hubbard and Rev. Charles H. Nicks, Jr., both ordained by Rev. Barnett, carried on the ministry.

 

In April 1972 Rev. Charles H. Nicks, Jr. was called as the fifth pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church.  Prior to his call as pastor, Rev. Nicks served as accompanist for the Young Adult Choir from 1957 until 1960 and Minister of Music from 1963 until his call to pastor in 1972.  An accomplished musician and visionary, Rev. Nicks’ vision of a musical service that would give thinks to the Lord was realized when he began what would become one of the most anticipated yearly Gospel music celebrations in the country, “O Give Thanks”.  All roads would lead to Detroit on the Monday night preceding Thanksgiving to share with Rev. Charles H. Nicks, Jr. and the St. James Adult Choir in song.  These concert services drew enormous crowds of people from across the United States and acclaimed Rev. Nicks, the Adult Choir and St. James Church the ultimate in gospel music and ministry.  Rev. Nicks’ achievements are too numerous to list, suffice it to say, the impact of Rev. Nicks’ ministry will live on in our hearts and minds forever.  Genuine, sincere, intelligent, understanding, compassionate, gifted and entrenched in the word are but a few of the qualities that Rev. Nicks wore well.

 

“Rev” as we all so fondly called him, made his transition from labor to reward on July 28, 1988.  His legacy will live on in his music, the preached word and his amazing ability to impact the lives of anyone who came into contact with him.  Dare we say that St. James IS because Rev. Nicks WAS.

 

Rev. James A. Jennings, Jr., was elected the sixth pastor of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in 1990.

 

In 1992 Rev. Jennings and the St. James Church family purchased a church edifice located at 13600 Van Dyke from the Catholic Diocese.  The campus of the edifice included an activity building, administration wing, elementary school and gymnasium.

 

In April 1997, a mortgage burning ceremony was held, retiring the mortgage.

 

On Sunday, December 4, 2005, Pastor Jennings announced the he was led to change the name of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church to Shield of Faith International Ministries.

 

The reclamation of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church name occurred and the church was renamed the Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church.  The membership of the church began to meet at the Peace Funeral Home on East Seven Mile Road on Sunday, March 12, 2006 and Rev. Argustus C. Williams was elected the seventh pastor of the church on May 7, 2006.  Pastor Williams was ordained by Pastor James Jennings, Jr. in October of 1999.

 

In 2007 Rev. Williams and the congregation of the Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church fellowshipped at the Spain Middle School Auditorium and continued to carry forth the St. James tradition of Faith, Hope and Charity.  The church has been an integral part of the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Health Initiative at the Achievable Visions Conference Center in Highland Park serving as hosts and hostesses.  In addition, under the leadership of Rev. Williams the church began a Coats for Kids Project making sure that every child attending the Spain Middle School had a warm winter coat and other cold weather items.  The Junior Usher Board was established, the Capital Campaign was implemented, the Hospitality Ministry was organized, Deacons and Trustees successfully completed ministry training sessions at the Metropolitan District Congress of Christian Education and Pastor Williams was honored at the Wolverine State Baptist Convention Women’s Auxiliary Church Nurses Commission Annual Luncheon.

 

Under the dynamic leadership of Pastor Williams, the membership and ministries have continued to grow.  Pastor Williams led the congregation forward with the Capital Campaign Fund to a scheduled completion date of October 26, 2008.  God showed his favor upon this congregation and blessed this body to purchase a new church edifice on September 10, 2008 from St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  Our first service in the new edifice was a consecration service on October 5, 2008.  The Dedication Service was scheduled for Sunday, October 19, 2008.

 

Since the move into the new edifice the membership has continued to grow. We’ve implemented a five year Pledge Campaign to finance improvements to the property; resumed Vacation Bible School, and youth Sunday School classes; resumed Wednesday Night Bible Study for adults and children; and hosted the 2009 Campfire/Crime Prevention Rally for the Metropolitan District Young Peoples Department. 

 

During 2010 the church continued its Phase Two Capital Campaign.  With the efforts and contributions of the membership we've made great strides in capital improvements for the church including installation of central air conditioning, office furnishings, updated security features, transportation vehicles and have completed the second phase of roof replacement.  In addition, during the Christmas Holidays, the HSJMBC Youth Department spearheaded an effort to provide Christmas Dinner Baskets to fifteen (15) families through the Ennis Center for Children.  The giving spirit of the membership was exhibited as donations allowed the youth to provide complete dinner baskets, resplendent with turkey and all the trimmings to each family.  Truly the spirit of love is alive and well here at Historic St. James.  Additionally, the Historic "Adopt-A-Family Initiative" was instituted by Pastor and Deaconess Iva Williams. Here at Historic St. James it's all about love, for we've come to realize that the more WE give, the more HE gives to each of us.

 

The year 2011 marked a significant milestone for The Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church as we celebrated our 90th Church Anniversary.  The anniversary kickoff was held on Sunday, May 1, 2011.   Church activities were planned to coincide with this special occasion including the development of a Church Directory including family and ministry photos, a Souvenir Guide Keepsake, and a variety of Anniversary Memorabilia available for purchase. We continue building the body of Christ as Pastor Williams’ vision for our church family is being fulfilled.  Continuing our focus toward capital improvements, we completed the third and final phase of roofing repairs.  In addition, we began the implementation of technology upgrades with the installation of new telecommunication lines and new computers.  We have also refurbished the financial office. Our efforts to address the cosmetic needs of the adjacent church areas including the ministry rooms, hallways and library have been met with the completion of the painting of these areas.  Electrical upgrades have also been addressed.  As we move forward, with the help of the Lord and the continued support of the congregation, we envision a church campus that meets the needs of our church family, neighboring community and worship to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for we realize that we Never Would Have Made Without the Lord.

 

It is in deep humiliation and thankfulness that we rejoice in the redemptive work God has and continues to accomplish in us here at The Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church.  As we focus on our anniversary theme, "We Are On Our Way...From Glory to Glory", we are reminded that the scripture tells us that God is the Father of Glory and that the Glory of God is the manifestation and revelation of His love to us when there is unity in spirit and intimacy of fellowship in His people.  We are thoroughly convinced that the Bible is the infallible word of God and as such is our guiding light as we progress from glory to glory.  We will continue to stand on the word of God without compromise and without wavering.  To God be the glory, we are not finished yet!  May God's glory continue to be magnified and multiplied here in The Historic St James Missionary Baptist Church for "we are on our way, to a land of endless day, we are on our way, we're on our way to glory".  Praise The Lord!