Our History
In 1901, our country's president was William McKinley, the Spanish-American War was over, and business was booming. Mebane, North Carolina, was a small mill village situated along the Southern Railroad route between Durham and Greensboro. A large part of its population was dependent on nearby furniture and textile mills taking advantage of the ease of transportation.
The nearest Baptist church was 10 miles away; since travel was by horse and buggy at the time, this was quite a long trip. There were already strong Methodist and Presbyterian congregations in town, and on July 5, 1901, a group of 21 citizens came together to formally found the Mebane Baptist Church. The church would have as its leader Reverend L.N. Chappell, a former missionary to China and an employee of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The new church would share space with Mebane Presbyterian Church.
In those days, it was rare to have a full-time pastor. Services were not held on a regular basis and most pastors at the time usually served more than one church. Since only larger congregations could afford to fully support a pastor, services were held one or two times a month. Between 1902 and 1906, Mebane Baptist Church was no different. It suffered a number of rough times during these years, and in 1906, members met to reorganize the church and begin anew, this time with more success. From May 8 to the present day, Baptist work in Mebane has continued the process of growth.
In the fall of 1907, Mebane Baptist Church met in its own structure for the first time. The congregation had collected $100 to purchase a lot and $600 to construct a wooden building at the church's present location. Since that time, with the exception of a few months in 1928 when fire destroyed the church, Baptists have always met for worship at the corner of Third and Jackson Streets.
In the years that followed, Mebane Baptist Church continued to grow. The first Sunday School was formed in 1907, as well as the first Women's Missionary Society, now known as the Woman's Missionary Union (WMU). The little church more than doubled its membership, went from one to three services each month, and built a parsonage that would be home to its pastors for a number of years. In 1926, the first Educational Building was begun adjacent to the sanctuary.
Unfortunately, on January 22, 1928, the sanctuary caught fire during the Sunday School hour. Burning the sanctuary beyond salvation, a large part of the furniture and the unfinished Education Building was saved. The congregation met in available spaces locally for the next few months. During this time, the church decided to focus on completing its Educational Building and afterward, would meet there for services. Just as the church was recovering from the fire, the congregation was hit hard by the Great Depression of 1929. This was the beginning of more years of financial struggle.
At the end of World War II, the United States' economy was booming. Roads were improved and gasoline was cheap and plentiful as the country's society began to be mobile. The population was growing and there were ample jobs for anyone who needed one. Mebane followed the country's trend with a strong economy and residential growth. Since there were now other Baptist churches in town, Mebane Baptist Church officially changed its name to First Baptist Church of Mebane in 1946. The following year, the church broke ground on a new sanctuary. The cost of financing did not keep the church membership from working toward their dream of a new facility. Built in semi-gothic style, the solid brick sanctuary would have Indiana limestone for exterior accents. The interior furnishings and trim would be solid oak and it would be able to seat 450 people. A bell tower would be built to rise from the northwest corner of the building, a family would donate a system to play recorded chime music from the tower, and another family would donate a new Hammond organ to the church. A little later, another donation would allow chimes, controlled by the organ, to be played from the bell tower. Large stained glass windows would grace both sides and the rear of the building.
The first service in the new sanctuary was held in July of 1948. The church continued to grow steadily and by the time of its fiftieth anniversary in 1951 had doubled its membership to 473 and averaged 254 people in Sunday School each week. This was a 250% increase from 1946! During the same year, First Baptist Church of Mebane, in conjunction with the Mt. Zion Baptist Association, established a mission church in Hillsborough and partnered to provide financial assistance. That church is now called Fairview Baptist Church, located on Highway 70 in Hillsborough.
In 1953, the church began renovating its 25-year-old educational building and bought and renovated a nearby house to use as a new parsonage for the church's pastor and his family. The house was later used as a church nursery until it was eventually torn down when a new educational facility was built a decade later. The 1950's saw the church buy more property in the immediate area, take steps to change the organizational structure within the church, study and make changes to best utilize the space of the church, and begin a number of new adult Sunday School classes. These actions had a stabilizing effect for First Baptist Church as a whole, allowing it to continue to build and grow in both membership and physical facilities.
During the early part of the 1960's, as a result of changes made late in the previous decade, church growth slowed a bit. Change is difficult for most people, but once change becomes habit and is no longer new, people are ready to again move forward. This proved true for First Baptist Church of Mebane. In 1969, the church broke ground on a new 3-story all brick educational building that would provide over 17,000 square feet of space for classrooms, a fellowship hall, and staff offices. Many members at the time considered the church to be finished. However, people continued to be attracted to this church and its seemingly endless activity, and growth again continued.
In 1976, First Baptist Church of Mebane celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary. Two years prior, it had written a new constitution. In 1986, it decided to no longer maintain a parsonage for its pastor. A love gift from the membership helped the pastor purchase his own home.
 The 1990's brought the church's current pastor, Dr. Terry Farmer, to Mebane. Under his leadership, it began to prepare for the 21st century. First Baptist Church of Mebane was incorporated in 1996, began an Hispanic program that shared the facility, put women in visible roles of church leadership for the first time, and purchased and supplied a Disaster Relief Trailer for specially trained teams to use when called to help after a natural disaster. The Hispanic ministry has grown to encompass the entire county and now Iglesia de la Comunidad (Church of the Community) has its own facility in Burlington.
Since its humble beginnings, First Baptist Church of Mebane has had seven members heed God's call to go into the ministry and three members become international missionaries. Large numbers of young people who have grown up in the church have returned to call Mebane home and are lay leaders, equipping the next generation to serve the Lord. Countless members have embraced the prayerful support of the church as they have taken numerous mission trips all over the United States and the world to work among people who need to hear the word of God.
With a heart for outreach, Dr. Farmer continues to lead First Baptist Church of Mebane as a vital, active force in the Mebane community. Utilizing the gifts of its members, lives continue to be touched by caring, passionate people who have a heart for God. And with every act of kindness, the blessing and strength of the giver continues to grow. Please join us as we march forward to share Christ's love. |