125 years

By Editor | October 30, 2019 |

At the anniversary celebration of a Baptist Church in Vandalia earlier this month, the Rev. Robert Weaver noted that the church history contains a lot about buildings and pastors.

“But, the truth is, the history of our church is about the people who are part of it … and it is almost impossible to record all of that,” said Weaver, pastor of Unity Baptist Church.
Unity Baptist was started early in 2015 through a merger of Temple Baptist Church and First Baptist Church.
But, the history of a Baptist Church in Vandalia got its start on May 9, 1894, with six charter members.
The church was initially affiliated with the Northern Baptist Convention, “because we didn’t have a Southern Baptist denomination in Illinois at that time,” Weaver said.
In 1901, a church building was constructed at Sixth and Johnson streets, and in 1912, it became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
In 1939, an addition to the church was built, and about that same time, some of the members left First Baptist Church to form Edwards Street Baptist Church.
Vandalia also had a Second Baptist Church for some time.
The Edwards Street congregation purchased property on North Seventh Street after its formation, and it later became Temple Baptist Church, moving into its new home in April 1981.
Weaver also talked about the construction of a new First Baptist Church, and an educational building, at Sixth and Johnson streets.
After the Temple Baptist structure was destroyed by fire in 2005, the congregration set to construct a new church building. About that same time, First Baptist Church was looking to build a new home, and the two congregations began discussing a merger.
That merger became a reality in January 2015, with the congregation meeting in the former Temple Baptist Church.
As that merger happened, Weaver said, he spoke with other pastors about the frequency of that kind of thing.
What he learned is that “mergers don’t happen very often, two churches being able to say, I’m not worried about my identity; we’re going to come together and form a new identity, and that’s the great thing …to become the church we are today,” he said.
“Unity Baptist Church is the church it is because of the historical past of all these churches and the people who were a part of them,” Weaver said.
In reading the history, he said, “A lot of it is about the buildings and pastors, and I guess we see those as milestones, as a big event when a building is expanded or a new pastor comes.”
The formation of a church, Weaver said, “starts out in homes a lot of times, in storefronts, any place they can gather.”
Then comes the building of a church home.
“Unfortunately, many times we think of the church as the building,” he said. “But, it’s not – the people are the church, we are the church.”
Through all of the changes in the Baptist Church in Vandalia over the years, Weaver said, “It’s still about the people. It doesn’t matter what the building is, it doesn’t matter where the history came from, we, the people, are the body of Christ.
“What makes all that happen is the people,” he said.
In addition to celebrating the 125th anniversary, “We really need to think about moving forward.
“It’s a time to celebrate, but let’s also look at this as a new beginning,” Weaver said. Not a time to look back, but, “What are the next 25 years going to bring?”
The invocation for the celebration was given by the Rev. Charley Westbrook, who served as the First Baptist Church pastor from 1979-86.
Before doing so, Westbrook recalled his time in Vandalia with fondness.
“We had great years here, great people, some of the dearest friends that we’ve had are here,” Westbrook said.
He noted that it was in Vandalia that his daughter, Melisa, met the man who would become her husband, Greg Baumann.
“I will cherish that as one of the greatest things that I had happen while we were here at First Baptist Church,” he said.
Westbrook also noted that after his second year in Vandalia, the church received an award from the state convention for having the fastest-growing Sunday school. “That’s a great accomplishment,” he said.
During the ceremony, Nate Adams, executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, presented to Weaver a plaque recognizing the church’s anniversary.
The ceremony also included hymns led by Michelle Weaver, the church’s worship leader, and the Rev. Joe Lawson, director of missions for the Rehobeth Baptist Association, delivered the benediction.
Unity Baptist Church currently has about 750-800 members, and average attendance at the church’s services is 150-200.

The Rev. Robert Weaver, pastor of Unity Baptist Church, delivers the anniversary message at the celebration.

The Rev. Charley Westbrook, pastor of First Baptist Church in Vandalia from 1970-86, gave the invocation at the anniversary celebration.

Michelle Weaver, Unity Baptist Church worship leader, leads the congregation (below) in song during the celebration.

Nate Adams (left) executive director of the Illinois State Baptist Association, presented to the Rev. Robert Weaver a plaque noting the anniversary of Unity Baptist Church in Vandalia.