A BRIEF HISTORY OF SISTERS BAPTIST CHURCH
Before 1820, the people of this community who desired to worship with a Baptist Church were required to walk some ten miles to the Bethlehem Baptist Church at Warthen. Tradition says that among those who walked this distance were three "sisters" and from them the church derived its name.
According to the 1880 minutes of the Washington Baptist Association, a meeting house was built on the Fenns Bridge road for the convenience of the sisters, who usually walked this distance to worship. The building was given the name "Sisters Meeting House" and constituted as a church on August 7, 1824 with a membership of twenty-four Brethren and Sisters.
The church remained a part of the Hephzibah Association until the Washington Association was constituted at Sisters in 1828.
In 1840, a new church building was erected on the Davisboro road which lasted until 1874 when a "large and comfortable" building was erected and called "Sisters Church". This building lasted until 1914 when a new building was built and dedicated. Five Sunday School rooms were added in 1929.
A new pastorium was built and dedicated in 1948 and a new educational building was added in 1954. The next few years brought remodeling of the Sanctuary in 1956, completion of the annex in 1957, and remodeling of the sanctuary and educational buildings again in 1968.
Though the church had been spared from major natural disasters in the past, suffering only repairable damages, in 1975 the Sanctuary and part of the educational building were destroyed by fire. On July 4, 1976, the current Sanctuary was occupied and the educational building had been completely remodeled. The Lord blessed in every way with the construction and occupying of this building and the debt was satisfied completely in less than ten years.
Since the beginning of the church, there have been twenty-four pastors. Some served only for short periods while others served several years. Many served by preaching once a month and some twice. The church went full-time in the late forties, and the first resident pastor was Thomas Roberson.
Sisters has always been a missionary and evangelistic Baptist Church. It offers the full spectrum of services in the Baptist curriculum. Worship services convene twice each Sunday. Sunday School meets each Sunday morning and Church Training each Sunday evening. Prayer meeting convenes each Wednesday. The Brotherhood and WMU meet monthly. The twelve active deacons of the church also have monthly meetings and serve on a rotating system. Revival meeting times are each summer and winter. Resident members have increased from the original twenty-four to over six hundred.
The music program for the church is under the direction of the Associate to the Pastor and offers a well-rounded program with organized choirs for all ages from the children to senior adults.
Sisters has also been a mission minded church with more than 20 percent of the church offerings going to missions each year. Its witness continues to be felt in areas throughout the Christian community. Many pastors have gone out from this church and each person that has been a part of the fellowship carries the teachings of Christ wherever they go.