For hundreds of years, Black churches have been the heart of their communities, offering not only spiritual leadership and fellowship, but also assisting those in need, teaching practical skills, fostering a vital sense of community, and organizing around important social movements.
First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, is a model of this kind of community generosity, beginning with one man’s commitment to reaching those who were enslaved, even though he, himself, had become free.
The first Baptist missionary was also the first Black pastor
This historic church began with George Leile. Born into slavery in Virginia, he and his family were taken to Georgia, where he worked on a plantation. He attended church with the owner of the plantation and heard the teachings of Jesus. Leile was baptized and began preaching the gospel to other enslaved Black people. He read Scripture and taught through hymns.
He was so effective as a preacher, he convinced a panel of white preachers that he should be the first Black man licensed to preach in Georgia, and Henry Sharpe, who owned the plantation, granted him his freedom. But when he became free, Leile felt a deep conviction to return to the plantations and take the message of the gospel to others in slavery. He risked his own freedom traveling across plantations along the Savannah River, preaching and baptizing many enslaved people. Soon he had gathered a congregation.
A generous foundation
As the Revolutionary War unfolded, Leile and many of his students sought refuge in the British-occupied city of Savannah. The British, offering freedom to escaped slaves, had become a beacon for those seeking liberation.
After the war, fearing re-enslavement, hundreds of African Americans scattered across the globe. Leile moved to Jamaica and established a church there. His students, who were scattered from Nova Scotia to England to Sierra Leone, generously shared their faith and sprouted new congregations wherever they settled.
Andrew Bryan, one of Leile’s students who had purchased his own freedom, remained in Savannah after the Revolutionary War. Despite tension in the south and persecution from their neighbors, Bryan officially founded the First African Baptist Church in 1788 with 67 members. By 1830, the church had grown to more than 2,400.
A historic sanctuary
The congregation had carried its community through the Revolutionary War and would serve an important role in the Civil War as well. The building that still stands today was constructed in the late 1850s. Later, during the war, small holes in the sanctuary flooring appeared as decoration in a traditional tribal pattern. These “decorations” served as air holes for those hiding beneath the floorboards – people escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad.
Nearly a century later, the building served as a meeting place for prominent civil rights leaders.
Today, the First African Baptist Church still holds weekly worship services and stands as a National Historic Landmark in downtown Savannah. You can still see the inconspicuously patterned air holes decorating the floor.
Next time you’re in Savannah, don’t miss this important Christian landmark, the home church of the first Black Baptist pastor and the earliest Baptist missionaries. Until then, we encourage you to look up historic Black churches near you and learn more about your local Black heroes of the faith.
Photo: Lexie Houston
