About Us

New Sardis Baptist Church was organized in Southeast Shelby County in 1874 at 7739 East Holmes Road. The land on which the initial edifice was constructed was purchased on December 3, 1874; circa, eleven years after the abolishment of slavery.

The first officials of our church purchased two (2) acres of land from A.C. Stuart for the cost of fifty dollars ($50.00). Approximately, twelve (12) months later worship was moved from the “Bush Arbor” to our new little wooden church on the hill. And, New Sardis Church campus was divided to include a burial ground (church cemetery). 

Through divine guidance and our efforts to follow the scriptures, the newly organized church elected the first “three (3) deacons:” Henry Rhodes, Mount Carlton and William Price. Those spiritual pioneers “paved the way” for future generations to worship and serve God in the Germantown area of Shelby County. Now, New Sardis continues the “blessed path” with the Diakonos Ministry (Deacons and Deaconesses). 

In the beginning, the membership would gather once a month for our “Third Sunday Worship Service!” Members would walk to church from miles around, or travel by horse or buggy. Years later, the “First Sunday” was added for Worship. And, in the 1950s, early 1960s, New Sardis began holding “Worship Service Every Sunday!” 

As to the first church building, it was heated with a “potbelly stove” that burned wood & coal. “Kerosene lamps” were our only source of light. “Water was brought inside in buckets;” and the toilet was an “outhouse” (located, far corner of campus). Our “baptisms” were conducted in neighborhood ponds; (Ms.) Vera Quinn’s Pond and (Mr.) George Sensing’s Pond. Years later, New Sardis “dug a baptismal pond & cistern” on the church campus! During this era, our initial building burned down and another building was constructed in its original place. By God’s grace, a few years later our old wooden building “was bricked!” As our membership continued to grow, so did our need for larger facilities. Built both a new sanctuary and fellowship hall, 1978, via *6th pastor. Built both a new 1,500-seat sanctuary & administration building, 2005, via *7th pastor.

1874 – 2018, God has blessed us with 8 pastors: 1st-Rev. Isaac Cotton; 2nd-Rev. J.W. Wilkerson; 3rd-Rev. Charlie Campbell; 4th-Rev. J.W. Sinclair; 5th-Rev. A.Y. Crutcher (2-terms); 6th-Rev. D.G. Gray, Sr., 31 years; 7th-Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray, Jr., 25 years; and 8th Pastor, Rev. Darell Harrington, Pastoral Installation, Mar. 18, 2018. Elected: Dec. 16, 2017.

Now, we are to “be good stewards of our heritage.” It should be “preserved in love” for the present, respect for the past, and proudly proclaimed for the future generations! 

Serving the spiritual community proudly. 

Church-Archival Records: Church History written by church 7th Pastor, 1992; Also, updates written by Mrs. Ollie Ree Johnson as both: 1st-appointed church-historian, 2013; and as church-archivist, 2018.