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WHEREAS, in 1891, Rev. John H. Pryor, who pastored Ebenezer Baptist Church of Pittsburgh for seven years, organized the Central Baptist Church with approximately 150 members. He was followed by Pastors Rev. E. P. Jackson of Virginia and Rev. John H. Boone of Orange, New Jersey; and,
WHEREAS, Rev. George B. Howard of Petersburg, West Virginia, accepted the call to become the fourth pastor in 1912, during which time the Centennial Methodist Church on the corner of Wylie Avenue and Kirkpatrick Street was purchased to become home of the current Central Baptist Church; and,
WHEREAS, in April of 1919, Rev. W. Augustus Jones accepted the call to become the fifth pastor and resigned in November 1927. Rev. Dr. Cassius A. Ward became the sixth pastor in September 1928; and,
WHEREAS, on June 4, 1938, Rev. Cornel E. Talley became the seventh pastor of Central Baptist Church. Rev. Talley oversaw the redevelopment of the church from 1942-1945, going on to lead his congregation to the forefront of the Civil Rights movement during his tenure, as they hosted Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. circa 1957; and,
WHEREAS, on May 20, 1963, Rev. Isaac Green of Fort Worth, Texas took over the role of Pastor, where he organized the Evangelistic Outreach Radio Ministry, the Federal Credit Union for membership circa 1973, a television broadcast on Cornerstone Television station circa 1982, as well as other ministries; and,
WHEREAS, on September 16, 1996, Rev. Victor J. Grigsby was called in as the ninth pastor of Central Baptist Church. Under Rev. Grigsby, a number of properties and parcels were purchased for future potential development sites. A non-profit 501(c)3 was established in 2001 called The Central New Development Corporation, along with the creation of a twenty-year Master Development Plan which focused on four majors areas of concern: community development, residential mixed-income housing, education, and major church renovation projects; and,
WHEREAS, with 38 lif...
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