Immanuel Baptist Church (Greenville, N.C.) Records

1915-2025
Manuscript Collection #1211
Creator(s)
Immanuel Baptist Church (Greenville, N.C.)
Physical description
12.15 Cubic Feet, consisting of minutes, ledgers, financial records, membership records, reports, correspondence, photographs, photograph albums, scrapbook, blueprints and drawings, and building specifications.
Preferred Citation
Immanuel Baptist Church (Greenville, N.C.) Records (#1211), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

Official records (1915-2025) of Immanuel Baptist Church, Greenville, N.C., including correspondence, minutes of Board of Deacons and Church Conferences, financial records, membership and donation records, photographs, building records for the church building on Elm Street, and several church record books.


Biographical/historical information

In 1915 Immanuel Baptist Church was formed out of a group of 37 charter members. The official organization is credited to Rev. George J. Dowell of Ayden, NC. In a hall located above the Express Company, at the corner of West Eighth Street and Dickinson Avenue in Greenville, NC, the first meeting occurred. The first pastor called to the church was Rev. John E. Ayscue in 1916, serving until 1920. In 1917 a new church location was sought, and land was bought on West Eighth Street, a location where they would remain for the next fifty years. A milestone occurred in 1927 during Rev. L. R. O'Brian's tenure when women were first elected as deacons. Rev. Irby Jackson took over as pastor in 1956 and served for 21 years. Under his guidance, the church began to grow. In 1977 Dr. Gene Adams became Senior Pastor and served until 1981. The next pastor, Rev. Hugh A. Burlingdon, Jr. served from 1981-2005 making him the longest to serve as pastor at the church. In 1999 the church was involved in the formation of a Korean Mission Church which shared their fellowship hall and educational space. From 2008-2016 Dr. Scott Conner was pastor of the church and was involved in projects with Belvoir School and Building Hope Community Life Center in Greenville during his tenure. The Korean Missions Church named Rev. David Nam as pastor of that church in 2009. In addition, in 2014 Rev. David Archer began serving as the Minister of Music and Administration. The current pastor of the main church, Rev. Asher J. Panton, began his tenure in 2017.

Source:

https://www.ibcg.org/about-us


Scope and arrangement

Included in the materials is a copy of the church's amended constitution. Also present are financial records for the church, a church enrollment book and donation record books documenting members' giving history. In addition are Board of Deacons minutes. These minutes document day-to-day functions and much of the history of the church. These include major purchases, the hiring of pastors and all church staff, property decisions and construction costs, development of a nursery school, parking issues, membership of other denominations, missionary work and collaboration with East Carolina Teachers College and later East Carolina University, including their Baptist Student Union.

Also included are bulletins (1991), directories (1977, undated), 1974 church history, and a 1996/1997 Annie S. Higgs Sunday School Class Yearbook.


Administrative information
Custodial History

August 19, 2014 2.0 cubic feet; Records (1915-1991) of Immanuel Baptist Church, Greenville, N.C., including minutes of Board of Deacons and Church Conference, financial records, membership records, and donation records. Donated by Beth Winstead.

March 19, 2021, (addition 1), 0.35 cubic feet; Bulletins (1991), Directories (1977, undated), 1974 Church History, and 1996/1997 Annie S. Higgs Sunday School Class Yearbook formerly belonging to church member Elva Smiley. Donated by John Stevenson "Steve" Smiley, Sr.

November 10, 2023, (unprocessed addition 2), 2 items; May 11, 1952, bulletin containing Treasurer's Report for April 1952. [Formerly part of Roanoke Baptist Association Forty-Fourth Annual Session.] Transferred from North Carolina Collection.

May 27, 2025, (unprocessed addition 3), 9.8 cubic feet; This addition (1915-2015) includes the remaining official records of the Immanuel Baptist Church congregation; the church closed in 2023 and the building was sold to another church. Included are building specifications, blueprints and drawings and other papers (1952-1971) documenting the process of deciding to build a new building and the work involved in actually building the church at 1101 S. Elm Street and subsequent 1987 addition; correspondence; minutes of the Church Conference, Deacons Board, and Mission Council; photographs and photograph albums; church histories, newsletters, bulletins, clippings, and constitution and bylaws and articles of incorporation. Also included are the Perfect Church Record Book (1915-1945), Guest Book (1967-2001), Marriage Register Book (1967-1981), Book of Remembrance (1932-1969), and Treasurer's Records Book (1945-1950). Donated by Beth Winstead.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Beth Winstead

Gift of John Stevenson "Steve" Smiley, Sr.

Transferred from North Carolina Collection

Processing information

Processed by Dale Sauter, January 2020.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.


Key terms
Corporate Names
Immanuel Baptist Church (Greenville, N.C.)
Topical
Baptists--North Carolina--Greenville
Church records and registers--North Carolina--Greenville

Container list
Box 2 Folder a Board of Deacons minutes for 1925-1935
Box 2 Folder b Board of Deacons minutes for 1948-1950
Box 2 Folder c Board of Deacons minutes for 1951-1952
Box 2 Folder d Board of Deacons minutes for 1953-1955
Box 2 Folder e Board of Deacons minutes for 1955-1959
Box 2 Folder f Board of Deacons minutes for 1960-1964
Box 2 Folder g Loose letters and documents found in Board of Deacons minutes books, 1954-1961, no date. 1917 Church Program
Box 3 Folder a Board of Deacons minutes for 1969-1970
Box 3 Folder b Board of Deacons minutes for 1971-1974
Box 3 Folder c Church Conference Minutes for 1982-1985
Box 3 Folder d Church Conference Minutes for 1986-1989
Box 3 Folder e Church Conference Minutes for 1990-1991
Box 3 Folder f Mission Ministry Report 1991
Box 4 Folder a Donation Records Book for 1922
Box 4 Folder b Donation Records Book for 1923-1924
Box 4 Folder c Donation Records Book for 1941
Box 4 Folder d Donation Records Book for 1942
Box 4 Folder e Donation Records Book for 1943
Box 4 Folder f Donation Records Book for 1944
Box 4 Folder g Donation Records Book for 1945
Box 5 Folder a Directories (1977, undated), bulletins (1991), a church history (1974), and Annie S. Higgs Sunday School Class Yearbook, 1996/1997
Box 5 May 11, 1952, bulletin containing Treasurer's Report for April 1952. [Formerly part of Roanoke Baptist Association Forty-Fourth Annual Session.]
Box 6 Folder a Church History material, 1915-1926
Box 6 Folder b Church History material, 1927-1928
Box 6 Folder c Church History material, 1929
Box 6 Folder d Church History material, 1930-1935
Box 6 Folder e Church History material, 1936
Box 6 Folder f Church History material, 1937-1940
Box 6 Folder g Church History material, 1941
Box 6 Folder h Church History material, 1942-1944
Box 6 Folder i Church History material, 1945-1947
Box 6 Folder j Church History material, 1948-1949
Box 6 Folder k Church History material, 1950-1951
Box 6 Folder l Church History material, 1952
Box 6 Folder m Church History material, 1953-1955
Box 6 Folder n Church History material, 1956
Box 6 Folder o Church History material, 1957
1211-s7-b6-fp Church History material, 1958-1959
Box 6 Folder q Church History material, 1960
Box 6 Folder r Church History material, 1961-1963
Box 6 Folder s Church History material, 1964-1965
Box 6 Folder t Church History material, 1966
Box 6 Folder u Church History material, 1967
Box 7 Folder a Church History material [bulletins], 1968
Box 7 Folder b Church History material, 1968
Box 7 Folder c Church History material [bulletins], 1969
Box 7 Folder d Church History material, 1969
Box 7 Folder e Church History material [bulletins], 1970
Box 7 Folder f Church History material, 1970