Hear ye. Hear ye. In 1888 five determined women laid the foundation for Grace Baptist Church. This marked the beginning of a dynamic house of worship in Mount Vernon New York.
Grace Baptist Church emerged from a spirit of hope. It also had community engagement at its core. These five women organized a Baptist mission. It was dedicated to the spiritual needs of the small African American community. It also focused on their educational needs. Soon after the Grace Baptist Mission formed a Sunday School began. It welcomed people of all ages.
With help from the First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon a white congregation the Mission bought land. In 1891 they built their first church home. Two years later Grace Baptist Mission chose its first pastor. He was Reverend J.L. Montague. He was a proud graduate of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. He also graduated from Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. This set a high standard for Grace Baptist Church. They sought educated seminary trained pastors. This was rare for churches of any race in the Baptist tradition.
A more permanent chapel was built in 1894. It accommodated the growing church. The new chapel seated nearly 400 people. Active fundraising and support from First Baptist Church secured much of the funds. Grace Baptist Mission became Grace Baptist Church of the City of Mount Vernon State of New York. It was a self-sufficient religious corporation in 1906.
Grace Baptist Church thrived through two World Wars and the Great Depression. However tragedy struck on January 15 1939. A fire gutted the small wood frame building that had been Grace’s home for 50 years. By the summer of 1939 the congregation bought one of the largest church buildings in Westchester County.
The red brick building once belonged to the First Presbyterian Church. It could seat 900 people. It also had a large kitchen and dining room. The congregation later bought and renovated a parsonage. Grace paid off its first mortgage in 1946. The second mortgage was cleared in 1958. Throughout its history Grace has championed social justice. A highlight was when Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King preached from its pulpit in 1959.
Reverend Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson became Grace’s ninth pastor in April 1975. In 1988 during the church’s 100th anniversary Dr. Richardson led the congregation. It had grown to about 3000 members. They expanded and renovated the church complex. It now included a music center a chapel a new banquet hall additional classrooms and a youth center. The 3.2 million dollar project boosted the church’s growth and outreach.
Today Grace Baptist Church has extension sites in Yonkers NY and Port St. Lucie FL. All three Sunday services from Grace in Mount Vernon are webcast live. The church’s community development corporations have built nearly 400 units of affordable and senior citizen housing. Under Dr. Richardson’s leadership the church seeks to build a regional Village of Grace. This provides spiritual cultural educational economic and sociopolitical uplift. It serves individuals and families throughout the Tri-State area.
To achieve this Village of Grace the church is building for the future. From 1990 to 2019 the congregation bought properties around its historic sanctuary. This prepares for a new state of the art cathedral complex seating 2500. Grace Baptist Church stands as a testament to faith community and unwavering dedication.