In 1866,
seven freedmen gathered for the
purpose
of forming a church. Receiving
the
necessary certification from the
Nineteenth
Street Baptist Church, these former
slaves
set themselves apart and formed the
Fifth Baptist Church of Washington,
DC.
They called as their pastor
the
Reverend John Henry Brooks, a
former
Union army wagon driver.
Our church
has been blessed to have only
six
pastors. Reverend John Henry Brooks,
our first pastor, shepherded the
flock
from 1866 until his death in
1884.
Under his pastorate, the church was renamed and erected what is
now the main sanctuary of the church.
We were blessed
when God sent
Reverend George Wellington Lee to
be
our second Pastor. From 1885
to
1910, Reverend Lee guided us,
lending
his world‐renowned stature and reputation
to our burgeoning position as one
of
the nation’s leading churches. During
Reverend Lee's Pastorate, the current front of the main church
building, along with it's distinctive tall steeple, was
constructed.
From
his deathbed in 1910, Reverend Lee
commissioned Reverend James Edward
Willis,
our third pastor, to tend to
the
church. Reverend Willis, “Little
David”
as he was affectionately called,
was
an extraordinary preacher. His
leadership,
from 1911 until 1928, kept the
spirit
and development of our church on
fire
for the Lord. During his pastorate, the back
of the main sanctuary was built, containing the current choir loft and
pulpit.
At Reverend Willis’
sudden death in 1928, the Lord
furnished the church with Reverend
Chasteen
Theophilus Murray. From 1929 until
his retirement in 1969, Reverend
Murray
steered this congregation toward
unparalleled
growth and development in the midst
of some of our nation’s most
troubling
times. During his forty years
of
pastorate, Reverend Murray reorganized
the
church and formed countless clubs
and
auxiliaries, while numerically and
spiritually
we continued unprecedented growth.
During his pastorate, the C.T. Murray Extension Center building
was erected, enlarging the classroom space, adding a larger cafeteria,
kitchen, and church office, and a multipurpose Roof Garden for outdoor
activities.
At the announcement
of his retirement, Reverend Murray
recommended that Reverend John Rayford
Wheeler, a son of the church,
become
its fifth pastor. On March 2,
1969, Reverend Wheeler was installed
as
pastor and an era of leadership
began
that would propel us into an
unmatched position in our nation
and
in various parts of the world.
March of 1969 was less than
a
year after the riots in DC
launched
a mass exodus from the urban
neighborhoods of our past to the
newly developed and integrated suburbs
for
many of our people. In spite
of
the challenges of urban withdrawal
and
abandonment, Reverend Wheeler used his
unique style and personality to consistently lead
the
nation’s Baptist Churches in giving
to
Foreign Missions. Under his
leadership,
we were the first African American
Baptist Church to give $50,000 to
the
Foreign Mission Board. Our purchase
and gift of a church to the
Baptist congregation in Kwa Mashu,
Zululand, South Africa, stands as
testament
to the magnitude and commitment of
Reverend Wheeler’s zeal for missions.
In
the
early 1990’s, while other churches
were
finding homes in the suburbs,
Reverend
Wheeler led our congregation to
construct,
then retire the mortgage on the
John
R. Wheeler Family Life Center, a
facility complete with a bowling
alley,
an exercise room, a modern
cafeteria
and a luxurious banquet hall.
Our
Family Life Center serves as a
model
for churches interested in the
holistic
approach to ministry. It has
allowed
us to open our doors to
numerous
groups and individuals, some of
whom
who have no church affiliation or
rearing. The Family Life Center
has
proven to be an invaluable
missionary
tool in our ministry.
Reverend
Wheeler’s tireless dedication to leading
souls to Christ and helping
families
as they struggle to improve their
lives has made the name Vermont
Avenue
Baptist Church synonymous with
“Missions”.
In addition to the “firsts”
in
Foreign Missions, and our standard
setting
Family Life Center, Reverend Wheeler’s
vision led us to the establishment
and implementation of the city’s
first
“Shoe Fund”. Children all over
this
city have been provided appropriate
shoes
empowering them to attend school
without
the embarrassment and physical peril
of
worn and tattered shoes. The
Higher
Education Fund, another accomplishment
under
Reverend Wheeler, provides assistance to
college students in the purchase of
books and supplies. These programs,
in addition to the monetary gifts
supporting Historically Black Colleges
and
Universities and Baptist Seminaries, have
assisted thousands in their quest
for
a more abundant life.
Our
dedication
to missions has been just a
part
of the ongoing ministry of our
church. Most importantly, Reverend
Wheeler
has continued in the legacy of
those
pastors before him in preaching the
Word of God. We have remained
a
church wholly dependent on God as
our
source and provider of every good
and
perfect gift. It is through
the
hearing of the Word that we
have
benefited most. Reverend Wheeler’s
distinctive sermonic lessons have brought
us all to a higher, more
intense
appreciation for the truth in the
Word that makes us free.
In 2007, after the passing of Rev. John R. Wheeler, the church
confirmed the naming of Co-Pastor Cornelius Wheeler as the sixth Pastor
of Vermont Avenue
Baptist Church. Rev. Cornelius Wheeler had served as
Co-Pastor for five years and directed the church during the long
illness of his father. His dynamic, bible-based, lesson-focused
ministry serves as the foundation for a church that continues to
prove itself
relevant to the present, standing
on
our history, and reaching for the
future
in the name and cause of
Jesus
Christ.
We
have
so much for which to be
thankful!