150 years of history: St. James Baptist celebrates anniversary of congregation founded for former slaves

"God has always had a plan for St. James," says Raymond House, the narrator of a video put together for the 150th anniversary of St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

"We celebrate that God has blessed us for 150 years," musician Stephen Ivey said in the worship service Aug. 9.

God has blessed not only the members of the church -- but the members of the community. The historically African-American church in Fayetteville has become involved in local issues from integration, to cultural awareness to fighting poverty.

Free at last

Shortly after the end of the Civil War in 1865, and the announcement to slaves in Arkansas of their freedom, Squire Jehagen (spelled Jahagen in some reports) organized a church for his fellow freed men.

The Jehagen was remembered "by older residents of Fayetteville as a man of middle age who came from Texas after he obtained freedom." He was one of the few remaining salves who had come from Africa, and vividly recalled the life in his village, according to a June 1936 article in the Fayetteville Daily Democrat kept in the research files of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. "There was this man named Matthew Leeper who owned more than 300 slaves. One of his personal slaves was a man named Squire Jehagen," reads a 1977 church history by Mrs. Russell Blye, crediting W.S. Campbell's book, One Hundred Years of Fayetteville (1828-1928).

"Squire had a great passion for the Bible," said the Rev. Curtiss Smith, the pastor of St. James. "Despite the prohibition, he grew to truly love the Word." Jehagen served as pastor until his death.

Prior to emancipation, slaves were not allowed to attend a worship service -- even one organized by slaves, Smith said. "But (Jehagen) would sit outside the open windows of the churches the slave masters attended. That's where he got to know Jesus Christ.

"After the Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Arkansas in 1865, Squire decided the Lord had called him to begin a church for slaves and others free of slavery that had not had the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ," Smith continued. "(African-Americans) were always a faithful people, but they didn't have the opportunity to hear the word of God."

"He envisioned a sanctuary and saw it fit for an entirely new life for Negros," the anniversary video produced by the church says of Jehagen. "As they were rebuked and scorned, they came to the church, where they were renewed in the spirit and fortified in the mind. It was a place of refuge, hope, love, compassion, dreams, peace and strength."

The church met in member's homes for many years, Blye wrote in her history. A white gentleman, with only the name "James" surviving history, gave the congregation a small plot of land -- maybe 250 square feet -- to start a church, Smith said. A wood-frame building was erected, and the church was named for James.

"He was a truly a saint," Smith said.

Under the direction of the Rev. J.W. Webb in the 1920s, the church raised money s through $75 donations from local businesses to build a new church. "Rev. Webb dug the basement, made the mortar and assisted the masons," reads the history, and church members also donated their time. The building was complete in 1921 or 1922, and the church recorded about 40 members.

"History has not been good to us," Smith said. "The church was burned down two times -- in the 1930s and in the 1960s, both times arson. But with the resiliency of the members and community, they were able to rebuild again."

Decades of church records burned in the fires, but a few remaining put church membership at about 40 in 1900, 35 years after Jehagen started the church, Smith said.

The church has experienced tremendous, unexpected growth over the last decades and under the direction of the late Rev. J. Aaron Hawkins and his protege, Smith.

"The pretty strong growth was a surprise to us," Smith said. At the second church building on Willow Avenue, built for 250 worshipers, people stood outside, listening to the service through the windows. The parking lot offered only about 40 parking spaces, and cars were being towed

"It was a great moment, the Lord blessed us with increased growth, but we grew at a rate we were not prepared for," Smith said. "Then the Lord opened the door for us to come here."

In 2009, the congregation purchased its current building on North Street -- the former North Street Church of Christ -- and through a capital campaign, paid the mortgage in three years, Smith said. The church boasts 1,200 members in two services during the school year, with 500 to 1,000 attending worship, Smith continued.

"It's wonderful, considering eight or nine years ago, we had 270 members," he said.

The church still owns that brick building on Willow, on the site of the land donated by James. Another church will make use of it, Smith said.

Member Windy Carr has attended the church her entire life, the daughter of Mary Ann Johnson, a 48-year member. Carr fondly remembers Saturdays in the summer when she was a teenager -- the members worked together to lay a floor.

"We came together as a congregation to support the community," she said. "Working together, we became a family."

Carr admitted moving to the new building was hard for her. "It's my church. I came when I was a child. I was raised here," she said. "But the church followed God's plan, and I've come to accept it."

Building community

"And for nearly all of the church's history, the church has been engaged in the community," Smith continued. "From the very early days, they were involved in the rights and infrastructure of Fayetteville."

From 1915 to 1965, the church witnessed the growth of the African-American community in Fayetteville. Many worked at mills or in fields surrounding the city.

The church offered Fayetteville's first integrated vacation Bible school in the 1940s under the Rev. Webb. "Blacks and whites worshiped together," Smith said.

"We became engaged in the school system," Smith continued. "We started with a small school. We taught all the black kids from elementary school to high school. And when integration of public schools was mandated, officials called on the church. Fayetteville integrated before Little Rock. We had leaders already engaged in the community, and we had a good name."

Johnson's children were among those who integrated, she said, and they never had any problems. History records the desegregation as peaceful.

During that era, the University of Arkansas began to enroll black students, but dormitories and other community housing remained off limits. "(Church) members worked there as cooks, but black kids could not stay on campus," Smith said.

So members of the church took these students into their homes, supplying room, board and support.

"They became surrogate parents," he said of those members. "They would ensure things were taken care of, so the students could focus on their education."

"They opened their hearts and homes and gave them a Godly way of life," says church member Raymond House in the video. "This also provided an easier transition for future students moving to the area."

Today's Black Students Association at the University of Arkansas also grew out of the church, which organized the Black Democrats of Arkansas.

The church's open-arms philosophy was noticed and encouraged others to open up. "They saw a profound impact St. James had on the community."

During the turbulent times of the 1960s and 1970s, as the call for equal rights grew, "African-Americans leaned on their local churches for their support and guidance," House continues, "and the talents and skills of many members were called on."

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Rev. Aaron Hawkin's goal was to increase unity in the community, Smith related. The church organized the Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Council in 1966, which works to raise awareness of King's work, honors outstanding members of the community and awards "hundreds of thousands" of dollars in scholarships. The group also successfully campaigned in the early 2000s to change the name of Sixth Street in Fayetteville to Martin Luther King Boulevard. Many of the council's leaders attend St. James.

"St. James is absolutely a crown jewel in the community," said Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, who proposed the street name change to the Fayetteville City Council. "They contribute to the health and well-being of the community through their programs and outreach. I'm a big fan of St. James Baptist."

Jordan mentioned cookouts and clothing drives, as well as the Mayor's town hall meetings each year. "And when (the nation experienced the recent) turmoil in African-American communities, the church organized a meeting that the chief of police attended, the sheriff attended and the prosecuting attorney attended. It was well-recieved.

"I'm proud to be a mayor with St. James in our town," Jordan continued. "I am honored to be associated with them."

The church now turns its efforts to easing the effects of poverty to individuals and families in Northwest Arkansas. "On any given day, 10,000 people in Northwest Arkansas don't eat," Smith said. "We can't get to everyone, but we don't want any one to go without a meal."

A food pantry serves 600 families and provides funds for paying bills and benevolence. "Hundreds come to us," Smith said. "We can't ignore what's before us. We want to use our resources at home to enrich the lives of those of us who are here.

The church's "Be the One" campaign works to get homeless citizens into housing in which they earn equity, with the goal of paying off the debt and eliminating poverty for those families in five years. Church members currently work to build a second house for Habitat for Humanity, guides candidates through the application process and serve on the selection committee. The church gathers $1 donations once a month to support the ministry.

Making disciples

"Squire was community-minded," Smith said. "He saw the whole man, not the color. He just wanted to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all."

"He wanted to serve the community, spread the word of God and save souls," Raymond says in the video.

Today's congregation of St. James -- a member of the National Baptist Convention -- remains mainly African-American, but Smith said with pride, the membership includes people of many ethnicities and backgrounds.

"I don't believe the Lord sees people as black and white," Smith continued. "I think he sees it as a place of worship, and everybody is welcome. We have a big heart. Everybody is somebody. The church was built and developed so we could win souls for Christ."

African-American churches were important because of the historical time elements, when laws made it illegal for blacks to worship, he said. "It was important for them to be in an environment with complete freedom of worship."

All people need the same things from religion, from God. "The reality is, we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. We never take advantage of our relationship with Jesus Christ for granted. He watched over us and delivered us even before the Emancipation Proclamation. Ultimately, everybody needs the same.

"... Now, we might be more demonstrative and yell back at the preacher," he warned with a twinkle in his eye. "We might dance. We might cry. But we are just letting God know we love him and are so grateful."

But it's family love -- not gratefulness -- that brings most members back to St. James.

"I was looking for an African-American church, and I definitely found one in St. James," said Edwina Hancock, who has attended St. James for 29 years, while also attending a church in Rogers. "I was looking for people who looked like me. And they gave me a job when I needed one," she said.

Hancock has no family in Northwest Arkansas, but the church fulfills that family relationship for her and many others.

Robert Gibson III also feels the importance of family, and he introduced his son Robert Gibson IV and his grandson Robert Gibson V. A state trooper for 31 years, Gibson attended the church when his job transferred from Jonesboro 38 years ago.

"It's family most of all. It's the love of the people," who bring him back, he said. "I loved them, and they've proven that the loved me." On his 50th birthday, the church -- along with the Arkansas State Police -- gifted him with a bass guitar.

"At St. James, the Bible is preached and taught every day," Ivey said at the end of the service. "We are family here at St. James."

"From the very beginning with Squire, the 16 pastors since him have been focused on the same ideals," Smith said. "We are living with his vision. The visions God has given to the pastors have been very consistent:

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

-- Matthew 28: 19 to 20

For Squire Jehagen, "This is the place that the Lord hath made."

NAN Religion on 08/22/2015