Tabernacle Baptist Church was formally organized as the Beulah Baptist Church on Friday, August 21, 1885, in the Union Baptist Church. The founding pastor for the church was the Reverend Charles Thomas Walker. At the request of Reverend Walker, the name of the church was changed, by unanimous vote, to Tabernacle Baptist Church. This was done a special meeting on Sunday, August 23, 1885. The enrolled membership of the new church was 310.

GROWTH AND IMPACT

Dr. Charles T. Walker
Four years later Tabernacle Baptist Church grew rapidly and became a leader in local, national, and international religious and community circles. By 1889, the membership of the church was 2000. In the summer of 1890 the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on Reverend Charles T. Walker. Later Dr. Walker served as Treasurer of the National Baptist Convention for three years. The young pastor and his congregation made immediate plans to secure a permanent place of worship. Construction of a church edifice began on September 1, 1885. The building was located on Ellis Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. The church building was formally dedicated on December 13, 1885. Four years later Tabernacle Baptist Church grew rapidly and became a leader in local, national, and international religious and community circles. By 1889, the membership of the church was 2000.

The Tabernacle Old Folks Home (Augusta, GA)

In 1913, Tabernacle sold the Ellis Street property and purchased the site where the Lamar Hospital had been located at the corner of Harrison and Gwinnett Street (Laney-Walker Boulevard). The church edifice on Laney-Walker Boulevard became a historic Augusta landmark.

The towering twin sanctuary was designed to accommodate 2300 people. The building design, a physical manifestation of Dr. Walker’s vision, also included plans to house a cooking school, a sewing school, an automobile school, a laundry department, and a library.

The Walker Baptist Institute (Augusta, GA)

The twenty years that would follow would become a glowing period in the church’s history. During the following decades Walker became a world-renowned pulpiteer.

He was also the first African American theologian post slavery to take a three- month sabbatical to the Holy Land. The predominantly African American congregation of Tabernacle paid for this extensive international trip.

During the “Walker Years” Booker T. Washington, John D. Rockefeller, and President William Howard Taft visited Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Rev. D.F. Thompson

Dr. Walker died on July 29, 1921, and was buried in the shadow of the magnificent church spires. Succeeding pastors assumed the cause of completing the edifice and ministering the church and the community. These included in the early years: Dr. Silas X. Floyd, Dr. W. R. Mack, Dr. D. F. Thompson, and Reverend I. J. Yancey. In 1934, Reverend Leander A. Pinkston was called as pastor.

Rev. Dr. Silas X. Floyd

Rev. Leander A. Pinkston (1934-1945)

Dr. Walker died on July 29, 1921, and was buried in the shadow of the magnificent church spires. Succeeding pastors assumed the cause of completing the edifice and ministering the church and the community. These included in the early years: Dr. Silas X. Floyd, Dr. W. R. Mack, Dr. D. F. Thompson, and Reverend I. J. Yancey. In 1934, Reverend Leander A. Pinkston was called as pastor.

Rev. A. Leon Lowery (1946-1955)

Reverend A. Leon Lowery was called as pastor in February 1946. Under the leadership of Reverend Lowery, the church made much progress. New organizations were formed. A new organ was purchased. A project was begun to complete the basement, and the C.T. Walker Chapel was dedicated. Reverend Lowery resigned in September 1955, to accept a pastorate in Tampa, Florida.

Rev. Dr. Charles S. Hamilton (1956-1996)

In June 1956, Reverend Charles Spencer Hamilton accepted a call to serve as pastor of the 71 year old church. Reverend Hamilton came to Augusta as the United States of America stood on the threshold of the Civil Rights era. During the distinguished tenure of service of Rev. Dr. Charles Hamilton at Tabernacle, the pastor and the church would become leaders in the changing course of American history.
Rev. Hamilton petitioned the city for an end to segregated facilities and provided courageous leadership in succeeding Civil Rights actions in the Augusta community. During the pastorate of Dr. Hamilton, the physical plant was renovated and the glorious twin spires secured. All of the church plant came into use. Office suites were developed. A kindergarten/nursery area was completed. Additional properties were acquired and new programs introduced. The Child Development Center (CDC) was incorporated in the late 1960s. Boy and Girl Scout Troops were organized. The Tabernacle Credit Union was also established.

After forty years of service and leadership at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Dr. Hamilton retired in October 1996. He was granted the honor of Pastor Emeritus. Rev. Dr. Charles Spencer Hamilton died May 1997.

Rev. Otis B. Moss III

July 1997, the Reverend Otis B. Moss, III was called to serve as pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. Rev. Moss assumed the pastorate in August 1997, bringing dynamic leadership to the 112-year-old church. Within the first year of his pastorate, Rev. Moss initiated numerous new ministries, which promoted spirituality and fellowship.   Rev. Moss embraced a vision of spiritual growth and service and empowerment for Tabernacle and its membership that addressed the needs and challenges of the 21st Century. Church attendance and membership has tremendously increased. Reverend Moss was led by God to encourage the congregation to embark upon a renovation project to refurbish the 88 year old sanctuary.  Additional properties were acquired during the Moss administration to accommodate a growing church with an expanding vision that included economic development.

In the spirit of Drs. Walker and Hamilton, Reverend Moss built an awesome reputation across the nation for preaching powerful and transforming sermons. Newsweek magazine called Reverend Moss, one of “The Lord’s Foot Soldiers” of the 21st century and the editors of the Winter 2001-2002 edition of the African American Pulpit honored him as one of the “20 outstanding young African American ministers under the age of 40 who is planning a major role in helping to shape the future direction of masterra.com the African American Church.” In May 2006 Rev. Moss was called to pastor the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.

The renovation project was completed in July 2001. Reverend Moss led a procession of hundreds of members of Tabernacle in a “Vision March” that was symbolic of the procession of the children of Israel from their homes to the Temple of Israel after Solomon had the temple built.

The Mayor of August, Bob Young, proclaimed July 15, 2001, “Tabernacle Baptist Church Consecration Celebration Day” in the city of Augusta.

For six months, we were without a shepherd. Three candidates were brought before the church and after two votes; the call was extended to Pastor Charles E. Goodman, Jr. of Pleasant View Baptist Church in Salem, Alabama. In December 2006, the Reverend Charles E. Goodman, Jr. preached his inaugural sermon as the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. God has shown us favor by sending us a dynamic and anointed leader to take us further in this 21st Century. In a short time, many lives have been saved and transformed through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the membership and spiritual development has increased at Tabernacle Baptist Church. Pastor Goodman is determined to forge his own path and is pressing forward with the Vision God has given him for the Tabernacle Church Family. In August 2008 we dedicated a $4 million dollar Family Life Center as a major step in the development of the Tabernacle Campus. But with all of these achievements, we are excited because we believe that…

THE BEST IS YET TO COME!