RAPIDAN BAPTIST CHURCH

OUR HISTORY

 

     Two hundred and forty-four years ago, the great, great, great grandparents of the people of this community bound themselves together into a congregation to worship God according to the dictates of their own hearts.

     In 1773, our forefathers did not enjoy freedom and the many other privileges that we do today. When this church was organized, we were subject to the dictates of the British King and Parliament and, to a large extent, the Church of England. Consequently, when some of the earliest Baptist preachers began to preach in this community, they were jailed and persecuted in many ways. History tells us that Elijah Craig, while preaching in the pulpit of this church, was arrested and committed to the Culpeper jail for no other offense than preaching the Word of God. Persecution, however, does not destroy, and we today enjoy the privilege of religious freedom that was bought by the sacrifice of our forefathers.

     - Adapted from, Rapidan Baptist Church, by Joyce J. Gentry