Our History and Heritage

Churchland Baptist Church has a long and storied history.  The church was founded as the Shoulder Hill Baptist Church in 1785.  The church is older than our nation's constitution.

In 1810, Churchland Baptist (then Shoulder's Hill Baptist Church) was one of the three largest churches in eastern Virginia with 220 members. In 1815, the church elected two African-American men as deacons. The church held in its membership both slaves and "free blacks." The current church property was donated in 1825, and the first building on this location was dedicated in 1829.

Throughout the early nineteenth century, the church contributed to the Foreign and Home Mission Boards of the Triennial Convention, as well as the American Bible Society.

During the early 1840s, upon the request of the African-American membership, the church donated the land and built the sanctuary of the Grove Baptist Church. In accordance that Virginia law could be fulfilled (which prevented assembly of slaves without three white persons present), three members of Churchland Baptist Church attended every worship service at Grove Baptist Church. Churchland's history of support for soul liberty, religious liberty, and transcending racial barriers has been impressive, and is still claimed and celebrated today.

The church has supported the work of Baptists over the years in many ways. We have had missionaries, state association presidents, noted historians, and a Baptist World Alliance president go out into service from our ranks. Churchland Baptist Church supports the Portsmouth Baptist Association, the Baptist General Association of Virginia (the traditional state convention), and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), in addition to the Baptist World Alliance, Alliance of Baptists, and the American Baptist Church. The church has been supportive of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and other progressive Baptist organizations.

While having a stable and proud past, Churchland has a warm and forward moving spirit in the present. In 1993, the church completed an extensive renovation program. The new building complements the balance of the present structure, which was built in 1963. The warm gothic sanctuary is highlighted by its Willet Stained Glass windows. The windows are pictorials of the life of Christ, and are exceptional in a Baptist congregation. Guests have said that to come and view the sanctuary and study the windows is in itself an act of worship. The window pictured at the right is named the Resurrection Window.

For more information, see A Short History of Churchland Baptist Church.