St. Paul Baptist Church Celebrates 140 Years

St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church recently celebrated their 140th church anniversary with an “Evening of Enchantment Gala” at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club on Saturday, February 7th. St. Paul was founded in 1886 by Visionary Rev. J.W. Rosier who led a group of worshippers that became known as the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. Rev. James M. Roberts, Jr. served as St. Paul’s interim pastor for three months – November 2001 until February 21, 2002 – before being officially called as pastor in February 2002. Rev. Roberts continues to serve as pastor and under his leadership several renovations and improvements have been made to the church.

Several members of the church were recognized at the banquet for their work and service in the church. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mother Ruby Byrd. Other awards were Volunteer of the Year – Deacon Joanes Lubin; Unsung Hero – Camille McCobb Searles; and Faithful Service – Sonya Agurs. Pastor’s Choice Awards were presented to Deacons Larry Hicks and Julius Washington and Deaconess Cheryl Holloway.

Chairing the gala committee was Jay Simmons, special events planning team coordinator. Other committee members were Sonja Smith, Jawanna Smith Wilkins, Veronica Ford, Camille McCobb Searles, Desalena Bryant, Michelle Young and Marco Young.

St. Paul is located at 525 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Bradenton where it is known

“the friendly church in the midst of a friendly city where friendly people come to worship and the love of God flows like a river.”