Our History
A legacy of faith, worship, and service in the Wayside community.
1897
A church takes root
St. John was founded under the leadership of the Rev. John E. Jones. Its founding members first met at Wayside School, a one-room public school. St. John grew out of Little Elam Baptist Church, itself an outgrowth of Elam Baptist Church, the oldest church in Charles City County and one of the oldest Black churches in the country. The new church gave residents of Wayside a closer place to worship, and Little Elam’s leaders voted Jones $10 to start it.
1900
A permanent home
An acre of land was purchased for $8. The first church building was completed shortly after the turn of the century.
1911
A larger church site
The church purchased a much larger plot of land.
1915
A new church building
By 1915, a church building had been completed on the larger plot.
1921
The end of Pastor Jones’s ministry
Rev. John E. Jones served as pastor until his passing.
Across generations
Serving the community and beyond
Church members served Charles City County as teachers, elected officials, and school board members. Others served the Commonwealth as physicians, state officials, and college professors, and members served the nation in every war from World War I through Vietnam. St. John remained at the center of the community’s spiritual, social, cultural, and political life.
February 2004
The 2004 Fire
The historic 100-plus-year-old wooden church building was destroyed in an early-morning arson fire. The blaze was part of a string of suspicious church fires across the region during an eight-month span.
After the fire
A community opens its doors
In the difficult days after the fire, Samaria Baptist Church welcomed our congregation and opened its doors so we could continue worshipping together.
2007
The church is rebuilt
After the fire destroyed the historic wooden sanctuary in 2004, St. John committed to rebuilding. Members had built the original sanctuary by hand; this time, the church worked with an architect and contractor. Neighbors and nearby congregations rallied around St. John. Completed in 2007, the new home offered nearly four times the floor space of the building that burned.
2020
Worship continues through COVID
When COVID-19 temporarily closed our church building, we kept worshipping together. Services continued online and through drive-in gatherings, keeping our congregation connected while we were apart.