The Reverend Augustus Shepard succeeded him as eighth pastor and
served from 1901 to 1911. During his
ministry, the church was remodeled and
a wing called the Baraca Room was
added on the Mobile Avenue side. This
annex provided seating capacity for
250. In the basement, a kitchen and
classrooms were added. The North Wall
of the main sanctuary was removed,
expanding the seating capacity to 800,
including the balcony. In 1911, the
renovation was completed, with a new
front for the church, a library,
public baths, an elevated floor in the
main sanctuary, and the installation
of a pipe organ, at a cost of $20,000
to $26,000.
Durham’s first black doctor, A. M.
Moore, another outstanding member of
White Rock, gave property to the
church for a future Sunday school
building. One of the attractive
features of the Sunday school was
the orchestra, for which Dr. Moore
gave many of the instruments. In
1913, he established a library in
the church basement, which became
the forerunner of what is now
Stanford L. Warren Public Library.
From 1913 to 1919, Dr. E. M.
Brawley served as the ninth pastor.
Dr. James Kirkland of Darlington,
SC became the tenth pastor and
served 1919-1924. Among his
achievements were the replacement
of the original pipe organ and the
construction of a modern parsonage
at 1219 Fayetteville Street.
On May 1 1927, the eleventh
pastor, Reverend S. I. McDowell
came to White Rock Baptist
Church. He laid the foundation
for the administrative
modernization of the church. He
used Dr. A. M. Moore’s gift of
a duplex to establish a church
office. He employed a full time
secretary, Mrs. Eliza Moore,
introduced a card record of
membership, created the first
church bulletin program, edited
and published the first
comprehensive church directory.
At that time, the membership
totaled 814.
In 1931, Dr. W. L. Ransome,
the twelfth pastor, added two
rooms to the parsonage,
organized women ushers, a
church forum, and a church aid
society. In 1932, he returned
to re-occupy his former
church’s pulpit in South
Richmond, VA.
Dr. Miles Mark Fisher became
White Rock’s thirteenth
pastor on January 1, 1933,
having come from the 16
th
Street Baptist Church in
Huntington, West Virginia.
Dr. Fisher conducted an
afternoon supervised play
program for children of the
community. Among the
activities, were basketball,
softball, football, boxing,
ping-pong, horseshoes,
checkers, and dominoes.
During his years, the church
sponsored a nursery school
for children of low-income
families (1939-1942), a
health clinic, and a
training program for early
Negro workers of the city
Recreation Department.
The first Black Boy Scout
troop in Durham, Troop 55,
had been organized in 1932
in the community and were
invited to White Rock in
1935 when they had no
meeting place. Cub Pack 55
was organized in 1944, the
Explorer Post in 1954, and
the Girl Scouts in 1951. Dr.
Fisher died in December
1970.
The Reverend Lorenzo
Augustus Lynch, a native
of Oak City, NC, was
elected as White Rock
Baptist Church’s
fourteenth pastor on June
25, 1965. He served and
worked with many civic and
religious groups in Durham
and was once a candidate
for mayor of the city.
During his administration
he achieved the planning,
fund-raising, and
construction of the new
church building, located
at 3400 Fayetteville
Street, on a six-acre
tract of land at a cost of
more than one (1) million
dollars. The congregation
occupied the new church on
October 10, 1971. While
the building was under
construction, the
congregation worshipped at
B. N. Duke Auditorium, on
the campus of North
Carolina Central
University and at St.
Joseph’s A. M. E.
Church. The new building
was dedicated on Sunday,
October 23, 1977, with a
seating capacity in the
sanctuary of about 1300
and the total usable space
approximating 30,000
square feet. Reverend
Lynch served as pastor
until February 1993.
Dr. Reginald Van
Stephens accepted the
call to serve as the 15th
pastor of White Rock
Baptist Church,
beginning January 1995.
He came to Durham from
Consolidated Baptist
Church, Lexington, KY,
and was installed as
pastor on April 29,
1995. As a result of his
pastoral guidance and
administrative ability,
the church has
experienced renewed
growth, vigor and
excitement in Jesus
Christ.
The reaffirmation of
revival has been
realized through a
series of weekly Bible
study sessions. The
inclusion of prayer
time and meditation at
morning worship has
enhanced the
spirituality, uplift,
comfort and grace of
the worship service.
He has also initiated
regular visits to
members who are sick
and shut-in at their
homes, hospitals and
nursing homes.
The appearance and
atmosphere of the
church benefited
greatly from Dr.
Stephens'
supervision of the
selection of the
newly installed
stained glass
windows in the
sanctuary and by the
redesign and
refurbishing of the
church’s
administrative
offices. Other less
obvious, but equally
important
innovations and
improvements have
also been made.
Among these is the
establishment of a
series of
orientation meetings
with new members. An
emphasis on Sunday
school
participation, which
resulted in the
successful
recruitment of new
teachers, expansion
of classes with
improved attendance
and collections. The
Board of Christian
Education was
reorganized to
establish
specialized
ministries to
different age groups
and family life.
The pastor’s
vision to move
White Rock from
church maintenance
into a dynamic
Christian ministry
has motivated
members to tithe
and sacrifice in
support of the
vision.
The year 1998
began another
new and exciting
era for White
Rock Baptist
Church. The
“Chancel
Renovation”
began in
December of 1997
and completed
October 2000. A
reconfigured
chancel,
improved
lighting,
refurbished
pews, new
carpeting,
audio/visual
system,
baptismal pool,
a grand piano, a
Moeller-Letourneau
pipe organ, and
a newly crafted
pulpit and
Lord’s Table
provide a
glories worship
arena for the
White Rock
church family.
The opening of
the Child
Development
Center in
August 1998
was another
initiative and
first for
White Rock.
The center
incorporates
state of the
art teaching
and care
giving for
children ages
3 and 4 years
old.
The church
continues to
expand its
outreach
within its
own walls
and in the
community.
The Singles
and Couples
Ministries,
and the
Young Adult
Ministry are
actively
working to
enrich the
lives of its
members
through
inspirational
fellowship
and
committed
service.
We are now
affiliated
with The
Progressive
National
Baptist
Convention
and
actively
participate
with other
area,
state and
national
associations
of Baptist
Churches.
