About Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
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Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC was organized in 1890. Forty members of First Baptist Church, located at 1021 S. Church St., withdrew their membership by letter and, under the leadership of Rev. Allen Lewis, organized a new church. Sis. Rosa Watson offered the name FRIENDSHIP, taken from the historic Friendship Baptist Church of Atlanta.
For quite a while, these 40 people met in different homes, carrying on services, until a lot was leased on S. Caldwell, and a small structure began to take form. Soon after moving into their new location, the growth of the church was so rapid that this space soon became inadequate. A new site was soon found at the corner of E. First and S. Brevard Sts. (pictured above).
In addition to Rev. Lewis, Friendship has been blessed with eleven God loving and outstanding pastors prior to Pastor Jones. During this period, the Friendship family grew and moved to our current location at 3301 Beatties Ford Rd. in July, 1970. Immediately before Pastor Jones was called to Friendship, Rev. Colemon W. Kerry, Jr. served untiringly for thirty-three years as pastor of the Friendship family. God called him from this life on Dec. 30, 1981.
In October of 1982, the church called the Rev. Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr. to become our thirteenth pastor. Many mission outreach programs have been established, including the Youth Opportunity University and the International Studies Program. Friendship, a tithing church, strives to serve the local community and participates in numerous foreign mission projects. Its theme for years has been: "Servants Affirming God's Word Globally."
