St. James Missionary Baptist Church is nestled in the heart of Fayetteville, AR. St. James has been telling its story since 1865. Its story began with Squire Jehagen.

After he was freed from slavery, Jehagen became a Baptist preacher and later organized a church for Negroes. The name of the church comes from a man named James, who gave the land on which the historic church sits today.

In the 1920s, pastor J.W. Webb began a campaign to raise money to build a new church, it was completed in 1922, and the membership was estimated at 40 members during that period of the church’s history. The church was burned twice during its history, in the 1920s and 1960s, both times, the fires were results of arson. The second building was on Willow Avenue, and in 2009 the church moved into its current building located at 764 W. North Street, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

God anointed and sent strong leadership to lead, guide and direct St. James; without this leadership, we would not be celebrating 186 years. Over the course of the years we have been led by: Rev. Mahan, Rev. Wilson, Rev. Tugle and Rev. C.L. Netherland, Rev. J.W. Webb, Rev. Thomas, Rev. G.E. Wright, Rev. M.G. Edmondson, Rev. W.M. Murry, Rev. Chester A. Woods, Rev. Jeremiah L. Thompson, Rev. Tommy Moton, Rev. J.A. Hawkins Sr. and our current shepherd Pastor Curtiss P. Smith installed on April 28, 2007.

These men ordained ministers, deacons, and appointed trustees. Baptist Training Union (BTU), Ushers (BTU) started with Rev. M.G. Edmondson through Rev. J.L.Thompson (Ushers started with Rev. W.M. Murray).

They also listened to the virtuous women in the church who led Sunday School and Mission.

The pastors, along with the leadership and St. James family, started spirit-filled programs to ensure not only church growth but also the growth of the community. Programs consisted of Baptist Training Union, Ushers, Vacation Bible School, Mission, choirs for all ages, deaconess, Youth Programs, and instituted scholarships to educate our youth, such as the J Aaron Hawkins Memorial Assistance Fund. They established the Brotherhood Club to draw more men to Christ, the Emergency Outreach Program, Deacon’s Family Ministry, and Senior’s Day.

St. James Missionary Baptist Church has a long history of community involvement and the fight for civil rights. During the early days of the desegregation of the University of Arkansas, church members provided housing for black students when they were not allowed to live in the dormitories on campus. The church was the first in Fayetteville to offer an integrated Vacation Bible School in the 1940s. In the 1990’s the church created the Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Council with the leaders of Dr. J. Aaron Hawkins Sr., Dr. John L Colbert, (previous) First Lady Edith Hawkins, Sis. Earnestine Gibson, and Bro. Corey Cullins to highlight the work of Dr. King. The church continues to serve the community by feeding an average of 2,600 per month, assisting with monthly bill payments for hundreds of people a year, and assisting with long-term success planning to bridge gaps to growth.

In 1920 St. James’ membership was 40.

Today there is a membership of over 1,200 in person and reaching an online presence domestically and internationally.

God has truly blessed St. James. Our church history is also built on the spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, individual and corporate fasting, reading the Word daily, silence and solitude, but most of all, doing the will of God.