Great Swamp Baptist Church was organized on October 12, 1845, after a clash in doctrines at nearby Sardis Baptist Church. Some in the congregation favored the primitive Baptist movement, but others, including Rev. John N. Youmans, favored a ministry based on missions. Seventeen members left Sardis to form a new, more missionary church, with Rev. Youmans as their minister. A brush arbor served as the first meeting place until a small one room frame sanctuary was built. A larger sanctuary was completed in 1909, and Sunday school rooms were added in 1925. Baptisms took place at "Old Dam" on the nearby stream until the 1950s. Great Swam Baptist Church called its first full-time minister in 1956. Church membership in 1998 exceeds 600.