In 1883, Pastor T. S. Howell from Bunker Hill Church in rural Marion County and six local believers met at the courthouse to organize a Baptist church within the city limits of Columbia. Early meetings were held in the courthouse, the Masonic Hall, and the Methodist Church. The first sanctuary was not erected until 1890 on Dale Street near the city cemetery. The congregation moved to this location on High School Avenue in 1912 and hosted the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1913.