After organizing a congregation in 1894, St. James Colored Missionary Baptist Church acquired land in Mims and built the first wooden church on this site in 1904 under the guidance of Rev. J.S. Gilbert, with Rev. G. Brewer as pastor. Many of North Brevard's pioneering black families, including the Warren, Grant, Campbell, Cuyler, Strickland, Bell, Harris, Hester, Lewis, Sheldon, Abrams, Brothers, Wright, Highsmith, and Mitchell families, held positions in the church. Rev. James Massey served as an inspirational and dedicated leader from 1937 to 1967. Choir director Dorothy Hester also served as Youth Advisor for North Brevard NAACP under the direction of Harry T. Moore. Funeral services were held at the church for Civil Rights activists Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. Moore after they were killed when their home was bombed on Christmas night 1951. Harry T. Moore was Brevard County NAACP Chapter President and later NAACP Florida Convention president and state coordinator. The present church structure was built in 1964, the old wooden structure was torn down in 1968, the annex building was started in 1971, and the church's name was changed to Greater St. James Missionary Baptist Church in 1974.