Oldest independent Black church in Richmond.
| 1821 | The African Church of Manchester |
| 1865 | First Baptist Church of Manchester, after Civil War. First Baptist Church of South Richmond, with the merger of the cities of Richmond and Manchester. |
Organized by free Blacks, 44 years before the end of the civil war.
Never part of a white congregation.
Four Black pastors have served since the Civil War:
| 1865-1870 | Rev. Richard Wells |
| 1872-1919 | Dr. Anthony Binga, Jr. |
| 1920-1973 | Dr. W.L. Ransome |
| 1973-Present | Rev. Dr. Dwight C. Jones, Senior Pastor |
| 2009-Present | Rev. Dr. Derik E. Jones, Pastor |
Three of the churches black pastors have run for the General Assembly of the state of Virginia.
The Imani Intergenerational Center and Imani Mews Apartments (68 units and 25,000 sq.ft. of retail space) were each erected under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Dwight C. Jones.
The church extended it’s ministry to Chesterfield County in 2005.
For more history about our church, see our History Books:
| 1821-1871 | Traveling On Volumes I: First Baptist, South Richmond… |
| 1865-1998 | Today and the First Fifty Years Volume II: A 133 Year Journey After the Civil War “The Wells, Binga, Ransome, Jones Years.” |