HONORING NEW ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH

On 2026-10-05, Representative Cleo Fields (D-LA-6) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING NEW ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH" in the House.

HONORING NEW ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 157 (Monday, October 5, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 157 (Monday, October 5, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1025] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING NEW ST. JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH ______ HON. CLEO FIELDS of louisiana in the house of representatives Monday, October 5, 2026 Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor New St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a congregation whose history is both inspiring and revealing, and whose significance today is as enriching as it was when the church began in 1919 in the Benevolent Hall on Peach Street under the leadership of the late Rev. Octave Mitchell of Addis, Louisiana. The early membership consisted of 59 people, formerly members of Macedonia Baptist Church, and the site on which New St. John stands today was purchased by its members with $1,500 received from Macedonia Baptist Church. On October 31, 1921, Rev. Mitchell was officially elected pastor. That same year, a congregation of 54 members began erecting a concrete block church at a cost of $9,600. When funds ran out before the building was complete, two dedicated members, the late Brother Isom Smith, Chairman of the Deacon Board, and the late Sister Janie Spears, Chairman of the Deaconess Board, mortgaged their homes to secure the additional funds needed. On November 6, 1921, all debts had been paid and the church was dedicated to God. It was in this church that the Fourth District Missionary Baptist Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Association had its beginning. Among the early officers of the church were Brothers Isom Smith, Ike Cage, Henry Williams, Oscar Jackson, John Stafford, James Green, Robert Franklin, Otis Criss, and Willie Locks, and Sisters Janie Peterson, Malou Cage, Janie Spears, Lucinda Green, Millie Woods, Frozene John, Anna Johnson, Margaret Simms, Julia Lews, Alice Johnson, Rosa Smith Brown-Locks, Josephine Smith, and Willie Bell Monget. In August 1928, Rev. E.D. Billoups was called to the pastorate, and under his leadership the membership grew. In 1930, the church building was remodeled, with twenty feet added and a study built for the pastor at a cost of more than $5,000. Rev. Billoups later observed major defects in the walls of the building and influenced the membership to work toward a new church. After several years of raising funds, construction of the present two-story brick church began in 1950, and it was completed and dedicated to God in October 1951. By April 1954, the church was free of all debt. In 1959, the membership purchased four lots southeast of the church for parking at a cost of $20,000, and in May 1960, construction began on an Educational Building, The Billoups Center, which provided classrooms, an office, and restrooms and was completed the same year. An additional story was added a few years later to provide space for recreation, larger meetings, and other church activities. On March 7, 1982, Rev. W. Marshall Myles was called to the pastorate. Under his leadership, the church was renovated and redecorated, adding an elevator from the first floor to the sanctuary, more office space, and a commercial kitchen. When Rev. Myles became pastor, the church's ministries included the Deacon and Deaconess Boards, Young Adult and Senior Usher Boards, the Senior, Young People, and Cherubim Choirs, the Missionary Circle, Pulpit Circle, New St. John Laborers, Prayer Band, Pastor's Aid Circle, Trustee Board, Brotherhood, Flower Committee, Sunday School and Baptist Training Union, and the Married Women Fellowship and Service League. Over the years, the church has added many more, including the Department of Christian Education, the Cultural Development Support Guild, Boy Scouts, a Scholarship Fund, Usher Board #3, a Youth Department, the New St. John Boy's Academy, the Senior Wellness Ministry, Sister to Sister Ministry, Social Justice Ministry, Youth Coordinating Council, Vision 2000, Master's Men, Male Chorus, Voices of NSJ, Refreshing and Renewing Bible Study, Youth Ushers, and a Tutoring Program. New St. John has also looked beyond its own walls. Through the years, the church has held membership in, and given financial support to, the Baptist World Alliance, the National Council of Churches, the National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc., the Foreign Mission Board, the Home Mission Board, the American Baptist Theological Seminary, the Louisiana Baptist State Convention, the Fourth District Baptist Association, and Leland College, strengthening the broader Baptist and faith community of Baton Rouge and beyond. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating New St. John Missionary Baptist Church and its dedicated congregation for more than a century of sacrifice, faith, and service to the people of Baton Rouge. May New St. John continue to be a source of inspiration for generations to come. ____________________