Samaritan Baptist Church
531 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
Trenton, New Jersey 08618
609-393-0016
Our History
In the home of Reverend and Mrs. Charles Anderson of 122 Spring Street, Trenton, New Jersey a group of friends would meet weekly to sing, pray and to have a good time praising the Lord.
As the meetings continued they grew in numbers. There were united by their belief in the futures that prayer in unity would bring them that inner peace. Their members now had grown to a total of twelve. It was then Reverend Foster was invited to join them in prayer. During his visits he would instruct them on how to read and understand the teachings of the bible.
Week after week of studying under Reverend Foster, Reverend Anderson had vision of a place to worship not only for the faithful twelve, but also for the countless unsaved souls with the city of Trenton. During one of their services Reverend Foster was asked if he would organize a church. He replies, "I need to pray over this, and we all need to keep praying that I will receive the right answer so we can go forth in a spiritual and positive way." Time passed, they continued to pray.
It was on May 23, 1974, at one of their prayer services Reverend Foster was encouraging, he questioned all that were present about their sincerity and if they were ready financially and spiritually to organize and maintain a church. With all twelve people in agreement Reverend Foster was asked to be the first pastor of the new church. Reverend Charles Anderson though one half of the founding team was asked to accept roll of assistant pastor.
Brother Anthony Anderson, the youngest member, also the son of Reverend and Mrs. Anderson suggested the name for the new church. His suggestion was Samaritan Missionary Baptist Church. It was voted and agreed by all present on the name chosen by Brother Anthony Anderson. With the two key positions in place and the name chosen, the pastor organized the members and drew up the covenant of the Samaritan Baptist Church to be set in place for all those that came after this day.
The first auxiliaries of Samaritan Missionary Baptist Church were set forth by Reverend Foster in 1974 listed:
Reverend Charles Anderson, Assistant Pastor
Sister Helen Anderson, Church Clerk
Mother Swan, Mother of the Church
Sister Elizabeth Walker, Treasurer of the Church
Sister Helen Bell, President of the Usher Board
Sister Louise Rue, President of the Nurses Unit
Deacon James McCormick, Chairman of the Trustee Board
Deacon Hutchinson, Chairman of the Deacon Board
Sister Helen Anderson, President of the Deaconess Board
Brother Anthony Anderson, Member
Sister Maggie Rosier, Member
The members worshipped from 1974 to 1977 in rented space in a church basement on Hamilton Avenue. Through the guidance of Reverend Anderson they were able to purchase the present property at 531 Princeton Avenue. Shortly thereafter a fire destroyed their new home on Princeton Avenue. They found temporary quarters at 24 Warren Street. After a year on Warren Street, they were again blessed and able to return to Princeton Avenue.
Revered Foster felt that his work at Samaritan Baptist was completed, and it was time to move on. He asked that this resignation be accepted. It was the first time the members were left without a spiritual leader. After five months they were blessed with Reverend Joseph P. Ravenell as their spiritual leader and advisor. Under his leadership the blessings have been numerous. Many good things have happened and continue to happen.
On the 3rd Sunday in April 1979, Reverend Ravenell officially began his pastorship. Under his guidance we purchased a bus in 1983, a van in 1985, three additional lots were purchased in 1986 and in 1988 the community center property was purchased.
Under the leadership and renewed commitment of our Pastor, the need for a better place to worship was recognized, as well as the need to improve the community in which he serves. In November 1995, our place of worship at 531 Princeton Avenue was demolished. With his organizational skills and expertise, he was able to inspire the congregation to focus on a vision that would become a beacon of light to all that would enter to pray and exit to serve.
On February 1, 1997, the Samaritan Baptist Church Family realized the culmination of the vision that started with Reverend and Mrs. Charles Anderson. We enjoyed a day of marching, sing and continued prayer that led to a ribbon cutting ceremony. The original founder, Reverend Anderson and the only active chartered member Sister Helen Bell cut the ribbon. We entered our new edifice to a capacity crowd of approximately 400 hundred well wishers. it was a proud day to have our own Mayor Douglas Palmer to bring greetings from the city.
In September 2005, God instructed us to payout the mortgage. On May 8, 2006, the final payment in the amount of $3,391 was paid. Today, Samaritan Baptist Church is declared DEBT FREE. To God Be the Glory!
