“THE HISTORIC PILGRIM BAPTIST CHURCH”

CHURCH HISTORY

 The Beginning

In January of 1916, Reverend Jessie D. Luck of New York became the first pastor. Pilgrim’s membership increased in numbers, and the church moved to Wright’s Hall at 44th and State Street.  Following Reverend Luck’s brief tenure, Reverend J. E. Jones was elected pastor in July of 1917.  Early in 1919 under the pastorate of Reverend Jones, the congregation moved to 20 East 45th Street and later to 37th and Indiana Avenue.

In May 1920, the Reverend Samuel Elbert James Watson (S. E. J. Watson), a dynamic preacher from Texas accepted the call and became the church’s third pastor. Under his leadership, the membership continued to increase and once again larger quarters were needed. In 1922 Pilgrim Baptist Church purchased Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue located at 3301 South Indiana Avenue. This edifice had been constructed in 1891, and designed by famed architect Louis Sullivan and engineer Dankmar Adler. The initial drawings were prepared by draftsman Frank Lloyd Wright. Upon the passing of Reverend Watson, Reverend R. T. Schell and Assistant Pastor Reverend C. L. Franklin carried on until the Pulpit Committee found the man capable of handling the growth and expansion of the church.

 

Sanctuary of the Historic Pilgrim Baptist Church.

 

The Austin & Dorsey Era

In January 1926, a new shepherd was called to Pilgrim. The Reverend Junius Caesar Austin, Sr. of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania took the helm. He was nationally known as a pulpiteer pastor, financier, and an organizer as well as President of the Pennsylvania Baptist Convention, and Chairman of the Foreign Mission Board. Under his leadership, Pilgrim’s debt of $147,000 was liquidated, the church renovated and made repairs at a cost of $125,000, and a home was purchased for the Founder of the church at 3932 South Grand Blvd. (now: M. L. King, Jr. Drive) at a cost of $5,000. In addition, the site for a community center was secured at a cost of $28,000 and a site for building a gymnasium and housing project was purchased at a cost of $17,000. In the 1930s, Reverend Austin, Sr. hired artist William Edward Scott to paint murals depicting scenes from the Bible in the sanctuary.

With a burning zeal for the redemption of Africa, Reverend Austin, Sr. responded to the call of mission. In the early fifties, he joined a commission of nine other men for a survey of mission stations and the jungles. Among the stations visited, much time was spent at “The Pilgrim Baptist Mission” (named after Pilgrim Baptist Church) at Issele Uky, Nigeria in West Africa.  Pilgrim Baptist Church maintained a Tuskegee in Africa with fourteen outlying branches in this area.   Reverend Austin, Sr. always reminded members that, “Blacks in this country would not be recognized, as a people, until Africa got its clothes on.”

In 1932, Thomas Andrew Dorsey (known today as “The Father of Gospel Music”), became a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church and organized the “Pilgrim Baptist Church Gospel Chorus” at the request of Reverend Austin, Sr. Under Dr. Dorsey’s direction, some of gospel music’s most legendary singers were developed, including Mahalia Jackson, Sally Martin (Queen of Gospel), Roberta Martin and Clara Ward.

 

The Present

Pilgrim Baptist Church was very prominent in the Civil Rights Movement and on many occasions the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered sermons at the church. Pilgrim Baptist Church became one of the leading churches in the country and served as a role model and benchmark for other churches. This distinction still prevails today.

 In 1973, Pilgrim Baptist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the City of Chicago Council and was later designated a Chicago Landmark on December 18, 1981.  In December 2001, the church was placed on the National Ten Sacred Places to save list by Partners for Sacred Places, a Philadelphia based religious preservationist group.

On January 2006, the Historic Pilgrim Baptist Church was ravaged by fire. The fire virtually destroyed the interior, but the exterior walls are still standing.  In 2010, designs were unveiled to raise Pilgrim Baptist Church, a historic architectural landmark from ashes. Throughout Pilgrim’s ninety-six year history nine pastors have served:

Isaiah E. Johnson, Jr. (Pastor) – February 2025 – Present
Isaiah E. Johnson, Jr. (Interim Pastor) – September 2023 – Present
Michael Brand (Presiding Pastor) – August 2016 – March 2023
Tyrone R. Jordan – October 2010 to September 2014
Keith E. Gordon – January 2007 – March 2010
Hycel B. Taylor – November 2001 – May 2005
Floyd W. Davis – February 1992 – April 1999
Junius C. Austin, Jr. – February 1969 – December 1991
Junius C. Austin, Sr. – January 1926 – August 1968
Samuel E. J. Watson – May 1920 – July 1925
J.E. Jones – July 1917 – October 1919
Jessie D. Luck – January 1917 – July 1917

                   

  

  Those who have performed at Pilgrim

James Cleveland
Aretha Franklin
The Edwin Hawkins Singers
The Staples Singers
Albertina Walker
Inez Andrews