ABOUT
OUR
MISSION
To grow fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who love God completely, intentionally develop their faith, and passionately change the world around them.
OUR
VISION
We are a growing church for growing people whom Christ will use in growing His Kingdom.
OUR
VALUES
Love Deeply
Worship Passionately
Grow Intentionally
Serve Willingly
WATSON GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH
OVER THE YEARS
1800s
1889 – Watson Grove Missionary Baptist Church is established in Una, Tennessee and named in honor of Mrs. N. Watson, one of its founding members who generously offered a lot of land for a building site. Due to racial barriers and opposition to the church being at this site, another location in Una was selected.
The Rev. Neal Crutcher, who is attributed as being the first pastor of Watson Grove, serves the congregation for several years, prayerfully admonishing them to keep the faith.
1900s
Watson Grove continues to worship and impact the community of Una over the next 68 years.
1900 – 1956 God uses several pastors to lead the church through monumental eras of historic uncertainty as a result of the Great Depression, World Wars I and II and Jim Crow. These pastors include: the Rev. Bailey Mainer, the Rev. Hillary Jordan, the Rev. Fitzhugh, the Rev. Bell, the Rev. S.A. Alexander, the Rev. Monroe McCord, the Rev. Charles Hodge, the Rev. Charles Vanleer and the Rev. J.T. Easley.
1956 Under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Easley, the members of Watson Grove become aware of their need to relocate and acquire the present site. The official ground-breaking ceremony is held Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1956.
1957 Sunday, April 14, 1957, the members of Watson Grove march from Mt. Sinai to the present location to celebrate the new church location.
1957 – 1963 During Rev. Easley’s 10-year pastorate, the membership of Watson Grove increases from 65 to over 200 members.
1963 After Rev. Easley is called to pastor the Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Marion Myers, a product of American Baptist College is called to pastor Watson Grove.
1963 – 1973 Under Rev. Myer’s leadership, Watson Grove continues to grow in membership, spiritually, administratively, and financially. Through Christian Education, soul-winning campaigns and impactful organizational restructuring, the church witnesses an increase in spiritual morale, stewardship, and discipline. With a generous contribution from the late Rev. W.L. Hicks, Watson Grove is able to retire the church mortgage and purchase adjoining properties to establish an education wing.
1973 After Rev. Myers is called to pastor the Morning View Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, the Rev. Curtis W. Goodwin, a native of Columbus, Georgia, is called to pastor Watson Grove Thursday, Oct. 11, 1973.
1973 – 1982 Rev. Goodwin continues to lead Watson Grove on the road to spiritual growth and progress with the incorporation of a weekly radio broadcast ministry, bus ministry, weekly Bible study and fellowship dinners, educational workshops and the children’s hour.
1982 In April 1982, the groundbreaking ceremony is held for the new educational wing of Watson Grove.
1988 Sunday, Aug. 7, 1988, the educational wing designed by Christian Builders, Inc. is dedicated. The expanded wing houses several classrooms, a fellowship hall, a nursery, a kitchen, a print room, an office complex, storage space and additional restrooms.
2000s
Watson Grove continues to expand through the construction of a new church and a new vision to impact the community and culture for God’s kingdom.
2004 – 2008 On Sunday, March 7, 2004, Watson Grove holds a groundbreaking ceremony for its new structure, with construction beginning in September 2004. On Sunday, February 24, 2008, Watson Grove holds its first worship service in the brand new sanctuary, with dedicatory services held March 2-9, 2008.
2011 Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, Pastor Curtis W. Goodwin is called from labor to reward after faithfully serving the Watson Grove Church family for 37 years.
2012 Months after the passing of Rev. Goodwin, Watson Grove elects Rev. John R. Faison Sr. to pastor the church on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012.
2012 – 2017 Under the leadership of Pastor Faison, Watson Grove experiences unprecedented spiritual growth guided by a vision of being “a growing church for growing people whom Christ will use in growing His kingdom”. Church membership multiplies from 300 to over 2,400 partners, coinciding with both fiscal and physical growth, allowing for logistical and technological upgrades, hiring of additional staff, partnership with community organizations, disaster relief response and the development of millennial leadership in the Black Church
2019 In January 2019, under the vision of Pastor Faison, Watson Grove launches its second campus, “The Grove-Franklin”, in Franklin, TN.