First Baptist Church in Metuchen turns 100 BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer First Baptist Church of Metuchen METUCHEN - The congregants of the First Baptist Church of Metuchen are continuing what their predecessors started 100 years ago. "The vision has always been to reach the next generation and train them in the word of God," said the Rev. James G. Miller, who became the first assistant pastor of the church in 1974 and then accepted the call to be the church's pastor in 1977. "We're the generation that they envisioned, and we will continue the vision." About 300 of the church's congregants, past pastors and staff gathered at the church, 225 Middlesex Ave., on April 26 to celebrate its 100th anniversary, which included slide-show presentations of the history of the church and social events; letters and comments made by current and former pastors and staff members; greetings from Mayor Thomas Vahalla and Pastor Hyun Byun of the Korean Baptist Church; displays of historic artifacts including an original lease to the 1908 Royal Hall; traditional organ and piano music; a praise band featuring drums and electric guitars; and music by the Korean Baptist Church choir. Miller, during worship on April 27, said he adopted a Bible verse from Psalm 78:4, which relays the mission that the founders of the church had for its congregants. The psalm states, "We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done." "Our mission is to be a diverse, caring community that is passionate about reaching, connecting and mobilizing the next generation for Christ's mission," said Miller during the celebration festivities. The First Baptist Church of Metuchen was officially incorporated on April 25, 1908, as the outgrowth of a Sunday school that was organized on Dec. 21, 1902. William Crowell, who owned a local feed store, was the driving force behind the establishment of the Sunday school held at Royal Hall, which is now the Metuchen Taxi stand on Main Street. Preaching services led by student pastors were added to the Sunday school in 1907. In 1911, the first church building was constructed at the intersection of Carlton Road and Clinton Place and the first "resident" pastor was called in 1913. The church constructed a parsonage in 1923, adjacent to the church. The church continued to show growth, in spite of the Depression and World War II. Following thewar, Thomas Bell accepted the call to pastor the church.Under his leadership, the church grew to the point where an addition was needed in 1950. Bell, 86, and his wife, Martha, who both could not make the celebration due to health problems, sent their blessings in a letter. "Right after your pastor [Miller] invited us to bring greetings, more than 25 families' names came flooding into our minds along with more and more pleasant memories," wrote Bell, who now lives in Knoxville, Tenn. By the 1960s, the church, now under Pastor William Tarr, had outgrown its facilities. Anew building was constructed in 1965 at 225 Middlesex Ave. During the tenure of the next pastor, Robert Lytle, the congregation was challenged to add to its full-time ministry staff. William Tarr, who now lives in Jim Thorpe, Pa.,made the trip back toMetuchen to celebratewith the churchwhere he served as pastor from 1958 to 1970. "He is well known for his Bible teacher music, and he may be 82 years old, but he sang for us and hit all the high notes," said Miller. Miller became the first assistant pastor of the church in 1974. "I was hired with youth ministry being my major responsibility," he said. "I had a good-size group of teenagers when I was a youth pastor and now it has grown tremendously." The church's youthministry, led by Pastor Keith Wittel, holds weekly youth groups, a group for boys called Stockade Boys, and a group for girls called Pioneer Clubs, an Easter "Egg-Stravaganza," and a weeklong vacation Bible school, which brings in 200 to 300 children every summer. "We have only been holding the [Easter 'Egg-Stravaganza'] for four years, and this past year we received a tremendous response, with over 300 kids attending the event and 200 adults accompanying the kids," said Miller. The church added a gymnasiumin 1990. Not only does the church have a youth ministry, but it has women's and men's ministries as well. Miller said the church has a good mix of generations and cultural diversity. He surveyed the church's diversity from fall 2003 to spring 2005 for his Doctor of Ministry dissertation. "It turned out to have 14 different tongues from 23 different countries," he said. "At least 30 percent are foreign born or of second generation." Therewere just three non-Anglo families when the church was officially incorporated back in April 1908, according to the 1983 Memory Book, which commemorated the church's 75th anniversary, and it stayed that way until the 1980s and 1990s. Miller said the church has also become multi-congregational. "In 1988 we were approached by a group of Korean men who had a vision to establish a Korean-speaking Baptist Church," he said. "The Korean Baptist Church has shared the facilities with First Baptist Church since then. Recently, they acquired land nearby and are in the process of building their own facility." The 100th anniversary celebration on April 26 was the first of many events planned for celebrating the anniversary during the year. A Neighborhood Fun Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 5; a Church History Presentation and Tour, which is a joint event with the Metuchen- Edison Historical Society, will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 6; the church will have fair booths at the Metuchen Country Fair on Oct. 4; and the church will have a parade float and marchers at the Metuchen holiday parade on Nov. 30. For more information about the church and events, call the church office at (732) 548-4279 or visit the church's Web site at www.fbcrmonline.org.