Historic First Baptist Church Marks First Annual Homecoming / Rev Robert Stevenson led celebrants into the October 19, 2025 reopening ceremony. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
By Pauline Masson –
On Sunday, April 19, Historic First Baptist Church, 421 South First Street, will celebrate its first annual homecoming celebration. Two services are planned at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Pastor Robert Stevenson said he invites the entire community to join the joyous event.
The ceremony celebrates the day when a mixed community of came forward to witness the re-opening of the church that had served the Black community for 140 years before it was closed in 2017 after being flooded for the eighth time.
The church interior and all its contents were completely destroyed. A restoration committee formed by Norbert Gildehaus, Bob Masson and Brad Reed turned to the community for help to save the church as not only a place of worship, but a community landmark. The community pitched in with funds, material and labor to elevate the church our of harms way and completely rebuild the interior.
Mayor Heather Filley, far right, recognized HFB’s place in history. Also shown Norbert Gildehaus and Brad Reed, Restoration Committee. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On that day, Mayor Heather Filley offered an essay on the place this small frame church holds in the heart and history of the community of Pacific.
“What a joy it is to gather here in this sacred space, a cornerstone of faith, hope, and history for our community.,” she said. “Today, we celebrate not just a reopening, but a rebirth of a cherished beacon that has stood tall through the years—our Historic First Baptist Community Church in Pacific.”
The star preacher for the next week’s first annual homecoming is favorite son Rev. Donald Cummings.
Rev. Donald Cummings. _________________________________
Rev Donald Cummings and his twin brother Ronald were born in Peoria, Illinois but spent their youth in Pacific where their father Chris Cummings operated a legendary barbecue stand on South First Street. They attended Historic First Baptist as children.
The boys were the grandsons of Rev. Charles Peter Cummings pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church that formerly stood at the corner of South Second and Pacific streets.
The younger Rev. Cummings returned to Pacific last October 18, for the grand re-opening of the church after it underwent a seven-year community driven rebuilding following the flood of 2017.
Rev. Cummings graduated from Peoria High School in 1973, Meramec Community College in 1980, University of Boulder Applied Science in 1982 and earned a BA in legal studies at the University of Colorado in Denver.
Rev. Cummings has an impressive resume in the field of religious studies.
Rev. Donald Cummings, center, joined more than ten pastors for HFB reopening ceremony. _______________________________
He was ordained a minister the National Association of Christian Ministers in 2010. He served at the Carmel Baptist Church, Canton Ill, 2012; the World Evangelism Fellowship, 2041, New Morning Star Baptist Church, 2015.
He saw service as an Auxiliary Police Officer Bartonville, Ill. in 2019. He was a Bible Study teacher at the Illinois River Prison in Canton Illinois in 2013 and has served has conducted Bible Study at the Salvation Army Homeless Shelter Out Reach from 2010 to the present.
The AME church had a unique history among Christian denominations.
Although nothing remains of Pacific’s AME church that the elder Rev. Cummings led, his grandson Donald and some older black families remember the little church that stood at Second and Pacific streets. The AME denomination was established in Philadelphia before the Civil War in 1787 as a Methodist denomination.
Though historically a black church and the first independent Protestant denomination to be founded by Black people, the African Methodist Episcopal AME Church thrives to this day, welcoming all races with 3.5 million members in 20 districts, each with its own bishop: 13 are based in the United States, mostly in the South, while seven are based inAfrica.
Villa Ridge also had an AME Church for a period of time following the Civil War. Rose Hill Cemetery on St. Mary’s Road, Villa ridge was originally established by the former AME Church. It was assigned to Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church after the demise of the AME congregation.
