1911-Present
Judson Baptist Church
Nashville, Tennessee TN
The beginning of the Judson Memorial Baptist Church was a stop-and-start affair centered around a new housing addition in Nashville named Waverly Place. “In its formation, strong lay leadership made the church possible.”[1]
- On January 22, 1911, members of the Centennial Baptist Church met and voted to relocate to this new neighborhood. Rev. Jasper N. Booth was pastor of the Centennial congregation and approved this decision.
- On February 21, 1911, a letter was read from members dissatisfied with this decision and by a vote of 32 to 9 the January decision was reconsidered.
- On March 12, 1911, 33 people met in a home in Waverly Place to consider the organization of a new church and cooperation with the Centennial congregation.
- On March 17, 1911, an arbitration committee resolved that “it favored the formation of a new church at Waverly Place so long as its site was of sufficient distance as not to injure the Centennial Church.”[2] Two days later Rev. Booth resigned from the Centennial Church.
- On March 23, 1911, meeting again in a home in the Waverly Place, somewhere between 74 and 83 persons submitted letters to be members of the new congregation, with 59 coming from Centennial.
- On April 16, 1911, Jasper N. Booth was called to be pastor, the Sunday School had its first meeting and the Baptist Young People’s Union gathered for the first time.
And now came the task of naming this new congregation. For a few weeks the congregation was called “Glen Leven” for the street that ran next to the proposed site for the new church building but there was already a Glen Leven Presbyterian Church and confusion might develop in the community. The committee met in prayer asking that any name which came to mind would be considered for discussion. Deacon Henry D. Jamison suggested “Judson Memorial” and, after discussion, the committee considered this suggestion as the answer to prayer. The church unanimously accepted the name.[3]
If the church continues to cultivate a spirit of dedication to Christ as exemplified by Adoniram Judson, who devoted his entire life to the gospel, Judson Baptist Church can expect within God’s providence even greater spiritual victories than ever before. May it be so.[4]
The Waverly Place housing addition became a mecca for country musicians who were flocking to Nashville at that time. The guided tours of the area used to note the Judson Baptist Church and described the parsonage as the place where Hank Williams, Jr. was born.
[Compiler’s note: There is a hymn tune called Judson named for this Nashville congregation. The tune was written in 1988 for a hymn, Worthy of Worship, which was part of an Easter musical composed by two members of the congregation, Mark Blankenship (music) and Terry York (words). Worthy of Worship was first published by GENEVOX in 1989 and first included in The Baptist Hymnal of 1991.[5]]
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[1] Albert W. Wardin, Jr., A History of Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, 1911-1986 (Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, TN, 1986), p. 20.
[2] Ibid., p. 14.
[3] Ibid., p. 19.
[4] Ibid., p. 117.
[5] Jere V. Adams, editor, Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: Convention Press, 1992), p. 279.