JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Bethel Church in Jacksonville, Florida has been around for 184 years.
Bishop Rudolph McKissick Jr. says despite controversy over the subject, his church is the oldest existing Baptist church in the state of Florida.
He shares the story of how Bethel became what it is today.
"In the 1860s, after the war, the whites took what they were then the freed slaves to court to say they didn't want them in the churches anymore. Ex communicate them, then the craziest supernatural way... the judge awarded the church to blacks because it was more of them," said Bishop McKissick Jr.
In the 1860s when Black people and white people were separated, black people took to Bethel. The building changed over the years, but the message has remained the same.
"To serve in this present age, we've always had a community consciousness and a community involvement. We've never just been a church who is inside the walls. We've always been a church who is community active and spiritually active," said Bishop.
Bishop McKissick Jr. began leading the church following his father, Bishop Rudolph McKissick Sr.
Bishop Sr. served as pastor for 47 years. The legacy of the Bethel Church is sure to continue.
"If you want to be a part of history, make history don't rest on it," said Bishop McKissick Jr.
Bethel was founded in April of 1838.