No effort was made to form a Baptist church at Shamokin until 1870, when Rev. A. B. Still, pastor at Sunbury, preached at Shamokin occasionally, and on September 3rd of that year a meeting of thirty- two persons with letters of dismissal from the churches at Sunbury, Danville, Trevorton, and Shamokin township was held, at which it was decided to issue a call for a council formally to constitute them a church. Pursuant to this call a council met on the 15th of September, 1870, and resolved to recognize them as the “First Baptist Church of Shamokin.”
The following were the first officers:
- Pastor – Rev. A. B. Still
- Deacons – John Renn, Aaron Roadarmel
- Trustees – J. D. Roadarmel, William McConnell, John Renn, Withington Lake, and J. W. Young
Among the pastors and supplies prior to the year 1884 were Reverends Still, Johnson, Rush, Brensinger, Nathan Thomas, O. R. Thomas, and Giles. Rev. W. G. Watkins, the present pastor, assumed charge in April, 1884; after considerable search he found six persons who considered themselves members, but accessions were numerous and frequent, and in 1890 the present church edifice, a substantial two-story brick structure on Lincoln street, was erected. It was dedicated on the 21st of December, 1890, Reverends J. H. Harris, Ph. D., and J. Green Miles officiating. A flourishing Sunday school is connected with this church.