Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1912-11-16
BAPT|STS CLOSING
PROSPEROUS YEAR
Most Progressive and Expan-
sive Period of Past
Ten Years.

The local Baptist churches, con-
sisting OF some twenty-one parishes
distributed in every section of this
year. In fact, at no time during the
past ten years has the denomination
shown such progressive and ex-
pansive period of growth as during
the year 1912.
The advancement has not only been
made evident in the gains in men,
bership, but the need of new churches
and the improvements made to the
old buildings show most decidedly
that the Baptists are not losing
ground.
The fact that the Roseville Baptist
flock are planning to tear down the
present obsolete structure at Gould
avenue and South Eleventh street
and to replace the building by the
erection of a handsome modernized
building comes as no surprise to
churchmen in that vicinity, who for
some time have known that the pas
tor the Rev. DR.. Albert Foster, was
preaching to a congregation that
would soon eclipse the capacity of the
church.
A most up-to-date sanctuary the
building committee is planning to
erect on the present site of the old
church.
The congregation OF the Clinton
Avenue Baptist Church, at Mon
mouth street, is also beginning to feel
the impetus of the city's rapid in
crease in population, and, as this
church is the only one of that de-
nomination in the expanding Clinton
Hill section, 1t will be only matter
Of time when the Rev. DR.. Riley A.
Vose and his congregation will deem
it necessary to make additional inn
provements to meet the needs OF the
membership increase.
The First Baptist Pedde Memorial
Church, at Broad and Fulton streets.
of which the Rev. DIR. Thomas ].
Villers is pastor, despite the ex-
pansive dimensions of the handsome
stone church, usually has an overflow
congregation at the Sunday evening
services. The Sabbath school men,
bership is growing apace with the
current drift of the times.
The Rev. E. S. Van Ness, the new
pastor at the Mt. Pleasant Church,
In Belleville avenue, is also adding
new members to the roster, but as
his parish buildings are exception
ally modern In equipment he will
probably not have to advocate any
improvements during 1912.
The sister churches, the South
Baptist, Emmanuel, Fairmount,
Fifth, North, Elizabeth, Second Ger
man, the Evangelical United Breth-
rem and the First German parishes
are meeting the demands of their
constituency, and all report SUBJ
stantial increase in membership and
finances during the current year.
There are at least 10000 Baptists
in this city affiliated with the twen-
ty-one churches, which does not in
clude the several thousand church.
men who worship with the denomi-
nation, but have failed to join as
members of the many congrega-
tions.
A conservative estimate places the
valuation of the twenty-one Baptist
cnurcheS, including sites, at one
million and quarter dollars. This
sum does not include the interior
fittings. The only church in the
denomination that has been affected
by the encroach of factories and
warehouses is the North Baptist
Church, at Orange and High streets.
The Fifth Church. at Lafayette
and Prospect streets, has also suf-
fered somewhat from the changing
character of the population in It's
vicinity, but under the able pastor
ate of the Rev. Samuel Alden Per-
rine, the parish Is making steady
progress. The First Baptist Peddie
Memorial Church, In Broad street, is
the largest and wealthiest parish of
the denomination in this section of
the State, and the church the hand
soonest edif1ce in this part of the
country.