Pastor, Here’s How to Do a Deep Dive into Your Church’s History

“You really should read the book.” 

“What book?” I asked, assuming he meant something other than the Bible. 

“This one.” The search committee member handed me a copy. “If you’re going to be our pastor, then you must know our history.” 

He was right. First Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky certainly had quite the story. One pastor, Boyce Taylor, was arrested twice for holding services during the 1918 flu pandemic. When the local sheriff interrupted the service to announce a warrant for Taylor’s arrest, the pastor responded, “After I preach, young man! Sit down and listen; then I will go with you as a lawbreaker like Peter and Paul!” 

The sheriff took a seat, listened to the sermon, and then prepared to escort the pastor to court after church ended. To the astonishment of everyone present, however, Taylor insisted on being handcuffed and led away like a common criminal. He remained in jail, reading his Bible, until someone paid the fine for him. 

Understanding the history of an established church is critically important, especially as a new pastor. You inherit the story the day you arrive, whether you know it or not. The past explains the present. Why does the congregation flinch when you mention a building project? Why does one family carry so much weight in business meetings? Why is there a strange tension around the old fellowship hall? Why is that scary-looking guy’s portrait on the wall? The answers are almost always historical. 

Piecing it together isn’t difficult, but it does require intentionality. Here’s where to start.

Search the newspaper archives. Newspapers.com and similar sites are a treasure trove. Old articles will surface revivals, splits, fires, groundbreakings, and pastors who made news… or made trouble. You will be surprised by how much the local paper once covered. 

Read the old business meeting minutes. If they exist, they are gold. Minutes reveal what a church argues about, what it celebrates, and how it makes decisions. And patterns repeat. The church that fought over the parking lot in 2004 might fight over something similar again. 

Ask older members to share their favorite memories. Don’t start by asking what went wrong. Ask what they loved. You will learn far more from a joyful memory than from an interrogation, and you will honor a senior saint in the process. It’s pastoral care and research in one conversation. 

Talk to denominational leaders. An associational, district, regional, or state leader often has a longer view than anyone in the congregation, and it’s a view from the outside. They remember previous pastors, conflicts, and seasons of health from a 30,000-foot perspective. 

Read any historical documents you can find. Anniversary booklets, dedication programs, old constitutions, church covenants, and the mystery box in the back of the storage closet. Somebody wrote it down at some point. Go find it. 

Look through old picture directories. They contain more information than you realize. Who was here, how many were here, and who is still here. Directories will show you when a church was growing and when it began to fade. 

Do a Google image search of your church’s name. Then follow the links wherever they lead. Wedding photos, local history blogs, a shot of the sanctuary before the renovation, a newspaper clipping someone posted twenty years ago. 

Search eBay and similar auction sites for items for sale. Seriously, go check out what’s available for my church. At the time of this writing, old postcards and cookbooks were available. Search tip: Use quotation marks when you search for exact results (“West Bradenton Baptist Church”). 

One word of caution: study your church’s history as a student, not a critic. Some new pastors use the past as ammunition—proof that the congregation has been doing it wrong all these years. Instead, use history as a diagnostic tool. What you learn will help you assess the church’s true health. 

You will also find evidence of God’s faithfulness, which your people need to hear. The psalmist wrote, “We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4). Your church has glorious deeds in its past. Many congregations have simply forgotten them. 

Piecing together a church’s story can be a lot of fun. Treat the exercise like an investigative journalist on the hunt for a story. You’ll learn a lot. In fact, maybe a former pastor was jailed for civil disobedience. That makes for a great sermon illustration.

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