Penfield Baptist

The congregation organized Penfield Baptist in 1839 after the destruction of Shiloh Baptist by a cyclone. Originally, it was a wooden building and stood to the right of the present church. It was formed with a few members from Shiloh and teachers and students of Mercer University.

The Mercer Chapel, a brick and Doric columned style building, was built in 1846 and designed and completed by David Demarest at a cost of $6,794. The classic interior has a balcony on three sides. The pews remain in the old style with a partition set down the middle to separate the males and females. The windows are 48 over 48.

In 1848, a memorial tablet was placed in Mercer Chapel in memory of Jesse Mercer, for whom the university was named. The Christian Index, a Southern Baptist publication, was printed on the campus from 1840 until 1857, with Johnson Boswell as the founder. Mercer University gave the chapel to Penfield Baptist Church after 1871. During the 1970's, the congregation could no longer support the upkeep of the chapel, and it was returned to Mercer through the Georgia Baptist Convention and on to the Southern Baptist Convention. It has been completely restored back to its original condition, and it has been given back to the Penfield Baptist Church. It is now on the campus of the Penfield Christian Home.