From colonial days to the Civil War, Negro Slaves and freed servants worshipped with their White masters in their sanctuaries. They filled the galleries of large White churches, and the back benches of smaller ones, attempting to worship the God who delivers the oppressed. After the end of the Civil War, as Negroes sought to establish their own religious autonomy wherein they could fully worship the God who delivered them and the oppressed, members of this community also saw the need for the establishment of their own independent "Holy Grounds." In the year 1865, a group of Negro men found and established what is now known as the New Grove Baptist Church. The first place of worship was an Arbor built from brush to shelter worshippers from inclement weather. In 1894, the land near which our present building is situated was donated. As a result of the preaching and teaching of pastors, many men and women have been called into the preaching ministry, among whom are: Rev. Peter Ghee, Rev. Alpheus Lester, Rev. Mary Hatchett, Rev. Charles Arnold, Rev. Cornelius Tisdale, Rev. Russell Freeman, Rev. Patricia Barnette, and our present pastor, Rev. Dr. Curtis W. Bagley, Jr.