How it all started
On May 16, 1870, a group of young men from the Young Men's Christian Association of the Tenth Baptist Church of Philadelphia decided to establish a mission in a rapidly developing section in the northern part of the city. They secured a hall at Twelfth Street and Montgomery Avenue and began meetings to determine how to attract more souls to Christ. The outpost was known as The Kennard Mission. Among the young men were Alexander Reed and Henry C. Singly who went on to become deacons at Grace Baptist Church. Frederick B. Greul, D.D., became a pastor at the Berean Baptist Church. Another, John A. Stoddart, was the first superintendent of the Sabbath, or Sunday school at Grace Baptist. The mission was formally organized on February 12, 1872 with 47 members. The Kennard Mission flourished and on August 25, 1872, they moved out of the hired hall and built a tent with a seating capacity of 500 at the corner of Berks and Mervine Streets. In ...