| Baptist Church in the Great Valley | |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | 945 North Valley Forge Road Devon, Pennsylvania 19333 |
| Denomination: | Baptist |
| Website: | bcgv.org |
| Founded Date: | 1711 |
| Completed Date: | 1805 |
| Pastor: | David L. Cushman |
The Baptist Church in the Great Valley is a historic American Baptist church in Devon, Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania.[1]
Invited to settle there by William Penn, sixteen Welsh Baptists and their families founded the congregation on April 22, 1711. Preceded by a smaller log meetinghouse built in 1722, the current stone church building was erected in 1805. It is the third oldest Baptist church in Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania state historical marker was placed at the location in 1951.[2] [3]
The church figured in the region's involvement in the American Revolutionary War. Like most of his parishioners, Reverend David Jones was an ardent Patriot and served as a Continental Army chaplain. British troops under General William Howe plundered the church and parsonage in September 1776, carrying off clothing, dishware, tools, and a Bible.[4] [5]
Its first congregant of color, Harry Coats, joined the church in 1762. A schism occurred in 1841, when following the resignation of abolitionist pastor Leonard Fletcher in 1840, a group of antislavery parishioners withdrew to form their own congregation in nearby Radnor. In 1820, women received the right to vote on "all questions that may arise in the church."