BATON ROUGE — Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church celebrated its 153rd anniversary Sunday morning, marking a major milestone in the community.

The church was founded in 1872 by its founding pastor, Rev. George Byrd.

After 43 years leading the church, Rev. Jack Mitchell succeeded Rev. Byrd.

Lifelong member Florence Porter said she's been a member of the church since birth, for 84 years. Porter said the church not only created childhood memories for her, but it also formed the foundation of her faith. 

“I feel like I never would have had the opportunity to see the true application of Christianity,” said Porter.

Pastor Fred Jeff Smith said Shiloh played a significant role in the Baton Rouge community, encompassing both spiritual guidance and social justice.

Smith is the fifth pastor in the church's history. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Charles T. Smith, who led the church for 50 years, and his grandfather, Dudley T. Smith, who pastored for 25 years.

“I’ve done 12 years here. It’s not just the legacy of the church, it’s a family legacy that I am blessed, honored, and humbled that God would allow me to continue,” Smith said.

Smith said under his father’s leadership, the church expanded beyond spiritual teaching to offering scholarships to its graduate members and daycare services for the past 52 years.

“He believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ should touch and impact the total person physically, emotionally, psychologically, academically, financially, as well as spiritually," Smith said. "Early on in his pastoring, he sought avenues to have Shiloh play a role in the everyday activities of people.”

Lifelong member Gloria Johnson said she recalls attending the church summer camp and Sundays at Shiloh.

“We spent Sunday at church. We were there for Sunday school, we were there for 11 o'clock service, and we came back for BTU. I mean, the whole Sunday was church," Johnson said.

Church member Jeremiah Owens said that in all his 15 years of living, Shiloh has played a crucial role in his life.

"Most of the memories, most of my personality, my life, would be so much different if I weren’t a member of Shiloh,” Owens said.

Even after 153 years, Pastor Smith said the church is looking ahead with its continuous service to the community.

"If we're still here 153 years from now, I would hope that the person —man or woman — who sits behind this desk will look back on what we have done and say that we have laid a good foundation for them to build upon," Smith said.