About Unionville Missionary
Baptist Church

Unionville Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1865. Prior to 1865, Baptist and Methodists, both black and white, worshipped together. In 1865, the whites decided they no longer desired to worship with their black brethren, consequently, blacks were without a place to worship. 

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Later in 1865, Mr. Wyler, who was a wealthy land owner, donated land for a black church to be established. Mr. Wyler stipulated that the first black Baptist or Methodist to place timber on the land and sit on it all night would be awarded the deed to the land. Shortly thereafter, two enterprising black Baptists, Lee Buckman and John Josey, using the timber from their bed, placed it on the property and remained there until the following morning when Mr. Wyler arrived. Seeing this, Mr. Wyler donated and deeded the land to establish the Unionville Missionary Baptist Church. Rev. Pollack served as the first pastor. The valuable historical information was provided by Mrs. Lula T. Edwards, our former Church Historian. 

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Unionville Missionary Baptist Church has the historic distinction of being the first Black Baptist Church in the Unionville community. It has been in active service since 1865. 

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On October 1, 1994, the Unionville Missionary Baptist Church relocated to a new site at 3837 Houston Avenue under the leadership of Dr. I. E. Mack, Pastor. This facility encompasses 38,408 square feet. This building occupies four and a half acres of land. 

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The first sermon preached by Pastor Mack on October 2, 1994 was "Why Should We Make a Joyful Noise", taken from the scriptural passage Psalm 100:1 - A Psalm of Celebration. The central theme of Unionville is "A Church with a Mission, A Minister with a Message".