By Jessica Dillon
Starling Avenue Baptist Church is marking 90 years of worship, service, and community engagement this November.
The church traces its roots to a 1929 revival led by Rev. Walter G. Hughes, which led to a mission organized by First Baptist Church of Martinsville. Starling Avenue Baptist became an independent church on Nov. 24, 1935, with 98 charter members. Dr. Thomas Fryer was called as the first pastor in 1936, and construction began on the current church building in 1937.
The congregation will celebrate its 90th anniversary Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, with Dr. Joe Bryant as guest speaker. “Besides celebrating our anniversary, it is also All Saints Sunday,” said Rev. Angela Zimmerman. “We remember church members who have passed in the past year and celebrate all 90 years of ministry.”
From its earliest days, members invested personally in the church, even mortgaging their homes to fund construction.
“The people of the church, when it first started, had to mortgage their own houses to pay for the building,” she said.
Over the decades, the church has expanded and renovated its facilities. Highlights include the educational building (1951–52), sanctuary renovations with a 973-pipe organ (1988), an elevator (1990), parking expansion (1997), fellowship hall and kitchen remodeling (early 2000s), and exterior upgrades, including a new steeple (1981), playground, and accessibility improvements (2012). Sanctuary improvements occurred in 2019, technology upgrades in 2022, and building repairs in 2023.
Originally aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, the church later joined and now affiliates with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the Alliance of Baptists, and the Henry County Baptist Association. A second worship service was added in 2001. Music ministry has been a hallmark, with leaders such as Dr. Gerald Robinson establishing traditions like the Hanging of the Greens.
Starling Avenue Baptist has long emphasized worship, education, and missions, with outreach extending from Tanzania to Chicago, Mexico City to South Africa. The church has maintained a ministry to the deaf for more than 80 years, helped found Habitat for Humanity (now Fuller Center for Housing), and supported Grace Network. In 2005, the church launched the Hope Community Garden.
The church also regularly participates in community outreach and has helped charities such as Grace Network. “We are a very mission-minded church. We do a lot in the community. That’s kind of our outreach, helping others, helping agencies,” Zimmerman said.
That commitment to community outreach remains central, including monthly mission projects through the CARE group, partnerships with Clearview Early Childhood Center, community meals, and charitable initiatives. Recent programs include Critter Camp, serving 57 children with four community partners in 2024, and the adoption of the CBF Dawnings program in 2025 to explore the church’s future direction.
Starling Avenue Baptist continues to host events like outdoor worship, movie nights, spaghetti lunches, Ladies’ Tea, and senior day trips. The church welcomed co-pastors Rev. Ashley Gill Harrington and Rev. A. Brian Harrington in 2016 and Zimmerman in 2023. Virtual services began in March 2020 due to COVID-19, with in-person worship resuming in April 2021.
