Patterson Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church
The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Richmond, Virginia was established in 1895 by twenty-eight individuals. The group began meeting in the Virginia Tract and Bible Society building on 25th Street. As membership increased, the church relocated in 1904 to 33 rd Street near the Church Hill area. Over the next several years, evangelistic tent meetings produced church growth as a result of a number of baptisms. In 1909, the church decided to seek a larger building in response to congregation growth. A church building in the West End on Morris Street, the West Christian Church, was purchased because many church members lived in the West End. Between 1911 and 1912 the church established a secondary school Richmond Academy with the purpose of supplying the congregation and members of the community with a Christian Education.
During this period the church was known as the Richmond First Church of Seventh-day Adventists. Continued growth forced the church to hold two services and Sabbath Study (adult Bible study classes) were held outside, with the students seated in their cars while the teacher stood on the sidewalk. Overcrowding in the Morris Street location led to a decision to sell the building and hold services in the William Fox Elementary School while a new site for the church was located. In 1938, the church purchased the land of its current location on Patterson Avenue for $20,000. On August 11 th the ground was broken and the first service was conducted on December 30, 1938. The school continued to meet in the basement of the church until 1950 when a building adjacent to the church was completed. In 1975, the church was officially named Patterson Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church, and over the succeeding years the building has been renovated and expanded. The Patterson Avenue church has been instrumental in the formation of four new Seventh-day Adventist churches at Courthouse Road, Meadowbridge Road, and Far West End Seventh-day Adventist Churches
Patterson Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church
3901 Paterson Avenue
Richmond , VA 23221
(804) 353- 2331
Profile prepared by Rosalyn James
September, 2006
