Throughout February, BOOST will bring you heroes of Black History. Some of them will be new to you, while others are practically household names. Either way, we hope you’re inspired by their faith and lives!
Before there was a United States of America, this black pastor led a white church! Lemuel
Haynes was born in July, 1753…and abandoned when he was only 5 months old. The
Rose family from Middle Granville, Massachusetts took Lemuel in and taught him the same
Christian values the rest of the family shared. Neighbors said the “raised him as one of their own.”
As a young adult, he served with the Continental Army, and spent his free time studying theology.
After the Revolutionary War, Lemuel became America’s first ordained African American pastor, in
1788. He pastored a mostly white church in Vermont for 30 years, boldly preaching against
the sin of slavery.
