On a quiet dirt road in Lamar County sits Rehobeth CME, one of the oldest African American congregations in Georgia. The sign outside dates its founding to 1869, but its roots reach back even further. The first Rehobeth was actually a white Methodist Episcopal church, organized in 1830 on land donated by Silvanus and William Kendrick. The deed even referenced tents and a campground, suggesting that camp meetings were held there before 1840. But sometime before the Civil War, the original church and campground faded from existence.

After emancipation, freedmen in the area chose the name Rehobeth for their own congregation. A deed dated November 4, 1869, records a gift of land from John L. Martin “for the purpose of building a church and schoolhouse for the benefit of Freedmen in this vicinity.” A second deed in 1873 added another half-acre. What began as a brush arbor grew into a church and school that became the heart of the community.

The adjoining cemeteries tell the rest of the story. There are 160 documented burials, though many graves are lightly marked or unmarked. At least 19 of those laid to rest here were born into slavery, the oldest in 1835. Among them was Pleas Banks, one of the church’s original trustees. Illiterate all his life, Banks nonetheless managed to buy land, build a home, and earn the respect of neighbors both Black and white. A 1930s article praised him as “a worthy Negro” whose hard work and character were an inspiration.

Rehobeth CME is more than a small wooden church. It is a landmark of resilience, faith, and determination, carrying forward the legacy of those who built it with little more than hope and perseverance.