History & Impact

For nearly 130 years, Fountain Baptist Church has stood strongly in the Black prophetic tradition as a beacon of faith, social justice, and community engagement in Summit, New Jersey. Founded in 1897 by Violet Johnson, a 27-year-old domestic servant from Brooklyn who courageously carved out Black space in a predominantly White place, Fountain has a long history of amplifying marginalized voices – even as it has grown from its humble beginnings to become a powerful force for change and spiritual growth.

We are an ever-evolving family of faith, compassion, and innovation, created by God to live lives of wholeness, compelled by God to learn the ministry of Jesus, and called by God to liberate the world through Love.

With just over 2,000 members today, and roughly 500 who attend weekly, Fountain has distinguished itself as a modest church with mega impact:

• Fountain holds the distinction of being the longest and highest giving church or faith institution to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
• In 2006, we raised a record $1 million within a year, to give to the Lott Carey Global Missional Christian Community for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. And we continue to maintain our status among the Top 3 giving churches to Lott Carey today.
• We made a historic $300K donation to New Brunswick Seminary, the largest ever from a Black church, underlining our commitment to theological education.
• In 1998, Fountain donated $300K to the General Baptist Convention of South Africa to purchase an office building in Johannesburg, which they named The Fountain House.
• Fountain also staffs a local food pantry that serves over 100 families each month

We are active members of the General Baptist Convention of New Jersey, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, the Lott Carey Global Missional Christian Community, the Baptist World Alliance, and the World Council of Churches. We are also affiliated with the Ecumenical Women at the United Nations. With a wide range of ministries and missions addressing a “glocality” of social justice concerns, including criminal justice and the carceral state specifically, we are actively engaging in the good fight and staying in “good trouble.”

Much of this rich legacy was the product of the visionary leadership of Pastor Emeritus Dr. J. Michael Sanders, who served for 40 years. And our new (millennial) Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Willie D. Francois III is reinvigorating that legacy as pastor-scholar-activist at the intersection of racial equity, economic justice, and criminal justice reform. Pastor Francois is an Associate Professor of Theology at Union Theological Seminary, where he directs the Master of Professional Studies Program at Sing Sing and Bedford Hills Correctional Facilities, and co-directs the Doctor of Ministry program. His first book, Christian Minister’s Manual: For the Pulpit and the Public Square for All Denominations, has been credited as “the most progressive and comprehensive clergy resource and the first interdenominational manual written for Black clergy in 56 years.” In addition to serving as President of The Black Church Center for Justice & Equality – a national think tank and policy advocacy organization – Pastor Francois also serves on several national boards and commissions, including the Social Action Commission (Co-Chair) of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (the denominational home of Dr. King), and the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of the New Jersey State Department. Under his leadership, Fountain Baptist continues to serve at the forefront of social justice initiatives, recently hosting a Statewide Decarceration Forum focused on healing and power-building for liberation, and winning a grant from the Louisville Institute to jumpstart a groundbreaking podcast series (“Dialogues with the Disinherited”) to bring the lived experiences of justice-impacted people to the forefront as they champion their own probation, prison, parole, and post-release stories of trial and triumph.