In the year 1874, three ex-slaves, Henry Rhodes, Mount Carlton and Williams Price organized the New Sardis Baptist Church in the Germantown area of Southeast Shelby County.

These visionary men purchased two acres of land and built a "bush harbor" for worship and divided the land into two parts: A Church Campus and a Burial Ground. For more than one hundred years, New Sardis has stood as the beacon of spiritual light in this community.

Today, the church is under the divine leadership of Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray, Jr. and because of phenomenal growth and a committed membership, New Sardis is serving the community through ministries of preaching, teaching and advocacy.