TGN Remembers Dr. B.W. Smith

Rev. Bennett Walker Smith was a native of Florence, Alabama. Born on April 7, 1933, Smith grew up on West Mobile Street with his mother and grandmother. He joined the Air Force after graduating from Burrell High School in 1950. He studied at Tennessee State University and went to Chicago public schools to pursue a teaching career.

In 1960, Smith entered Bethel M.B. Church and enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute for ministerial training.

In 1972, Reverend Bennett W. Smith Sr., was called to pastor St. John Baptist Church. Pastor McCarley had met Reverend Smith, then a pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he came to preach a soul saving revival at St. John. Under Pastor Smith’s leadership, the church continued its progress in gaining souls and enlarging its territory. The mortgage was paid in full; a mission center opened; and a federally chartered credit union was chartered in 1973. In 1980, Reverend McCarley’s vision for housing for low income families became a reality and was named McCarley Gardens in his honor; residents moved into homes on Burnie, Alice and Bennett Lanes.

In 1982, Reverend Smith continued the housing focus and led the church to erect a 150 apartment senior complex, St. John Tower. Also a second-floor educational wing was added to the church.

Some of the ministers ordained under Pastor Smith were Reverends Jerry Stover, Ronnie Davis, J. Daryl Wood, Larry Watson, Herman Potts (Friendship Baptist, Lockport) and Michael Chapman, our current pastor. In 1973, Reverend Margaret Harvey was the first woman minister licensed followed by Phyllis Sloss, Ph.D. In September 1993, St. John Christian Academy opened its doors. Beginning with prekindergarten through second grade, the Academy expanded to eighth grade. The musical legacy of the church expanded with the addition of the Male Chorus and the Radio Choir which sang during the weekly eight o'clock worship service.

As a member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), St. John rejoiced in the election of its pastor, Reverend Dr. Bennett W. Smith, Sr., to the presidency of the organization in 1994. St. John hosted the 36th session of the Progressive National Baptist Convention in Buffalo, New York In 1997. During Pastor Smith’s tenure, a number of notable preachers and other national figures stood in the pulpit of St. John Baptist Church: Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Reverend Martin L. King, Sr. and Ron Brown (U.S. Secretary of Commerce),and Hillary Clinton (U.S. Senator from NY).

His last local sermon was in 2000 at the Burrell Reunion. Smith died Aug. 7, 2001, in Cheektowaga, N.Y.

On August 7, 2001, Reverend Smith was called from labor to reward. The Reverend Dr. Bennett W. Smith Senior Family Life Center stands as a testament to the life and work of Pastor Smith.