The recruiter of Blacks to the Tifton area was a young white entrepreneur who later became known as Cap’n Tift; he is also the founder of Tifton. A native of Connecticut, Cap’n Tift was lured to Tifton because of the natural beauty of the area, the weather, and the strong potential for making money. Cap’n Tift combed the surrounding areas for strong Black men promising them fifty cents a day and a make-shift living quarters – until the forest was cleared and logs were provided for them to build their own shacks or shanties. The offer of fifty cents a day in addition to a shack seemed to be the best news the black men had heard since being freed from the inhumane system of slavery.

Upon arrival of the black men’s wives, their thoughts turned toward erecting a house in which they could meet together for worship service. The men built a wooden structure in what is now Tift Quarters and named the church Shiloh, and the members called their first minister, the Reverend Anderson Whitaker from Albany, Georgia. Interestingly, Reverend Whitaker’s salary was one half of the amount that was paid into the church each “meetin” Sunday. Very often his salary was supplemented by a big load of groceries.

The church was moved from Tift Quarters to its present site on Southern Avenue under the leadership of Shiloh’s third minister, Reverend D. A. Moseley, who according to recorded record pastored Shiloh forty years. Additional renovations have taken place over the years including a steeple to house the church bell, an Educational Building/Fellowship Hall with classrooms and a kitchen and offices.

As Rev. Raymond Anglin, Shiloh’s eighth pastor, so fittingly penned, “Shiloh has been regarded as the Church at the “Cross Roads,” and this can be interpreted in more ways than one.” Literally, Shiloh is located at the cross roads, intersecting Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Southern Avenue, two main throughways in South Tifton. Spiritually, as the “Body of Christ”, Shiloh serves as an extension of Jesus Christ in our contemporary world.

Throughout her storied history of 147 years, Shiloh has been shepherded by twelve pastors:  Reverend Anderson Whitaker, Reverend Ben Jones, Reverend D. A. Moseley, Reverend H. T. Tarver, Reverend William Ashley Tucker, Reverend Milton Merritt, Reverend Ernest O. Everett, Reverend Raymond Aldous Anglin, Reverend Trenton Lewis, Reverend William Joslin, Reverend Freddie Castle, and Reverend Rudolph Porter.

Today, under the leadership of Reverend Rudolph Porter Shiloh continues to be a pillar in Tift County’s Christian community and broader society through its outreach ministries – support of the local Food Bank and Soup Kitchen, assistance to needy families at Christmastime, partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving ”at risk” youth, sponsorship of cultural exposure programs such as concerts featuring renown choirs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and other mission related projects. Shiloh is also an active member of the Fowltown Missionary Baptist Association, 2nd District Union and Congress of Christian Education.

Shiloh’s history praises and extols its stalwart trailblazers who took a gigantic step in founding the first Black Baptist Church in Tifton. To God be the Glory – great things He hath done!

Note: excerpts from Shiloh’s History written by Leona Reddick Mott