Church History

Services

SUNDAY Worship @ 10:30AM; ADULT BIBLE STUDY - TUESDAYS @ 7PM (ZOOM); CHILDREN'S BIBLE STUDY - THURSDAY @ 7PM; TEENS BIBLE STUDY @ 8PM

The formation of the Alexander Memorial Baptist Church began on July 26, 1908, with a group of worshipers from the First Baptist Church of Georgetown. Led by Reverend W. Bishop Carroll the members first met at 1002 26th Street and later at the Odd Fellows Hall at 28th Street and Dumbarton Avenue. They named the church after the Reverend Sandy Alexander, the founder of First Baptist.

In 1909, the church purchased property located in the Georgetown Section (2709–2717 N Street) of Washington, DC and constructed a church building. The cornerstone was laid later that year. Rev. Carroll served as the minister until his resignation in 1914.

Reverend James L. Garfield served from 1914 until he resigned in 1917 to return to his evangelical ministry. Reverend Leroy Frazier served as Pastor until his death on Apri1 16, 1941. Reverend Charles S. Pryor, the Assistant Pastor served as the Acting Pastor from April 1941 until February 1942 after which he was elected by its membership to become the fourth pastor of Alexander Memorial.

During the pastorate of Rev. Pryor, the first mortgage (1909 – 1942) and the second mortgage (1942 – 1971) were burned leaving a debt free church. Rev. Pryor retired in 1972 after thirty years of service. In March 1973, Reverend James A. Godfrey was elected by the church membership as its fifth pastor. Rev. Godfrey served faithfully and the church prospered under his leadership until his retirement in 1987.

Reverend Lamar McClain was elected by its membership as the sixth pastor. Rev. McClain served as Pastor for nine years (1988 – 1997). In March 1999, Reverend Marvin W. Rodgers, Jr. became Pastor and served for 4 years. During his tenure the church mortgage was burned again, leaving a debt free church.

Reverend Jesse W. Plater is the current Senior Pastor of the Alexander Memorial Baptist Church.  He has served as the eighth Senior Pastor of the Alexander Memorial Baptist Church since December 2005.  He was officially installed on March 5, 2006 as Senior Pastor.


Pastor Plater was led by the Lord in June 2013 to relocate the church to a new location in Maryland. The church voted in August 2013 to sell the property and follow the vision that the Lord had given Pastor Plater. Our theme for 2014 was “Moving Forward with Purpose”. We held our last worship service at the Georgetown location on December 28, 2014. 

The church worshiped at Francis Scott Key Elementary School, 2301 Scott Key Drive, District Heights, Maryland for 18 months until the Lord provided the blessing of our current edifice located at 10675 Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in May 2016. The theme for 2016 was “Year of the Overflow”. On Sunday, July 3, 2016, AMBC worshipped for the first time in its new location at 10675 Crain Highway, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.