St. Peter Baptist Church Ministries, Incorporated, originally St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church, was originated in 1904 by Reverend Eli Gibbs of Aurora, NC. At that time the church was a part of the New Bern Eastern Missionary Baptist Church Association. Located in the Royal, the church served Aurora and the surrounding communities. The church offered two services per month, 3rd and 4th Sundays.
The next pastor of St. Peter was Rev. Pender of New Bern, NC. Because transportation was not as plentiful as today, Rev. Pender rode his bicycle from New Bern to the Royal Community to render his services to St. Peter. Following Rev. Pender was Rev. Isaiah Branch who served as pastor of St. Peter for 35 years. To date, Rev. Branch has served St. Peter for the greatest amount of time.
Following Rev. Branch as pastor of St. Peter was Pastor Gorham, Pastor Pridgen, Pastor McDavid, and Pastor Arthur Kelly. There are no records of the exact years for which these pastors served, however, it was under the pastorate of Rev. Kelly for which a new sanctuary was built. This building still stands today and serves as the current fellowship hall.
Rev. Billy Smith of Mesic, NC served as pastor of St. Peter from 1977 to 1982. Rev. Adams followed Pastor Smith. Pastor Adams sent Sis. Annie Kelly, Sis. Jones Bragg, and Sis. Flora Nixon to search for a youth speaker. They found a young preacher from Pamlico County named Joseph Squires. He began preaching every 4th Sunday. Pastor Adams requested the youth leaders to find other ministers to preach on 4th Sundays because having Rev. Squires come each 4th Sunday was like having two pastors. Thus, Rev. Squires was moved to every other 4th Sunday.
As time passed, St. Peter found itself in need of a pastor. They reached out to the youth preacher, Rev. Joseph Squires. Rev. Squires (later Bishop) was elected pastor of St. Peter in 1986. There were numerous accomplishments made by the church under his pastorate, including the new church sanctuary for which we currently worship today, changing the church name, incorporating the church, and creating an independent church no longer a part of the Baptist Association. Pastor Squires served faithfully at St. Peter until 2009. After over 33 years of service, he was called home to be with the Lord.
In 2010, St. Peter elected Elder Barry Squires as pastor of St. Peter. He continues to serve to this date.