Rev B W Smith Watch Them Dogs Yall

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 ho