Waterford — Churchgoers gathered outside the First Baptist Church of Waterford before Sunday morning's service to unveil an eight-foot tall granite memorial marker and to celebrate its 300th birthday.

The church is the second oldest Baptist church in the state behind the Old Mystic Baptist Church.

The monument came from Georgia and was erected by the Baptist History Preservation Society. It cost a little more than $10,000, and was paid for through donations from area Baptist churches.

"It feels good knowing that it will be here for a lot of people to see. That's a blessing," said Pastor Jeff Faggart from the Harvest Baptist Church in Rockwell, N.C., where he is the founder and director of the Baptist History Preservation Society.

There are only 20 Baptist memorial markers in the United States and four of them are in New England. Faggart said he was pleased to be able to put a marker at the Waterford church since it's still a very active congregation. Other markers have been placed at graves, churches and sites of historical significance.

The purpose of the memorial marker is to honor the Baptist heritage.

About 30 people gathered outside the church for the dedication. Pastor David Moynihan asked a few volunteers who helped place the monument on the ground to be the ones to unveil it. When they pulled the black cloth off the granite slab, applause erupted.

"It puts a lot of the history out there for the public to read," said Joshua Trowsdale, associate pastor at the First Baptist Church of Waterford.

The monument has a detailed inscription on the front and back of it that talks about the formation of the First Baptist Church of Waterford and the challenging times for Baptists, who were often persecuted for practicing their religion.

"While seasons of suffering were endured, seasons of blessing were enjoyed," the memorial marker states. "This monument stands to commemorate three centuries of service rendered to God and country by the saints of the First Baptist Church of Waterford."

"This church has made noble contributions to the history of America. Her sons have shed their blood in the wars, which brought and preserved our several liberties and her members have contributed patriotic toil and tribute to the building of this great nation."

While previous birthday celebrations for the Waterford church have lasted a weekend, this one has been year round. This past week was the highlight of the festivities.

Also this week, the church conducted history tours and a celebration dinner where old members of the church returned to talk about the ministry and share stories of their travels.

Church members hope to end the year of celebration with a live Nativity outside the church and a special year-in- review service.

"Very few churches last that long. A lot have started and then closed up," Moynihan said. "The theme of this year's celebration was God's grace and truth. We are here 300 years because of him."

The enthusiasm for the memorial marker started last year when the Baptist History Preservation Society congregated at the Waterford church for a historical tour with more than 50 pastors from 25 different states.

Also around that time, Trowsdale began his research for a book he's working on about the history of the church. He has traveled widely for his research and hopes to finish the novel soon.