History

Beginnings

First Baptist Church of Farmington, MO was organized on March 18, 1882. Prior to that, the church was a mission of the Three Rivers Baptist Church.

The congregation first met in the Christian Church, then the Methodist Church, and finally in the old Farmington Baptist College Chapel. It was eleven years before the church had a home of its own.

In 1893, a small white frame church was built on the site of the present Fellowship Hall. A new brick sanctuary was built on the same site at the corner of College and Franklin in 1911, and later taken down in 1893. The first educational building was built in 1943, and an additional children’s educational building was built in 1962.  As the church continued to grow, a new sanctuary was built and dedicated in 1973 and remolded around 2000. The newest educational building was completed in 1990 facing A Street. And, the newest addition to the church building, our Family Life Center, housing a gymnasium, student center, Welcome center, conference center, and new kitchen was built in 2012.

Missions

First Baptist Church has always been a leader in missions. It continues to support state and convention mission programs. Locally, it has started three missions, or church plants, one at Knob Lick, one at Delassus, and one at Flat River, all of which have become full-time churches.

Leadership

In its 138 years, First Baptist has had 26 pastors. They are as follows: James Hardy (1882-1887), J.B. Helper (1888),  L.R.M. Benson (1889), J.W. Campbell (1890), F.W. Shoush (1892), E.A. Spring (1894-1896), J.W. Campbell (1896), M.M. Munger (1896-1900), W.G. Reeves (1900), J.D. Watson (1900-1902), C.L. Bullard (1903), W.M. Rudolph (1904-1905), S.P. Brite (1906-1913), V.E. Patterson (1913), O.H.L. Cunningham (1914-1921), J.J. Schuler (1921), O.H.L Cunningham (1914-1921), J.J. Schuler (1921), G.C. Greenway (1922-1926), J.W. Jeffries (1927-1929), E.H. Zipprodt (1930-1931), F.Q. Crockett (1931-1939), W.P. Young (1939-1943), R. Ray Stone (1943-1953), J. Loren Jolly (1954-1976), Jerome P. Cowin (1977-1985), William C. Miller (1986-2017), Greg Robinson (2018-Present).