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1842 - In the month of January, First Baptist Church of Lexington was constituted with seven charter members. These seven members were: Reverend Elisha Collins, Sophia Collins, Mary Lee Collins, Julia Collins, Elizabeth Shrewsbury, J. Brown, and J. James.
1845 - The first house of worship was built. It was a one room brick building and was located behind our present Beech River Heritage Museum.
1862 - Union forces confiscated our church building for use of a hospital. We met in the Methodist Church and the County Court room. We never missed a service during these trying times.
1883 - The second house of worship for the Baptist Church of Lexington was built on a lot donated by John S. Fielder who was church clerk from 1864-1882.
1889 - Church minutes indicated that Mr. Thomas Fielder, chairman of the Organ Committee, placed the organ in the church at a cost of $120.00. It was paid for by subscription of the church members, the good citizens of the town and county. One dozen gospel hymns with notes were also put in the church and paid for by the Committee.
1911 - The church voted to build its third house of worship on a lot donated by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Stewart.
1912 - On October 13 the church observed the dedication service of its new house of worship. The new church building was located on the corner of Natchez Trace and Church Streets.
1913 - The Baptist Church of Lexington voted to employ Brother Fleetwood Ball full time pastor at a salary of $1,000 annually. Previously, the church had been meeting every other Sunday.
1931 - The Image to the right is a Church Bulletin for a Christmas Service held on December 20th 1931. Note the names at the bottom of the members of the choir. The Cantata was " O Little Town of Bethlehem"
1936 - Brother Fleetwood Ball resigned the pastorate after thirty-four years of faithful service.
1937 - In the minutes, "First Baptist Church" was mentioned for the first time. Our church was previously known as the Baptist Church of Lexington.
1941 - Plans and specifications for a pastor's home had been drawn up and a contract awarded. The church authorized $4,000 for the house and lot. The parsonage was built at 88 Huntingdon Street.
1942 - On February 8 the church observed a centennial service. In a business meeting following the service, the church voted to purchase a house and lot next door at a cost of $2,000. The house was to be used for Sunday School rooms.
1952 - On Mother's Day, May 11, the First Baptist Church held a ground-breaking on the corner of Main and Stanford Streets. The cost of the project was $97,500.
1953 - On July 5 our church moved into its fourth house of worship. On August 2 our church voted to begin construction on a new sanctuary.
1955 - During the revival of April 3-10, thirty-nine people made professions of faith and nine joined by letter.
1955 - On Sunday morning, November 13, 1955, the first regular service was conducted in the new sanctuary, and a beautiful pulpit Bible was given to the church by the pastor, Brother E.E. Deusner and Mrs. Deusner.
1960 - On May 11 Joseph Blass of Union University became the church's first minister of music.
1962 - The Gothic tower was built.
1973 - On January 21 ground breaking for a new three story addition on the First Street side of the church was begun. It was completed at a cost of $340,000.
1977 - Dr. E.E. Deusner retired as pastor of First Baptist Church after serving thirty-two years.
1981 - The sanctuary and educational building was remodeled at an approximate cost of $182,000.
1985 - On November 10 First Baptist Church set a high attendance record for Church Training with 308 people present.
1986 - A new Sunday School attendance record was achieved with 786 present.
1988 - The First Baptist Church now has 1,045 resident members and 1,384 enrolled in Sunday School.
1989 - On March 26, Easter Sunday, the church held a ground-breaking service for a multi-purpose building. The building has a fellowship hall that seats 500, 17 Sunday School rooms, two kitchens, a conference room, and an office complex. Cost of the project was $1,500,000. The building was financed by the "Partners in Progress" fund raising over a period of six years. Total square footage in the multi-purpose building is 23,000 square feet. The total footage of First Baptist Church is now approximately 63,000 square feet.
1990 - On September 23 the church observed a dedication service for its new multi-purpose building. The church had an open house that Sunday afternoon.
1992 - The church observed its sesquicentennial with several events taking place during the year. The sesquicentennial theme is "150 Years and Tomorrow In Service To Our Lord."
1992 - On May 24 the First Baptist Church closed out its Sesquicentennial Celebration with an old fashioned homecoming, featuring a dinner on the ground.
1995 - First Baptist Church called Richard Savage as Minister of Education.
1996 - First Baptist Church employed Sandy Savage as part-time Preschool-Children's Director.
1998 - The church voted to expand our sanctuary from a seating capacity of 375 to approximately 825.
1999 - On September 12th a new Sunday School record of 1036 was achieved.
1999 - On September 12th First Baptist Church held its first service in the newly expanded sanctuary.
2000 - On May 7th, a dedication service for our new sanctuary was held. A cornerstone was placed which states, "Jesus Christ; Ephesians 2:20."
2000 - Bill Greene was called as Minister of Education.
2000 - On October 8th Melanie Lawler was employed as part-time Preschool-Children's Director.
2002 - Dr. Hoyt Wilson, on October 26th, announced his resignation after 25 years of faithful service as pastor. He remained as Interim Pastor.
2003 - On July 13th First Baptist Church held a Memorial service at Lexington Cemetery dedicating a replacement monument for our first pastor, Elisha Collins and wife Catharine.
2003 - On July 20th, First Baptist Church voted to call Michael Lee Adams as it's 26th pastor. He received an excellent vote of 98.4%.
2004 - The church voted to call Richard Savage as its First Associate Pastor.
2004 - The church voted to call Sandy Savage as full-time Preschool-Children's Director.
OUR PASTORS
- 1842-1852--Elisha Collins
- 1852-1853--J.V.E. Covey
- 1853-1854--C.L. Cote
- 1854-1856--Reubers Day
- 1856-1857--J. Cole
- 1858-1861--M.H. Neal
- 1862-1867--D.B. Ray
- 1867-1884--W.J. Hodges
- 1884-1885--R.S. Fleming
- 1886-1888--I.Z. Kimbrough
- 1888-1888--T.G. Lane
- 1889-1890--B.F. Bartles
- 1891-1892--W.S. Roney
- 1892-1894--A.J. Barton
- 1894-1895--R.S. Fleming
- 1896-1897--W.I. Feazell
- 1898-1899--G.M. Savage
- 1899-1900--W.S. Roney
- 1900-1901--T.F. Moore
- 1901-1902--A.J. Castellon
- 1902-1936--Fleetwood Ball
- 1937-1941--Simpson Daniel
- 1941-1945--Walter Warmath
- 1945-1977--Dr. Edwin E. Duesner
- 1978-2004--Dr. Hoyt Wilson
- 2004-present--Dr. Michael Adams
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