Oct 16, 2014 2 min read

First Baptist Church, 101 S. College St., Washington, is celebrating its 200th anniversary this weekend.

Among the activities is a free concert featuring the Trinity High School choir, the Washington Festival Chorale and Circle of Faith band at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow. Refreshments will be served afterward.

In the early 1800s, a handful of people from North Ten Mile Baptist and Mt. Hermon Baptist churches began meeting together in Washington as a small study group. On July 14, 1819, they met in their first building for the first time.

In 1841, membership grew significantly when 107 people were baptized, but by 1871, there were only 11 members.

However, the 11 members remained faithful to their church, and in 1890, the church was reorganized with 73 members.

In 1899, the church began what was known as the West End Mission, and later became known as Broad Street Baptist Church.

A few years later, 56 members of the church were dismissed to form First Baptist Church, which started the Baptist Mission of Tylerdale.

Twenty-three members of First Baptist were then dismissed to form Allison Avenue Baptist Church.

By 1904, First Baptist had 254 members, Broad Street had 129, and Allison Avenue had 104.

In his message to the congregation in his Pastor’s Corner, Pastor Steve Dunlap wrote, “There has been some movement in recent years toward the mega-church. … But 95 percent of all churches are still considered small churches. Ninety-five percent still have 200 members or less, and even in larger churches, they have small group meetings in an attempt to keep family and intimacy alive.

“Ninety-five percent of God’s work is still being accomplished in and through smaller churches, and I believe, just as First Baptist did at the turn of the century, the proper model is to grow and then to plant a new church rather than growing and growing and growing.”