In 175 years, First Baptist Church’s outreach has helped it grow from a handful of members to thousands.
The church was born out of a dream for outreach on Oct. 16, 1839, by a group of twenty-six members, and during October special services will be held to celebrate its anniversary.
“Someone in southern Warren County had the vision to start a new church, and we are the spiritual product of the Antioch Baptist Church,” said Dr. Matt Buckles, current pastor of First Baptist Church on Cherry Street.
Today, even though First Baptist’s membership has grown to more than 2,000 members, the initial intent of the church’s forbearers remains the same — outreach.
“First Baptist Church has always been a mission-minded local church, and it continues to be a passion of ours to help others get started,” he said.

Local churches that have been born from the seeds planted by First Baptist include Immanuel, Woodlawn, Grace, Trinity and Northside.
Currently, the congregation is helping start churches in Indianapolis and New Orleans, said Buckles, and they have also helped start a church in Canada.
First Baptist has had a long history of helping others, but it was a storm that Buckles said, opened their eyes even wider to reaching out.
“When Hurricane Katrina hit, it impacted our church. It gave us the opportunity to minister outside the traditional box,” he said. “We were having to help people get back on their feet.”
First Baptist is a Red Cross-approved shelter and in the years since Katrina, the church has started a medical/dental clinic, several Christian recovery ministries, all of which are housed in the Mafan Building, 1315 Adams St.
On June 29, First Baptist Church was presented the key to the city honoring the 175th anniversary, and on each Sunday in October worship services will be held commemorating the church’s history.
On Oct. 5, Dr. Gene Neal, a former youth minister of the church, is schedule to preach, said David Haworth, a longtime member of the church who served on the anniversary committee.
The service will also include the early history of the church.
The Rev. Don Gann, a former church member who has since become a minster, will lead the worship service on Oct. 12 — and will include church history from the early 1900s to 1951.
The Dr. McCall era will be the focus for Oct. 19, said Haworth and Dr. Gordon Sansing, a former pastor of the church, will lead the worship service.
A video of McCall, who served First Baptist for 30 years to the day, will be shown during the service.
On Oct. 26, Buckles will lead the service featuring radio evangelist Justin Peters who was a member of the church.
A potluck lunch will follow.
Buckles praised the anniversary committee, which was made up of Frances Chipley, Maurice Tadlock, Donna Markle, Harriet Gray, Jean Stuckey, Buck Taylor, Kevin Cooksey, Clark McNair, Ryan Lee and Haworth who spent 18-months compiling the church history that was combined into a commemorative calendar.
For more information, call 601-636-2493 or visit www.fbcvicksburg.org.