Church History

FBCL has been blessed with a rich heritage dating back to 1871. For most of these years, the church has been a leader in missions work. This ranges from Dr. John Wharton reaching out to roughnecks in the shanties in east Longview during "The Depression," to Dr. W. Morris Ford leading the church forward in international missions giving, to Dr. Kenneth Hall introducing the entire church to innovative missions involvement at home and across the world. 

Today, the church remains a leader among Southern Baptist and Texas Baptist churches in spreading the Gospel message to the ends of the earth as well as in East Texas. Many opportunities abound today for the First Baptist family to be involved in missions locally, across our nation, and around the world, pray for mission efforts, and share financial resources with those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ's offer of salvation.