New Book on FBC History
by Pastor David Russell
64 pages, full color photos
What connection do evangelist Billy Sunday, retail magnate J.C. Penney, the first mutual health insurance program in the country, and the Delaware Indians have with First Baptist Church? Learn about all of this and more in Blessing the Past, Building the Future: The History of the First Baptist Church of Ames, Iowa. Click here to order your copy.
Fifth and Kellogg,1872-1909
History
As a part of our 150th Anniversary Celebration in 2018, we revisited our church's history and shared stories from our past. Click below to read the individual articles, written by Pastor David Russell unless otherwise noted. This material was edited and was incorporated along with other information into the book Blessing the Past, Building the Future, available from Lulu Books.
Ira Rees and the Squaw Creek Church, ~1860-67
Capt. Kendrick Brown, Rev. Samuel Mitchell, and the Beginnings of
The Early History of FBC Ames and Oklahoma-Bacone College Connections, 1880's and 1890's
Growth, a Second Church Building, and World War I, 1880-1920
Robert Davidson, "Pop" Gamble, and the Roger Williams House 1920-46
Religion on Campus and The Roger Williams Club, 1929-60 (by Howard Johnson)
Ron Wells and the Move to Campustown, 1946-58
Changing Times and Social Justice, 1958-76
The Surprising Story of Christian Thomsen
Continuing a Progressive Tradition, 1977-99
Remembrances of FBC, 1986-91 (by David Nethercott)
First Baptist in the Twenty-First Century
.
Fifth and Kellogg, 1910-1949
Covenant House, 304 Lynn Avenue
Student Ministry, Associate Pastor's Residence,
later home of Center for Creative Justice, 1960-93
Roger Williams House
Student Ministry and Pastor's Residence
120 Lynn Avenue, 1930-49
Squaw Creek Church ~1860-66, meeting at Hoggatt School, near corner of Lincoln Way and Maple
Our choir presenting "How Can I Keep from Singing," the anthem by Mark Grizzard commissioned for our 150th anniversary.
200 Lynn Avenue, 1950-present
Click here for our 150th Anniversary video!