First Baptist Church Dallas

Last updated

First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church building, Dallas, TX 2013-06-08 3.jpg
Main building
Relief map of Texas.png
Red pog.svg
First Baptist Church
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
First Baptist Church
32°47′5″N96°47′58″W / 32.78472°N 96.79944°W / 32.78472; -96.79944
Location1707 San Jacinto St.,
Dallas, Texas
Country United States
Denomination Southern Baptist Convention
Membership12,000 (2016)
Website www.firstdallas.org
History
FoundedJuly 30, 1868 (1868-07-30)
Architecture
Heritage designation Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #6689
Designated1968
Administration
Division Baptist General Convention of Texas, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
Clergy
Pastor(s) Robert Jeffress

First Baptist Dallas is a Southern Baptist megachurch located in Dallas, Texas. It was established in 1868 and, as of 2018, has a congregation of about 13,000. [1] In 2017, weekly attendance for worship services was reported around 3,700 and online attendance was over 10,000 [2] The church, considered influential among evangelical Christians in the United States, [1] also owns and operates a school, several radio stations, and Dallas Life, a mission for the homeless on the southern edge of Downtown Dallas. The current pastor is Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Contents

History

Historic building Dallas - First Baptist Church 01.jpg
Historic building

The First Baptist Church of Dallas was established on July 30, 1868, with eleven founding members. They convened in the Masonic Hall, located on Lamar Street near Ross Avenue. [3] In 1872, the congregation pooled their funds together to purchase the first building, on Akard, in downtown Dallas. The cornerstone of the sanctuary that the congregation worships in today was laid in 1891.

Since the 1970s, the church has established a number of ministries that are affiliated with the church. First Baptist Academy of Dallas and Criswell College (formerly Criswell Bible Institute) were formed to champion Christian education. In the mid-1970s, Criswell College purchased KCBI to be used as a Christian radio station. The station has resided on the lower frequencies of FM. Now at 90.9 FM, KCBI broadcasts as part of the Criswell Radio Network, and includes KCCE and KSAO of San Angelo, Texas, and KCBK of Frederick, Oklahoma.

In 2013, Ted Cruz, invited by Robert Jeffress, attended the church and gave a speech on faith and the U.S. Constitution to the congregation. Jeffress praised Cruz as "a strong leader and a committed Christian". [4]

In 2013, a 3,000 seat Worship Center and expansion was built at the cost of $130 million, close to the historic building. The center has 178,000 square feet (16,500 m2) of space, and the older facilities were also renovated. [5]

Senior pastors

W. W. Harris was the first pastor and was followed by several others during the early years of the church. In 1897, the first of the two most notable pastors, George Truett, accepted the position of Pastor and remained there until his death in July 1944. In 1944, Dr. W. A. Criswell became the pastor of the church. During his tenure, the church expanded to multiple buildings covering five blocks in Downtown Dallas, eventually becoming the largest Southern Baptist church in the world. Dr. Criswell became Senior Pastor in 1990 and Pastor Emeritus from 1995 until his death in 2002. Since 1990, four pastors have held the pulpit: Joel Gregory, O. S. Hawkins, Mac Brunson, and, currently, Robert Jeffress.

Membership

American evangelist Rev. Billy Graham became a member of the First Baptist Church of Dallas in 1953 while visiting Dallas during his crusade to the area and remained a church member for over fifty years, despite not residing within the Dallas area and only very infrequently visiting the Dallas church. In 2008, the 90-year-old Graham switched his church membership to First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, South Carolina, that was closer to his residence in North Carolina. [6]

Facilities

In 2013, First Baptist Dallas completed a major renovation and expansion of their facilities, including construction of a new worship center. With a price tag of $130,000,000 it is the most expensive Protestant building project in modern history. [7] [8] In 2019 they announced another $35,000,000 expansion to the Horner Family Center and the addition of a new parking garage, growing the Family Center to 179,000 square feet from an original 98,500 preexisting square footage. [9]

FBC Dallas has a 3,000 seat worship center as well as a large skywalk. [10] It also contains computer-synchronized water fountain playing music. [11] Despite implosion of a large portion of their six-block campus, First Baptist retains the original worship center (in addition to its new worship center) as an ancillary venue for worship services, weddings and other events. [12] [13]

Controversies

W. A. Criswell, in a discussion of racial integration, stated that he expressed astonishment at the cowardice of ministers "whose forebears [sic] and predecessors were martyrs and were burned at the stake", but who themselves refuse to speak up about "this thing of integration". True ministers, he argued, must passionately resist government mandated desegregation because it is "a denial of all that we believe in". [14]

In September 1992, senior pastor Joel C. Gregory announced his resignation. [15] Later, he published a book detaling his reasons for leaving: among them, the refusal of W.A Criswell to relinquish control of the church, despite Gregory being the senior pastor de jure [16] [17] [18] [19]

Current pastor Jeffress has spoken out in the past against Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Mormons and homosexuals, claiming that Islam "promoted pedophilia". [20] In 2008, Jeffress, in his sermon "Gay Is Not OK", [21] stated that "What they [homosexuals] do is filthy. It is so degrading that it is beyond description. And it is their filthy behavior that explains why they are so much more prone to disease." [22] In September 2010, Pastor Jeffress branded Islam as an "evil, evil religion". [23] And in December 2010, Jeffress established a "Naughty and Nice List" where businesses are identified based on whether or not they openly celebrated Christmas, saying "I wanted to do something positive to encourage businesses to acknowledge Christmas and not bow to the strident voices of a minority who object to the holiday." [24] [25] Also in 2010, he referred to Roman Catholicism as a "Satanic" result of "Babylonian mystery religion". [26] In October 2011 at the Values Voter Summit, Jeffress branded The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as "a cult". He received widespread criticism for his statement, but has not retracted it despite then U.S. presidential candidate and LDS church member Mitt Romney's request for him to do so. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Church of Jacksonville</span> Church in Florida, United States

The First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is a Baptist megachurch in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. As of 2023, First Baptist Church has 2,100 members and an average attendance of around 3,000 for Sunday services. The main Downtown Campus comprises several square blocks of property connected by above-ground crosswalks. The campus includes several auditoriums for services, a Sunday school building, and facilities for First Baptist Academy, a private K-12 school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakewood Church</span> Church in Texas, United States

Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Hyles</span> American pastor, author, and college president

Jack Frasure Hyles was a leading figure in the Independent Baptist movement, having pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, from August 1959 until his death. He was well known for being an innovator of the church bus ministry that brought thousands of people each week from surrounding towns to Hammond for services. Hyles built First Baptist up from fewer than a thousand members to a membership of 100,000. In 1993 and again in 1994, it was reported that 20,000 people attended First Baptist every Sunday, making it the most attended Baptist church in the United States. In 2001, at the time of Hyles's death, 20,000 people were attending church services and Sunday school each week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellevue Baptist Church</span> Church in Tennessee, United States

Bellevue Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Bellevue was once the largest church in the Memphis area. Bellevue's goals are to "Love God, Love People, Share Jesus, and Make Disciples." The church's head pastor has been Steve Gaines since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis)</span> Church in Minnesota, United States

Bethlehem Baptist Church is a Baptist Evangelical megachurch based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge North Central and Converge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criswell College</span> Christian college and divinity school in Dallas, Texas

Criswell College is a private Baptist Christian college and divinity school in Dallas, Texas. The college's stated mission is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as Christian leaders throughout society, while maintaining an institutional commitment to biblical inerrancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fellowship Church</span> Church in Texas, United States

Fellowship Church (FC) is Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Its senior pastors are Ed Young and Lisa Young.

Prestonwood Baptist Church is a Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Plano, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It is one of the largest churches in America, with a membership of over 45,000 and a weekly attendance of around 17,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCBI</span> Christian radio station in Dallas

KCBI is a listener-supported FM radio station, licensed to Dallas and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. It airs a Christian radio format and is owned by First Dallas Media Inc. (FDMI) The station plays Contemporary Christian music during drive times and middays, with Christian talk and teaching programs in late mornings, evenings and overnight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. A. Criswell</span> American pastor and author (1909–2002)

Wallie Amos Criswell, Jr., was an American pastor, author, and a two-term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1968 to 1970. As senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas for five decades he became widely known for expository biblical preaching at a popular level, and is regarded as a key figure in the late 1970s "Conservative Resurgence" within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Harold Lawrence Lea is an American pastor and televangelist in Rockwall, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wooddale Church</span> Church in Minnesota, United States

Wooddale Church is a Baptist multi-site evangelical Christian church located in Eden Prairie, Edina and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with Converge and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Graham (pastor)</span> American Baptist minister (born 1950)

Jack Graham is the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Academy of Dallas</span> School in Dallas, TX, United States

First Baptist Academy of Dallas is a private, Biblically integrated, college preparatory Christian school located in Dallas, Texas. First Baptist Academy, previously in Downtown, is now located at a new campus in east Dallas, at the current Saints Athletic Complex. FBA educated students at the downtown location for 44 years.

Second Baptist Church Houston is a Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Houston, Texas, US. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Its senior pastor is Ed Young.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Jeffress</span> Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas

Robert James Jeffress Jr. is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, and is a Fox News Contributor. His sermons are broadcast on the television and radio program Pathway to Victory, which is broadcast on more than 1,200 television stations in the United States and 28 other countries, and is heard on 900 stations and broadcast live in 195 countries.

Matt Chandler is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor. He is the senior pastor of Village Church, based in Flower Mound, Texas and the executive director of the board of the Acts 29 Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Houston</span> Most prevalent religion in the US city

Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the city of Houston, Texas. In 2012, Kate Shellnutt of the Houston Chronicle described Houston as a "heavily Christian city". Multiple Christian denominations originating from various countries are practiced in the city; among its Christian population, the majority are either Catholic, Baptist, or non/inter-denominational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Church of Glenarden</span> Church in Maryland, United States

First Baptist Church of Glenarden International or FBCG is a Baptist Evangelical megachurch located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 12,000 people in 2022. The senior pastor is John K. Jenkins Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akron Baptist Temple</span> Church in Ohio, United States

Akron Baptist Temple was a Baptist house of worship located on Manchester Road in Akron, Ohio. The congregation first met in 1934 and the church was officially organized a year later. In the years that followed, Akron Baptist Temple grew to be one of the first megachurches in the United States, and at its peak was considered the largest church in North America. The church building was sold in 2019 and the congregation moved to Coventry Township and renamed themselves as Connect Church.

References

  1. 1 2 "Conservative pastor on Romney: Don't vote for a Mormon". Political Ticker (blog). CNN. October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  2. ↑ "2017 Annual Report · First Baptist Dallas". First Baptist Dallas. December 12, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ Lefever, Alan J. "First Baptist Church, Dallas". Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ Jervis, Rick (December 11, 2015). "Ted Cruz uses faith freely on campaign trail". USA Today. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ "First Baptist of Dallas unveils its new campus". The Dallas Morning News . March 31, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Billy Graham moves membership from First Baptist Dallas". Dallas Morning News Religion Blog. December 29, 2008.
  7. ↑ "First Baptist Dallas Completes Largest Protestant Church Building Project in Modern History". Church Executive. April 13, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ "First Baptist Dallas Completes Largest Church Building Project in Modern History, Contributing to Ongoing Dallas Revitalization: Historic Congregation Goes Against National Church Trend to Build New $130 Million Downtown Campus" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Downtown Dallas' First Baptist ready to kick off $35 million campus expansion". Dallas News. January 17, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ "How First Baptist's Robert Jeffress Ordained Himself to Lead America". D Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ "First Baptist Church". GPSI. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  12. ↑ Michels, Patrick (October 30, 2010). "From Church to Dust, First Baptist Implosion Makes Room for Shiny New Home Downtown". Dallas Observer. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  13. ↑ "First Baptist Church Dallas launches $130 million building project". Baptist Standard. November 3, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  14. ↑ http://jsr.fsu.edu/Volume10/Freeman.pdf
  15. ↑ https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-10-03-9210030082-story.html
  16. ↑ Somerville, Frank P. L. "A pastor is led into temptation by the allure of a megachurch". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  17. ↑ Staff, Adelle M. Banks of The Sentinel. "EX-PASTOR RAISES QUESTION ABOUT MEGACHURCHES' FUTURE". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  18. ↑ "The rise and fall and rise again of Joel Gregory". Baptist Standard. September 19, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  19. ↑ writer, Mike Hirsley, Religion. "WHY TEXAS PASTOR QUIT HIS DREAM JOB". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "Tebow cancels gig at controversial Dallas church". New York Daily News.
  21. ↑ The Savior_Robert Jeffress_of First Baptist Dallas
  22. ↑ How First Baptist's Robert Jeffress Ordained Himself to Lead America, Michael J. Mooney, D Magazine, January 2012
  23. ↑ Jillian Rayfield (September 7, 2010). "Dallas Pastor Defends Claim That Islam 'Promotes Pedophilia'". Talking Points Memo . Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  24. ↑ "December 7, 2010 Podcaset". Christian News Weekly.
  25. ↑ "First Baptist's Robert Jeffress to Publicly Shame Stores That Don't Celebrate Christmas". Dallas Observer blogs. December 7, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Jeffress 'Says Satan Is Behind Roman Catholicism". Right Wing Watch. October 8, 2011.
  27. ↑ Karen Brooks and Peter Bohan (October 9, 2011). "Texas pastor stands ground on "cult" comment about Mormons". Reuters . Retrieved October 9, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.