Mission:

The mission of the First Baptist Church is to be an open, joyful and seeking community of faith whose people experience the transforming grace and power of Jesus Christ. As we worship, study God's Word and reflect on the world around us, we trust God to lead us into wholeness in all relationships and into ministries of justice and compassion.

History:

This church has a rich history that reaches back to at least 1814. One of the first churches in this area was First Baptist of Philadelphia. Connections were made with Moorestown Baptists by the Philadelphia church at the start of a movement to bring Baptists together to raise support for mission outreach in the American South and West and also in Asia. This was an exciting time. The Rev. Luther Rice, who accompanied the famous first Baptist overseas missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson, had returned from Burma to raise mission funds.

After the church was officially organized in 1837, members bought the present Main Street property on which the present building is located. They then set about constructing their church building with their own labor. While the men worked, the women cooked the meals.

Mission support with other Baptists throughout the United States continued to grow. However, as slave ownership became a national debate, tensions developed that led to a division between Baptists in the North and in the South, with those in the South continuing to allow their missionaries to own slaves. This organizational division continues today.

In 1907 the Northern Baptist Convention was established. In the mid-twentieth century it would be renamed the American Baptist Convention, now American Baptist Churches USA. Through the years this congregation has reflected many of the theological trends of the times, although perhaps not as drastically as some have done. We have remained connected to mainstream northern Baptists and have also been influenced by Quakers, another historic religious group in Moorestown.