ABOUT US : History of FBC

First Baptist Church was founded on April 30, 1905, at an organizational meeting in Galax, where the church was established with the assistance of Baptists in Fries, Pulaski, and Wytheville. Twenty charter members made up the original church’s membership as the Galax Baptist Church, but no other written records of church activity and administration exist until January 5, 1907, when the Rev. W.J. Banks was recorded as pastor of the church. The first mention of a church building comes from the minutes of a meeting on April 2, 1907, which states that “the most important subject before the conference was to complete the church at once.” This building, located on Block 17, lot 2 of Oldtown Street, still stands today and is now occupied by the Mountain View Friends Church.

The church grew in numbers over the next few decades, organizing groups like the Woman’s Missionary Society, the Girl’s Auxiliary, the Sunbeams, and the Baptist Young People’s Union. In 1923, the church employed its first full-time pastor, Rev. A.G. McGee, and built a new church building on Main Street on property donated by Mr. E.B. Lenox in 1928, which bore a plaque naming the congregation as “First Baptist Church.”

First Baptist Church has, from its inception, been evangelistic and mission-oriented in nature. Continued increase in attendance compelled the church to build an educational building, and the congregation formed a mission on the south end of Galax in 1947, which became the Hillcrest Baptist Church. In addition, the church also assisted in the development and constitution of the Calvary Baptist Church in Galax and held worship services in the brickyard section of the city, which would eventually lead to the formation of the East Galax Baptist Church.

Under the pastoral guidance of Rev. James C. Pickens, the current church building was constructed, with dedication services being held on May 16, 1971. During the next couple of decades, First Baptist continued to engage in missions and outreach, including trips to Southern India and the Outer Banks, the formation of the Baptist Free Medical Clinic in 1992, which functioned under a group of volunteer physicians and other workers as a non-profit “clinic without walls” that accepted patients who qualified as to need, and the founding of a Hispanic church mission in 2001, which remains under the pastoral care of Rev. Ricardo Alvarado.

With Rev. Sam Bartlett serving as interim pastor, First Baptist Church continues to seek God’s wisdom and guidance in carrying out His mission and spreading the good news for the Galax community and the world.

To see a list of the pastors who have served First Baptist, you may view it HERE.