First Baptist Church of Dayton

First Baptist Church of Dayton. . The First Baptist congregation in Dayton was formed in 1878, when ten worshipers gathered together to begin a church. A one-room schoolhouse located on what is now East Cook Street, was used for worship services until 1895. , The church's first pastor was the Rev. E.M. Forman, a circuit riding minister. Other traveling clergymen also pastored the small church in its early years, including D.W. Jackson, J. McArthur Black, J.A. Lee, J.F. McLeod, and J.M. Day. , In 1895 the Baptist congregation began conducting services in a Union Church on the southeast corner of Waring and North Main streets. In 1901, following damage to the Union Church in the hurricane of 1900, construction began on a Baptist sanctuary near this site on South Church Street., Throughout its history the First Baptist congregation has sought to serve its community. A Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1911, and the first of many local missions was established in 1912. A youth ministry also began in 1912. The church congregation has maintained an active involvement in both home and foreign missionary projects.