Our History

“Good people, praying people, people that trust God and work, are interested in the Crestwood Baptist Church. Last Sunday fourteen new people were in the services. They were there because they were interested in the field and in the Lord’s work. We do not want Jonah’s Gourd Vine. We want Abraham’s Oak. If you train people who will be patient and willing to do the labor of pioneers, soon there will be a noble group who will be worthy of the task. The future for Crestwood is, ‘As bright as the promises of God.’”

D. F. Risk, Mission Pastor
(June 16, 1957)

A God-Inspired Vision

Community has been at the heart of First Baptist Church of Crestwood since its inception as a Mission Church in the late 1950’s. It was out of obedience to God and an abiding love for people—especially families—in the developing neighborhood of Crestwood at that time which prompted Tower Grove Baptist Church to establish the Mission there. Since that time, the congregation has and continues to fulfill the calling of Jesus Christ to minister both locally and across the globe—serving the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of all people.

In 1957, the congregants of Tower Grove Baptist Church had a vision to expand their influence for God’s Kingdom. To accomplish this, they created a committee which was to survey various locations for the new Mission. Crestwood was an early consideration, and one to which they kept returning. After much prayer, they followed what they believed was God’s will. Then on January 9th, 1957 they voted to purchase the property at 9916 East Watson Road. Within a few hours and after some negotiations, the property was theirs.

On February 13th, 1957 the Church voted to elect Joe Doehring as Lay Mission Director and Dr. D. F. Risk—for thirty two years pastor of the Water Tower Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri—as Mission Pastor for three months. One month later, on March 13th, 1957, the Church voted to purchase the three adjoining lots to the east of 9916 East Watson Road, resulting in a total of approximately three acres. This included two farm houses and a small frame building.

Mission Pastor Dr. D. F. Risk

source:
Neighborhood news (jan. 10, 1957, p.1)

Dr. John Raymond Barnby

Humble Beginnings of the Mission

On May 5th, 1957 the Mission opened for its first service. 39 members attended morning worship and gave an offering amounting to $57.60—approximately $630 today. The building in which services were held was originally an an old red frame two-story house, formerly owned by the Dressel family, which had a grape arbor in the back, an asparagus patch on the east side, and an orchard in the rear. Services were held in the downstairs area of the house where there was a baby crib in the corner of the room—the first Church nursery—and a telephone, right in the middle of the room, which one member lovingly recounts, “Never failed to ring during each worship service.”

Come September of 1957, Dr. Risk passed the torch to the next leader of the Church, another to-be interim pastor who was also (interestingly) an optometrist, Dr. John Raymond Barnby. Despite an original plan of serving for 60 days, Dr. Barnby was unanimously voted by the Church on January 15th, 1958 to become their full-time pastor, which he accepted and fulfilled faithfully until September of 1963. During this time, numerous revivals (up to two weeks long) would be held and many lives transformed by the Gospel.

Officially Crestwood Baptist Church

Under Dr. Barnby’s leadership, the Church flourished. Within approximately six months, church membership was at 100 people. To better accommodate their growth, in March of 1958 the Church voted to tear down the Dressel home and build a new sanctuary. It was also around this time, on April 6th, 1958 that the Mission was constituted a cooperating church of the St. Louis Baptist Mission Board, Missouri Baptist Convention, and Southern Baptist Convention. It was officially named Crestwood Baptist Church.

Completion of the new sanctuary, costing approximately $90,000, occurred in March of 1959, and the building was dedicated to the Lord on March 8th, 1959. At this time, church membership was showing steady growth, totaling 161 people. An auditorium was also added to the building the following year.

continued revival and growth

The Reverend Elmer Walker served as the interim pastor between Dr. Barnby in September of 1963 and Reverend David O. Michael in June of 1964. Reverend Michael passionately shepherded Crestwood Baptist Church until March of 1979. During these years, Crestwood Baptist Church continued to add to their numbers, thriving and celebrating God’s faithfulness and blessing as they served Him and their community. The Church actively supported other local congregations and also participated in countless revivals at home and abroad, both as hosts and as speakers.

Source:
Word and way (Jun. 30, 1966, p. 4)

Reverend David O. Michael

source:
Word and Way (May 5, 1977, P. 3)

expansion and celebration

A monumental year for Crestwood Baptist Church was 1966 because of the completion of new educational building, which was comprised of 13 departments to serve people of all ages—five for nursery, two for beginner, three for primary, two for adult and one for married young people. This would greatly support discipleship, growth and learning opportunities. Other perks, such as kitchen facilities, were also updated. This educational building was dedicated to the Lord on May 1st, 1966. Moreover, a second level to the educational building was added and dedicated to the Lord in October of 1977.

On their 10th anniversary celebration of the Church, which took place on May 7th, 1967 membership was 495 people. In addition to commemorative ribbons and events, such as a special hymn sing and basket supper, the Church was inspired with the vision to, “Give Ten on the Tenth.” Be it ten pennies, dimes, dollar, coins or bills of any size—even ten times ten if possible—congregants were encouraged to donate to to the reduction of principal on the church debt incurred from the erection of the new educational building. Even so, beyond the finances, they ultimately sought higher ground as they worked toward the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.

Source:
Word and way (Oct. 16, 1975, p. 3)

Source:
Word and way (Nov. 17, 1977, p. 8)

“Give Ten on the Tenth, but above all give yourself to the special services on this special day and with renewed dedication to the Lord’s work in all the days which lie ahead.”

Group Photo of Church Members on the 10th Anniversary Celebration (May 7, 1967) (left)
and Commemorative Ribbon (right)

into the 80’s with a new name

With membership totaling 712 people in April of 1975, Crestwood Baptist Church became First Baptist Church of Crestwood (FBCC) on November 18th, 1975 since there were rumors another Baptist church may be coming to Crestwood. FBCC continued to grow and experienced several interim and full-time leaders who brought fresh perspectives to the congregation, including Reverend N. Paul Callahan (1979-1983), Bual Bales (1983-1984), Reverend Wayne Crull (1984-1996) and David Bennett (1996-1997).

Reverend N. Paul Callahan

source:
word and way (Nov. 22, 1979, p. 6)

Reverend wayne crull

Reverend Wayne Crull, formerly a chaplain of several years to the St. Louis Cardinals and Rams, continued expanding FBCC’s influence both in the local community and around the world through extending God’s loving touch and provision to a variety of people and programs, many of which continue to this day. Some of the highlights from this period of time include:

  • Creation of a ramp to make the church more accessible to others

  • Celebration of “Round Up”—an annual family reunion barbecue with special speakers and music, games, etc. usually consisting of 300+ people to support various church causes

  • Hosting of multiple worship services to support the growing church attendance

  • Use of the church to house the Korean Baptist Church for several years and supplying them with hundreds of Bibles in Korean

  • Initiation of a partnership with Mission Gate to support the children of ex-prison inmates—a ministry which has evolved to help men and women in the program as well, and continues to thrive at FBCC

  • Initiation of partnerships with Wendell “Wendy” Sapp (Compton Heights Baptist Church) and Inner City Ministries

  • Opportunities for children to grow in the faith through backyard Bible studies, Vacation Bible School (VBS) and ministry at Grace Baptist Church

  • Multiple trips to Guatemala and the creation of a church there

  • A heightened focus and value on missions and transformation of individuals and neighborhoods

  • Creation of off-site Bible studies occurring every day of the week for 5 years straight

where fbcc is today

Our current and longest-leading pastor of First Baptist Church of Crestwood, Lance J. Long (also featured Here), has faithfully served this church and community since June of 1997. Early in his leadership, in April of 2000, another significant change was made to the church when the worship center was updated and renovated to make better use of the space. A great undertaking, the renovation took the form of reversing the sanctuary, which led to more focused worship, improved experiences for visitors, and the enhanced functionality of musical productions and a worship band. Pastor Long was also inspired to begin RezRun (short for Resurrection Run) in 2001, an Easter morning 5K run that was a vibrant part of our ministry for two decades.

First Baptist Church of Crestwood continues to cherish and act on the vision which led to its establishment—namely, one of community, love for neighbor and love for the Lord. We have a positive, reliable and strong presence in the community, as shown by the various Partnerships we support and the Programs we offer. We are always looking for new ways to engage with the community and to serve the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of all people, in accordance with our Mission Statement. Throughout the years, we have found diverse and creative ways to serve God, some of which are highlighted below:

  • Housing the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU) and Girls Auxiliary or Girls in Action (GA’s)

  • Hosting revivals and speaking at revivals throughout the decades

  • Supporting Mission Gate prison ministries for 35+ years, including providing career workshops

  • Orchestrating and participating in both national and international mission trips

  • Sponsoring international missionaries and organizations to Korea, Sudan, Japan and others

  • Initiating the Big Give—a multifaceted, annual community outreach event to engage people of all ages

  • Distributing food to those who need it through our Food Pantry ministry

  • Most recently hosting CarePortal training for local churches to meet real-time needs

  • And more!

Collection of Annual RezRun T-Shirts Featured at RezRun in 2021

god’s story continues…

As we continue to delve through the archives and create new history, this page will continue to be updated—so we encourage you to check back often. Even more so, we pray that you would come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and choose to join yourself to the joy of our fellowship.

We are a small part of God’s bigger story—His redemption of all things through His Son, Jesus Christ—but one which continues to be a thriving community committed to serving the Lord with gladness and bringing His Kingdom to earth now. As Pastor Long emphasizes:

“I want us to open our doors and welcome groups on a regular basis. Our own ministries take priority, but I would like for FBCC to become the most essential, non-profit entity in our community.”

our invitation

“To all who mourn and need comfort –

To all who are weary and need rest –

To all who are friendless and want

Friendship –

To all who are homeless and want

Sheltering love –

To all who pray and to all who do not,

But ought –

To all who sin and need a Savior and to

Whosoever will,”

This church opens wide the door and makes

Free a place and in the name of Jesus

The Lord says –

WELCOME