First Baptist Church in America
The First Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was erected between 1774 and 1775 and held its first meetings in May 1775. It is located at 75 North Main Street in Providence's College Hill neighborhood. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA.
Front elevation, 2020
This 1789 engraving of the church was the first published image of Providence
This 1822 painting depicts the church and surrounding buildings
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Sunday magazine, 1877
Baptists form a major branch of evangelical Protestantism distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.
A Short Declaration of the Mistery of Iniquity (1612) by Thomas Helwys. For Helwys, religious liberty was a right for everyone, even for those he disagreed with.
The First Baptist Church in America located in Providence, Rhode Island
Baptist Hospital Mutengene (Tiko), member of the Cameroon Baptist Convention
The Finnish-language Baptist Church in Vaasa, Finland
