The History of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, Illinois
In 1973 a group of 12 people gathered under a tree to decide the future of their church. With declining membership, some felt they might need to close the doors of the church which had existed for 100 years. But others sensed that God was not finished with them yet. Little could they know how much God had in store for them in the coming years!
First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, IL was formed in January of 1867 with 16 charter members. Today, the congregation averages more than 1,600 people each Sunday in worship and has more than 4,000 people who are members or attenders. The church has the largest attendance in the Metro-East St. Louis region and is the largest Southern Baptist church in the state of Illinois.
The church dedicated its first building in 1867 at the corner of Washington and Cherry Streets in O’Fallon. The white, framed structure served as the place of meeting for the congregation for many years until a fire in 1946. The congregation rebuilt on the same site and dedicated the new brick building on the 80th anniversary of the church, January 26, 1947.
The church grew and declined over the years. In 1974, after a long period of decline, FBCO called a young man named Gerry Claybrook as pastor. The church entered a time of sustained growth. The congregation eventually outgrew their facilities at Washington and Cherry and began a search for more land.
The search for adequate space led the members of FBCO to 20 acres on Highway 50. They built a worship center on the new land and held their first service there in June of 1979. Great growth followed. The church went to two Sunday morning worship services and two Sunday School hours. They built the gym and temporary classrooms for children.
In 1987, Lloyd Jones came as pastor. The church organization grew stronger. A new education building was completed. Additional land was bought and the worship center was remodeled. New ministries were started and the staff was expanded. The church continued to grow and reach out to the community and beyond. Average attendance grew to approximately 550 in worship and in Sunday School.
Dr. Doug Munton was called as the pastor of FBCO in 1995 and the church began to grow rapidly. A native of Illinois, Pastor Doug brought a new vision and enthusiasm to the congregation. The church went to three morning worship services and three Sunday School hours, but more space was needed. The congregation built new overflow areas to the worship center and new preschool space for the rapidly growing needs of the church family. But the growth continued to outpace the facilities. The church family made plans for an extensive new building program.
In 2000, a new 67,000 square foot Worship Center and education space was dedicated that more than doubled the size of the church facility. The much-needed space allowed the congregation to continue to grow rapidly and ministries were expanded for all ages and needs. The next years saw more land purchased, more parking added and continuing renovation of current buildings. A third worship service was added once again, as was a third Sunday School hour.
Currently, the FBCO campus has 44 acres of land and plans for more education space, parking and a balcony in the worship center. Ministries continue to thrive. Vacation Bible School has more than 1,000 children and workers in attendance each year making it one of the largest in the nation. Youth and Children’s ministries are large, active and effective. In the summer of 1982, a Mother's Day Out ministry was launched with the specific goal of community outreach. The program transitioned to Creation Corner Preschool in 2002 and currently has an enrollment of 206 students. The ministry continues to meet its original goal of reaching the community while providing a safe, creative, biblical learning environment for preschoolers. First Baptist Academy, begun in 2002, now stretches its Christ-centered curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 11. Adult small group ministries are active through Life Groups, Women’s and Men’s ministries and in many other ways. The music ministry has a large Christmas musical every year, choirs for all ages and a full orchestra.
On Sunday, January 28th, 2007 First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, IL celebrated its 140th anniversary with a special worship service including special music, drama and a message from Gerry Claybrook, pastor from 1974-1986.
Much has changed in 140 years. But, First Baptist Church’s faith in the Lord, trust in God’s word and passion for reaching people for Christ remains as firm today as it was in 1867. The prayer of the congregation is that God will continue to bless FBC O’Fallon, IL as he has in the past and that the best is yet to come!
